MANUAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 653 



Fish-skins should be packed in comparatively 

 shallow boxes, to avoid too great pressure on the 

 lower specimens, and each one should be covered 

 with thin paper, and have the fins properly pro- 

 tected with cotton. Tow, or some soft material, 

 should be placed between the layers of skins, and 

 camphor should be placed in the box. 



Directions for Collecting Bones and Skeletons. 



The preservation of bones and skeletons has been 

 generally much neglected by collectors, and while 

 the skins of peculiarly interesting animals are often 

 very common, their skeletons are extremely rare, or 

 altogether unknown ; and yet skulls, bones, and 

 entire skeletons of animals can be, in most cases, 

 prepared for transportation as readily as skins. 



Skulls may be prepared by removing the principal 

 part of the muscle, and allowing the remainder to 

 dry ; or, where convenient, they may be boiled first, 

 which will greatly facilitate the cleaning process, 

 and, when thoroughly dry, they may be separately 

 wrapped in paper and packed ; small skulls, in cold 

 climates, may be dried with the whole of the .muscle 

 attached; but in all cases the brain should be re- 

 moved. 



Separate bones may be prepared in the same way, 

 and the long bones of large animals should be bored 

 at each end to permit the escape of the medullary 

 matter, but the holes should not be very large. 



