154 



THE OCEAN. 



on being immersed to thaw, was, in the lapse of 

 forty-eight hours, reduced to a perfect skeleton. The 

 officers afterwards availed themselves of the ser- 

 vices of these industrious little anatomists, to obtain 

 cleaned skeletons of such small animals as they 

 procured, merely taking the precaution of tying the 

 specimen in a loose bag of gauze or netting, for 

 the preservation of any of the smaller bones that 

 might be separated by the consumption of the hga- 

 ments. 



