96 OF NATURAL SKELETONS. 



der of dissection ; neither in this part of the process need any 

 attention be paid to making- the bones clean. The brain may 

 be removed through an opening in the large fontanel, if the 

 subject is very young, if not, a perforation may be made with the 

 trephine for that purpose. Some separate the head from the 

 spine, so that the brain may be the more easily removed by the 

 occipital hole. The skeleton is put in water and allowed to re- 

 main for several days, it is then taken out and more thoroughly 

 cleaned by a knife, forceps, and scissors, and replaced in fresh 

 water. This is repeated from day to day, constantly changing 

 the water, the object being to preserve the ligaments fresh and 

 transparent. It is of great consequence to work hard by 

 daily scraping and scrubbing until the bones are deprived of 

 their blood and oleaginous matter and become white and clean, 

 then remove them into clean lime water, or solution of pearl-ash, 

 for two or three days to take off any greasiness, and give a 

 more beautiful white. When they have lain long enough, wash 

 them with clean water ; they are then placed in a position, by 

 the assistance of a frame or piece of wood and wire, exposing- 

 them to a current of air. When perfectly dry, they may re- 

 ceive a coating of copal or mastic varnish. 



It must be kept in view, that if the preparation is allowed 

 to remain too long in the state of maceration, the ligaments 

 themselves will be destroyed by putrefaction, and the intention 

 of procuring a natural skeleton defeated. 



An excellent and simple way of procuring natural skeletons 

 of Mice, small birds, and fish, is to put them into a box of the 

 proper size, in which holes are bored on all sides, and then 

 buried in an Ant hill. The Ants will enter numerously at 

 these holes and eat away all the fleshy parts, leaving only 

 the bones and connecting ligaments ; they may be afterwards 

 macerated in clean water for a day or two to extract the bloody 

 colour, and to cleanse them from any dirt they may have ac- 

 quired, then whitened by lime and alum water, and dried in 

 frames or otherwise, as may be most convenient. In country 

 situations Wasps may be employed in this service ; these are 

 most voracious animals, and if a skeleton is placed near one 

 of their nests, or in an empty sugar cask, where they resort in 

 plenty, they will perform the dissection with much greater ex- 

 pedition, and equally well as the Ants. Wasps have been 



