108 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol, X111. 
The opportunities for the study of such marine animals are, of course, j 
not given to many of us, but still there may be some of our members 
who ‘ go down to the sea in ships? who may be able to help in this direc- 
tion, 
SMALL MAMMALS, 
When we come to the smaller animals of the great class Mammalia— 
chiefly comprising the orders Jnsectivora, Chiroptera and Rodentia—we 
have at once a far greater scope for the attentions cf the ordinary 
collector. Although many of our most eminent Indian naturalists have in 
days gone by done a vast amount of work on them, it is only of comparatively 
recent years that a really systematic and complete investigation of the 
representatives of these orders in all parts of the world has been undertaken 
by zoologists at home. 
They have in this been ably backed up by many collectorsin different 
countries, but their efforts have not as yet received the support that they 
deserve from India. 
One thing that has been found to be absolutely essential for the success- 
fully study of these orders is the necessity of large ranges of specimens 
from different localities, without which itis impossible to arrive at any 
satisfactory conclusions as to the distinctions of species and their varie- 
ties. 
Now a very large number of our members can help in this work with the 
expenditure of a comparatively small amount of time and trouble to them- 
selves, and with a view to encouraging this help, the Society has now arranged 
to seriously undertake a collection of skins, and of course skulls of the smaller 
mammals inhabiting this country, confining it for the present to those say not 
larger than a squirrel. The reason for limiting it to this is the difficulty of 
properly storing and taking care of larger specimens, 
Under the circumstances, I think the best thing that I can do is to quote in 
full, the directions that have been drawn up by Mr. Oldfield Thomas of the 
British Museum (Nat. Hist.) for Preparing Small Mammal Shins, for, even 
with these simple instructions, almost ‘ any schoolboy’ or, with very little 
tuition, the ‘ cook’s mate’ can skin a rat with sufficient skill to make a 
presentable specimen after a little practice. 
[I]. With the freshly killed carcase before you, write the label, This 
should bear a number, locality, altitude above sea, sex, date, and the following 
measurements in inches taken in the flesh: (1), length of head and body ; 
(2), of tail without end hairs ; (3), hind-foot without claws ; and (4), ear from 
notch at base to tip. In the case of the first two measurements, the body should 
be straightened out as much as possible, and the tail bent upwards at a sharp 
angle, and the measurements should then be taken from a point in the angle, 
The label should also have on its back any notes that may strike you about 
the place where the specimen was caught. 
