FOR COLLECTING. 703 



Scaleless Fishes, as Siluroids and Sturgeons, are skinned in 

 the same manner, but the skin can be rolled up over the head ; 

 such skins can also be preserved in spirits, in which case the 

 traveller may save to himself the trouble of cleaning the head. 



Some Sharks are known to attain to a length of 30 feet, and 

 some Rays to a width of 20 feet. The preservation of such 

 gigantic specimens is much to be recommended, and although 

 the difficulties of preserving fishes increase with their size, the 

 operation is facilitated, because the skins of all Sharks and Rays 

 can easily be preserved in salt and strong brine. Sharks are 

 skinned much in the same way as ordinary fishes. In Rays an 

 incision is made not only from the snout to the end of the fleshy 

 part of the tail, but also a second across the widest part of the 

 body. When the skin is removed from the fish, it is placed into 

 a cask with strong brine mixed with alum, the head occupying 

 the upper part of the cask ; this is necessary, because this part 

 is most likely to show signs of decomposition, and therefore 

 most requires supervision. When the preserving fluid has 

 become decidedly weaker from the extracted blood and water, 

 it is thrown away and replaced by fresh brine. After a week's 

 or fortnight's soaking the skin is taken out of the cask to allow 

 the fluid to drain ofi"; its inner side is covered with a thin layer 

 of salt, and after being rolled up (the head being inside) it is 

 packed in a cask, the bottom of which is covered with salt ; all 

 the interstices and the top are likewise filled with salt. The 

 cask must be perfectly water-tight. 



Of all larger examples of which the skin is prepared, the 

 measurements should be taken before skinning so as to guide 

 the taxidermist in stuffing and mounting the specimens. 



Skeletons of large osseous fishes are as valuable as their 

 skins. To preserve them it is only necessary to remove the soft 

 parts of the abdominal cavity and the larger masses of muscle, 

 the bones being left in their natural continuity. The remaining 

 flesh is allowed to dry on the bones, and can be removed by 

 proper maceration at home. The fins ought to be as carefully 

 attended to as in a skin, and of scaly fishes so much of the 

 external skin ought to be preserved as is necessary for the 

 determination of the species, as otherwise it is generally im- 

 possible to determine more than the genus. 



