1^2 



DIRECTIONS FOR COLLECTING, &c., SPECIMENS OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



[1853. 



shelter and food which their former haunts no longer afford them. 



I trust that the attempt made in the present communicafi'^n to 

 contribute in some slin-ht degree to our acquaintance with this 

 interesting department of Natural History, may have the cu'ect 

 of inducing other members of the Institute, better qual!fi( d for 

 the task, to exeit themselves in adding, by tleir persona! nbscr- 

 vation, to our knowledge of Canadian Ornithology, wliilc the 

 facilitiesfor doing so are still, comparatively, so many and so great. 



Direct'ons for cullecting, preserving and transporting Spe; im: ns 

 of Sfiitnral History.* 



§ I. INSTRUMENTS, PRESERVATIVE MATERIALS, &C. 



1. Implements for Skinning. — ^The implements necessary in 

 skinning vertebrated animals are: 1. A knife, such as is used for 

 ordinary dissection, and which may be replaced, in extreme cases, 

 by a penknife. 2. A pair of sharp-pointed scissors, and oi;e with 

 strong short blades. 3. Needles and thread for sewing up the 

 incisions in the skin. 4. A hook by which to suspend the carcase 

 of the animal while the operation of skinning is going on. To 

 prepare the hook, take a string, of from one to three feet in length, 

 and fasten one end of it to a stout fish-hook which has hatl the 

 barb broken off. By means of a loop at the other end, the 

 string may be suspended to a nail or awl, which, when the honk 

 is inserted into the body of an animal, will give free use of both 

 hands in the operation of skinning. 



2. Preservatives. — The best material for the preserva^ ion of 

 skins of animals consists of powdered arsenious acid, or the com- 

 mon areenic of the shops. This may be used in two ways, either 

 applied in dry powder to the moist skin, or else mixed with alcohol 

 or water to the consistency of molasses, and put on with a brush. 

 To the alcoholic solution should be added a little camphor. There 

 are no satisfactoiy substitutes for arsenic ; but, in its entire absence, 

 coiTosive sublimate, arsenical soap, camphor, alum, <fec., may be 

 employed. 



The proper materials for stuffing out skins will depend iiuich 

 upon the size of the animal. For small birds and mamu:alia, 

 cotton will be found most convenient; for the laiger, tow. For 

 those still larger, dry grass, straw, sawdust, bran, or other \ege- 

 table substances, may be used. Whatever substance is used, care 

 must be taken that it be perfectly dry. In no event should 

 animal matter, as hair, wool, or feathers, be employed. 



§ II. skinning and stuffing. 



1. Birds. — Whenever convenient, the following notes should 

 be made previous to commencing the operation of skinning, as 

 they will add much to the value of the specimens : — 



1. The length, in inches, from tip of bill to the end of the tail ; 

 the distance between the two extremities of the outstrctc-lied 

 wings; and the length of the wing from the carpal-joint. Tlie 

 numbei-s may be recorded as follows: 44, 66, 12 (as firaswau), 

 without any explanation; it being well understood th.-it fho above 

 measurements follow each other in a fixdl succe-sion. These 

 numbers may be written on the back of tiio label appended to 

 each specimen. * 



2. The color of the eyes, that of the fwi, bill, gums, mem- 

 branes, caruncles, &c. 



3. Arc the heels covered or uncovered by the feathers of the 

 belly? 



4. Attitude of the body when at rest, whether vertical, oblique, 

 or horizontal. Docs the bird perch or not? 



5. Position of the wings, whcthar supported or hanging, cros'- 



• Prepared fjr Uie use nl llie .Sniillisgniaii fnslilulior.. 



ing on the tail or not. Are they continuous, and covered by 

 the feathers of the mantle (back) and breast for the upjier third, 

 the half, or the two-thirds of their length^ Their extremity; 

 does it reach the end of the tail, the half, or the fouith of its 

 length ? The three last points will be of great use in mounting 

 tlio specimens. 



Immediately after a bird is shot, the holes made by the shot 

 should be plugged up, and the mouth and posterior nostrils 

 plugged with cotton, to jn'event the escajie of blood and the 

 juices of the stomach. A long nai-row paper cone should be 

 made; the bird, if small enough, thrust in, head foremost, and 

 the open end folded shut, taking care not to break or bend the 

 tail feathers in the operation.* 



When ready to proceed to skinning, remove the old cotton 

 from the throat, mouth, and nostrils, and replace it by fresh. Then 

 take the dimensions from the point of the bill to tlic end of the 

 tail, from the tip of one wing to that of the other, when both are 

 extended, and from the tip of the wing to the first or carpal-joint, 

 as already indicated. 



This being done, make an incision through the skin only, from 

 the lower end of the breast bone to the anus. Should the in- 

 testines protrude in small specimens, they had better be extracted, 

 great care being taken not to soil the featliers. Now proceed 

 carefully to separate the skin on each side from the suLijaceut 

 parts, until you reach the knee, and expose the thigh; when, 

 taking the leg in one hand, push or thrust the knee up on the 

 abdomen, and loosen the skin around it until you can place the 

 scissore or knife underneath, and separate the joint with the ac- 

 companying muscles. Place a little cotton between the skin and 

 body to prevent adhesion. Loosen the skin about the base of 

 the tail, and cut through the vertebra at the last joint, taking 

 care not to sever the bases of the quills. Suspend the body by 

 insei'ting the liook into the lower part of the back or rump, and 

 invert the skin, loosening it carefull}' from the body. On reach- 

 ing the wings, -which had better be relaxed previously by stretch- 

 ing and pulling, loosen the skin from around the fii'st bone, and 

 cut through the middle of it, or, if the bii'il be small enough, 

 separate it from the next at the elbow. Continue the inver>ion 

 of the skin by di'awing it over the neck, imlil the skull is ex- 

 posed. Arrived at this point, detach the delicate membrane of 

 the ear from its cavit}- in the skull, if possible, without cutting or 

 tearing it; then, by means of the thumb-nails, loosen the adhe- 

 sion of the skin to the other parts of the head, until you come to 

 the very base of the mandibles, taking care to cut through the 

 white nictitating membrane of the eye when exposed, without 

 lacerating the ball. Scoop out the eyes, and by making one cut 

 on each side of the head, through the small bone connecting the 

 base i^f the lower jaw with the skull, another through the roof of 

 the mouth at the base of the upper mandible, and between the 

 jaws of the lower, and a fourth tlll^l!l^■h the skull behind the 

 orbits, and parallel to the roof of tlif innulli, you will have freed 

 the skull from all the accompanying brain and muscle. Should 

 anything still adhere, it may be removed separately. In making 

 the two first cuts, care must be taken not to injure or sever the 

 zygoma, a small bone extending from the bast> of the upper man- 

 dible to the base of the lower jaw-bone. Clean oif every ]iarticle 

 of muscle and fat from the head anrl neck, and, applying the 

 preservative abundantly to the skull, inside and out, as well as to 

 the skin, restore these parts to their natural position. In all the 

 preceding operations, the skin should he handled as near the 

 point of adhesion as possible, especial care being taken not to 

 stretch it. 



The next operation is to connect the two wings inside of the 



• Crumpled or lienl fealliers in.ny have much ol iheir elnsiipiiy nnd original 

 sliape restoiw! l>y dipping in hot walcr. 



