TAXIDERMY. 21 



In several Museums we see human heads injected* 

 and preserved in oil of turpentine. The anatomical 

 collection of the Museum of Natural History in 

 Paris possesses a head prepared in this way more 

 than a hundred years ago, by the celebrated Ruitch, 

 a Dutch physician. It still preserves all the viva- 

 city of its colours. The cold so far affects the 

 liquor in which it is contained, as to hide it com- 

 pletely, but at the return of spring the liquor be- 

 comes clear, and we perfectly distinguish the 

 object. 



Without doubt all these preparations are very 

 useful to science, and are even necessary to the de- 

 monstrations of professors. Human skeletons are 

 more so, and since the bony part of our body is the 

 only one which we are able to preserve entire and 

 in its natural position, we will try to describe the 

 different methods employed for this purpose in the 

 present day. 



According to the methods which they use, ana- 

 tomists distinguish two sorts of skeletons; one 

 which they call natural, and the other artificial, 

 and these two methods are sufficient to obtain the 

 skeletons of all animals. 



Of Natural Skeletons. 



This first manner is the easiest and most general ; 

 it is particularly employed for small animals, that 



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