LABELLING AND MOUNTING SPECIMENS. ~T 
any hardware store and then affixing the zinc to the speci- 
men with stout twine or small copper wire. It is, however, 
difficult by any ordinary method to affix a label permanently 
to a fossil or mineral; strings and wires will become loose 
and paste and gum will crack off. In such case, the writer 
has adopted the method of putting on each specimen (in the 
least conspicuous place) a small spot of white paint, and on 
this, when dry, the number is written with a pen; there is no 
danger of such a label being detached and lost. In the 
book catalogue the specimens are arranged simply accord- 
ing to. number and without regard to systematic relations, 
which are to be found in the card catalogue. 
This card catalogue is made of cards arranged alphabeti- 
cally or otherwise as may be desired, each bearing at the top 
the generic and specific name and below the desired informa- 
tion. ‘These cards should be about three by five inches ; 
their appearance, etc., are best seen from the following dia- 
gram. 
ARIUS EQUESTRIS.—BAIRD AND GIRARD. 
Cat! | No: : When z 
Age. Locality. Nature.) Collected by 
No. | Spec. | col! ected. 
836 I Adult | Indianola, 18-4 Skull | John H. Clark.} 
ex. 
1142 4 Young | Brownsville, | April 25, 1858. Al- | Capt. 
Tex. coholic | Van Vliet. 
By this system of book and card catalogues, it can at 
once be seen exactly what specimens the museum contains, 
and also, if the number be preserved, any lost labels can be 
