2^ MET HODS IN TE£ A? 7 ZF T .-LI':: DERM Y^ 



20. Small casks will answer the purpose when the tanks are not avail- 

 able. Before putting the entire fish into spirits. Prof. Wiley plunged 

 it into spirits of turpentine, sometimes making the fish die in the rnr- 

 pentine. This was done to preserve their metallic Instre. A fish to be 

 preserved entire in spirits should have an opening made along the belly. 

 beginning from the vent and prolonging the cut to between the ventral 

 fins ; the spirits may then have quick and free action. 



Prof. Wiley's method of placing an entire fi^h in alcohol is the 

 same as he employed when the fish is skinned, the fish after being 

 washed is wrapped in linen. A bed of clean flax, tow or cotton is placed 

 in the r^TiV or barrel to prevent the rubbing and tossing about in the 

 conveyance. The tank should not contain more than two-thirds of fiih. 

 the rest ought to be flax or cotton and spirits. Each fish should have 

 attached to it a pure tin or a copper label on which is embossed a nnm- 

 ber which should correspond to the sam.e number in your record-t-: : ^ 

 containing the full data of each fish. Skins of the larger fishes, sharks. 

 etc.. may be preserved equally well in the salt and alum pickle. It is 

 a notable fact that the great naturalist, Cuvier, received from North 

 America a small cask of fishes placed in strong brine. The colors were 

 better preserved than any which had before been seen. 



Frogs. — Plate LXXXI shows the system of wiring in a frog de- 

 signed to stand upright in a human-like attitude. It "will be seen that 

 the wire of one of the hind legs is used as the center wire which runs 

 up through the nasal cavity. The other hind leg wire \s twisted 

 around the one used as the center wire. A loop is turned in the cen- 

 ter wire to receive the wires of the front legs which are also twisted 

 together. The legs are made by wrapping the bones with cotton in 

 the same manner the legs of the small quadrupeds are formed of : : " 

 The body filling is -of the same material, stuffed in by way of the 

 mouth piecemeal until the desired shape and fullness is attained- 



Frogs for mounting should be skinned through the mouth ; the 

 front legs should be detached and drawn through the mouth and 

 skinned ; continning all the way down the body every particle of fiesh 

 should be removed and the hind legs skinned in the same manner as 

 the fore le^. But vou must not detach any of the veri^bral column from 

 the skin of the back : leave it attached to the skin the entire length as 

 seen in the Plate, because it gives shape and character to the back 

 which vou cannot Dossibly oroduce in any other way. If these art 

 removed you would be able to fill the skin out perfectly round, zn: 

 yon cannot reDroduce the characteristic shape of the back. Of course 

 yon must scrape and clean around the bones very carefully, and then 



