421 



Art. XL IX. — Varielies. 



43. Preservation of Crustacea, (Vid. ante, p. 312) — 

 Sir, I with pleasure attend to the request made in the last 

 number of the Entomological Magazine, and send you a brief 

 account of the mode I have hitherto practised in preserving 

 Crustacea ; but without presuming that it is better than other 

 methods which are described in Taxidermy, or the several 

 manuals on preserving generally which have been published by 

 Mr. Bullock, Mr. Swainson, Mr. Samouelle, or Captain Brown. 

 When collecting Crustacea I provide myself with a wide- 

 mouthed bottle, or small jar, half filled with a mixture of 

 equal quantities of spirit of wine and water; into this mixture 

 the living specimens are plunged ; and when the vessel is full 

 and corked down the whole contents will bear carriage without 

 injury. To dry specimens for the cabinet, when at home, it is 

 only necessary with those of small size to fix them on the 

 setting-board, separating and pinning out the parts of the 

 tail, legs, antennae, &c., and exposing them to a current of air. 

 With larger specimens, of the size of prawns or crawfish, the 

 body should be separated from the tail, and the soft parts from 

 the inside of each half picked out from the orifice. Roll up a 

 small piece of writing paper to a size rather less than that of 

 the body of the specimen, and about half its whole length ; 

 spread a thin coat of gum dissolved in water over one-half of 

 this cylinder of paper, and pass it into the body, the paper 

 tube unfolds sufficiently to bring it in contact with the shell 

 all round ; gum the outer half, and upon that slide the tail, 

 putting a small portion of gum on the outer circular edge of 

 the tail to fix it in its natural situation inside the edge of the 

 body. Fix the whole to the corked board by a pin through 

 the body, setting out the tail, &c., and in a few days it may be 

 removed to the cabinet without danger of separation or frac- 

 ture. Crabs of two inches diameter and upwards should have 

 the lower portion carefully detached from the upper shell, and 

 all the soft parts removed from the inside of both, replacing 

 and refixing the two parts by gum at all the points of contact. 

 The advantages of the previous soaking in the spirit mixture 



