CHARACTERS OF ANIMALS. 13l 



tial cliaracters. The closest inspection of the drawings 

 should therefore be practised by the eye that has regula- 

 ted the investigation. The young zoologist ought to study 

 the art of drawing himself, by which his progress would be 

 greatly facilitated, and more accurate results obtained. 



Even after the drawings of the objects have been exe- 

 cuted with fidelity, there is some risk of errors being intro- 

 duced in the course of the engraving, in order to suit pro- 

 fessional taste *. 



3. Specimens. — The exhibition of a collection of objects 

 in zoology, well preserved, is calculated to excite an inter- 

 est in the Science, to refresh the memory, and furnish stand- 

 ards with which newly discovered objects may be compared. 

 Such a collection is usually termed a Museum, and the spe- 

 cimens which it contains, are either exhibited in a dried 

 state, or immersed in spirits of wine. 



Many of the hard parts of animals, as corals and shells, 

 require little trouble in their preparation. They ought to 

 be freed from extraneous matter, and made clean by mace- 

 ration in water, aided by the use of a soft brush. Mace- 

 ration in fresh water is absolutely necessary for the preser- 

 vation of marine objects. When this is neglected, the salt 

 which they retain becomes moist in damp weather, and ne- 

 ver fails to injure the specimen. In the preservation of 

 bones, it is necessary to remove all the adhering flesh, and 

 to extract the fat. They may then be articulated by wires in 

 their natural position -f-. i 2 



* Many of the figures copied into the " British Zoology," of Pennant, 

 have been greatly spoiled by alterations of this kind. The figure of the Blunt 

 Headed Cachalot, for example, which, he says, was copied from the one by 

 Robertson, Phil. Trans. 1770, vol, lx. p. 321. Tab. ix., is as unlike the 

 original as can well be supposed. 



■\ The following directions for cleaning and preparing bones, arc given 

 by Mr Pole, and may serve to guide the student in all similar ojK'rations. 



