654 MANUAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



Skeletons. To prepare the skeletons of large 

 mammals, the muscle should be removed, and the 

 bones boiled, or they may be dried at once, but the 

 former method is preferable, though, perhaps, not 

 often practicable ; in either case the bones should be 

 separated, as, by so doing, they will not only dry 

 more quickly, but can also be packed in smaller 

 compass. In separating the bones, the cartilages of 

 the ribs which are attached to the sternum should 

 be separated with it, the disunion being made at the 

 end of each rib. When a skeleton is boiled, the 

 sternum and cartilages of the ribs should not be in- 

 cluded ; the cartilages of the scapulae should likewise 

 be kept above the water. 



The paddles of the Cetaceans should not be boiled, 

 but the skin and fat be removed with the knife, and 

 the bones, with their natural attachments and what- 

 ever else may adhere to them, be allowed to remain 

 until the final preparation. 



The skeletons of smaller animals may, in cold cli- 

 mates, be very easily preserved by removing a few 

 of the larger muscles and allowing the remainder to 

 dry. In warm or temperate climates it will be 

 necessary to dissect away more of the muscle before 

 drying them. The viscera must always be removed. 



The skeletons of Birds may be prepared in a simi- 

 lar way, and it will serve as an additional protection 

 from injury if the primary wing feathers are allowed 

 to remain attached, so that when the head is bent 

 down along the side of the body, and the legs folded 

 up, the wings may be closed and confined with a 



