8 SOME HINTS ON THE PREPARATION AND 



which for this purpose should be cut in lengths of 10 or 12 inches. 

 The wire is recommended, rather than thread of any kind, because 

 there are no fibres to become entangled with the specimen, and thus 

 mar its beauty; and it may be used many times over. The slips 

 thus wrapped should then be dropped into a vessel of water, and 

 left for some hours. On being taken from the water and the wire 

 removed, the slips should again be placed in a saucer or small plate 

 of water, and carefully separated to avoid marring or injuring the 

 specimens. These should then be gently, but thoroughly washed 

 and brushed, to remove every remnant of the liquor potassae or dirt 

 that may have adhered to them, and dropped for a few moments 

 into alcohol; one of the nest saucers again forming a convenient 

 vessel for this purpose. The slips of glass having meanwhile been 

 wiped clean and dry, the objects are again to be transferred to one 

 of them, covered with the other, wrapped with the wire and dropped 

 into alcohol, which for this purpose should be contained in the 

 wide mouthed bottle with glass stopper. And here they may safely 

 rest until we are nearly ready for the final operation of mounting; 

 be it the next day, or year, matters not, as the alcohol will not alter 

 or bleach them. 



pjg. 5. Porcelain Saucers. 



The final work to be done upon our specimens, preparatory to 

 mounting, is transferring from the alcohol to oil of cloves, which is 

 a substantial repetition of the previous transfer from water to alco- 

 hol. The slips of glass taken from the bottle, and the wire removed, 

 are to be placed in a saucer containing alcohol, and gently sepa- 

 rated, to avoid injury to the specimens, which are now to receive 

 their final brushing. If we have provided ourselves with absolute 

 alcohol, a short immersion in the same, in a watch glass is advan- 

 tageous, but not absolutely necessary. And now having poured a 

 small quantity of pure oil of cloves into one of the porcelain nest 

 saucers, we carefully transfer the tongue, feet, etc., to the same, 

 not forgetting the wings, (which all this time have lain quietly in 



