OF OBJECTS IN NATURAL HISTORY. 499 



" Reptiles and Fishes. Reptiles and fishes are best preserved 

 in spirit of wine, rum, or whisky, some of which must be injected 

 into the stomach, through the mouth, and into the other intestines 

 through the anus. Before putting them into bottles, jars, or bar- 

 rels, they ought to be washed clean of slimy matter. If long kept 

 in spirits before they are sent, the spirits should be changed two or 

 three times. The jars or bottles ought to be closed by means of 

 sheet-lead and bladders. The larger reptiles, as crocodiles, and 

 the larger fishes, may be preserved in the same manner as quadru- 

 peds and birds. 



fc Animal Concretions. Concretions of various kinds are occa- 

 sionally found in the brain, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, gall-blad- 

 der, intestines, and urinary bladder. The stomachs of many ani- 

 mals afford concretions of different kinds, particularly those known 

 under the name of Bezoar Stones ; and travellers inform us, that 

 stones are met with in the eggs of the ostrich. All of these bodies 

 are interesting and valuable to the natural historian. 



" Skeletons. Collectors ought not to neglect to preserve the 

 skeletons of the different species of animals. Of man, the skull is 

 the most interesting part, as it varies in the different races of the 

 human species, and is also frequently singularly altered by the prac- 

 tices of savage tribes. The best way of cleaning bones, is to expose 

 them to the air, and allow the insects to eat off the flesh. This 

 being done, they ought to be washed with sea water, and afterwards 

 freely exposed to the sun. The best skulls are obtained by putting 

 the whole head in rum or whisky, or a strong solution of alum ; 

 and both male and female heads ought if possible to be preserved. 



" Molluscous Animals, Vermes and Zoophytes.* Molluscous ani- 

 mals, such as cuttle-fish, the inhabitants of shells, &c. Vermes or 

 worms, and Zoophytes, or animals of the coral and other allied kinds, 

 ought all to be preserved in spirits ; and in the two former classes, 

 viz. the Mollusca and Vermes, the spirit of wine should be injected 

 into the intestines, by means of a syringe, to prevent the putrefac- 

 tion of the internal parts, and the consequent destruction of the or- 

 gans of digestion, respiration, and of the nervous system. Many 

 Zoophytes or Corals, or rather their houses, may be preserved dry ; 

 but fragments of every species ought to be put into spirits, that the 

 real structure of the animal may be discovered. 



" Shells. Shells, or the coverings of Molluscous animals, are 

 anxiously sought after by the naturalist, not only on account of 

 their great beauty, but also from their intimate connection with the 

 various fossil species met with in rocks of different kinds. The best 

 live shells are collected by means of a trawling-net, such as is used 



