238 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



7. Notes of color, taken from the fresli specimens, should be sent with 

 them if the tish are to be described in the museum. The collector should 

 also preserve in his own books a record of life-colors under the catalogue 

 numbers corresponding with the tin tags fastened on his fish. He can 

 theu obtain the identification of his species by their numbers and publish 

 his studies upon tliem at his own pleasure. 



8. Local names of fish should always accompany the specimens when 

 obtaiuable. 



9. It is desirable to know whether or not the species is abundant ; 

 whether difi'ereut sizes of the same fish are found; whether they asso- 

 ciate in schools or not ; whether they are permanent residents or migra- 

 tory; if migratory, by what routes they come and go; whether they 

 form an important article of food; what they feed upon and what species 

 prey ujjou them; the depth and character of the bottom on which they 

 occur; the mode of capturing tliem; the uses made of them and the 

 various i)roducts which they go to form, in short, everything bearing 

 upon the life history or the economic ai)plications of the species should 

 be noted in detail. 



10. Before washing the fish look them over for external parasites; 

 examine the gills and the inside of the mouth carefully, as these are fjx- 

 vorite situations. These parasites often furnish a clue to the migrations 

 of the fish; remove them if they can be taken off entire, if not, let them 

 remain, and call attention to their iiresence in your shipi:)ing notes. 

 Preserve the parasites in vials or bottles, and provide them with labels 

 stating from what fish they came and in what situation they were found. 



To preserve fish indefinitely in glass jars, observe the following direc- 

 tions: first, select ajar of the proper size to accommodate the specimen 

 amply, without bending or distorting it in any way; put in the fish with 

 the tail down in nearly all cases; the tail may often rest upon the bottom 

 of the jar, or the fish may be suspended from the hook which is now 

 found in the stopple of the modern museum jars; cover the fish com- 

 pletely with the alcoholic mixture referred to in the closing sentence of 

 paragraph 4; discoloration of the alcohol is a sign that its preservative 

 l)Ower is weakened and calls for a renewal; fishes in alcohol will never 

 make a good show unless the liquid is kej^t clear and clean. A label 

 giving the name of the fish, place of its capture, and name of its captor, 

 should be tied on the neck of the jar by means of a piece of narrow tape 

 passed through holes punched in the ends of the paper. Tlie jars must 

 have accurately ground glass stopples. It is best to use no kind of 

 sealing wax to coat the joint of the stopple; simi^ly wipe the glass per- 

 fectly dry, close the jar properly, and there will be little danger of 

 evaporation. Do not let the direct sunlight strike your jars, and keep 

 them well removed from stoves, registers, and the like. 



