168 



THE OOLOGIST 



knowledge pertaining to animal life, 

 tlircugh the agencies of government 

 publications and such periodicals as 

 The National Geographic Magazine 

 greater interest has been taken in this 

 branch of Natural History. The result 

 is an increased amount of study and 

 collecting by nature students. 



A collection of birds, birds' eggs or 

 mammals should not be a mere ac- 

 cumulation of skins and egg shells, 

 gathered without due regard to tha 

 quality of the material or the data 

 which accompanies, or should ac- 

 company it. It would seem that the 

 collector who requires a mass of such 

 material is indifferent to the true pur- 

 pose of the material, and the collection 

 itself is little less than an array of ob- 

 jects of various shapes, colors and 

 sizes. 



System and exactness are as import- 

 ant in the collecting of mammals as 

 in the collecting of birds and eggs. It 

 is just as disappointing for a collector 

 to send out well prepared mammals 

 and receive in exchange a poorly pre- 

 pared, indifferently labeled lot with 

 damaged skulls, as it is to receive a 

 lot of eggs, poorly prepared and with 

 insufficient data. 



We ca'n do little better than follow 

 the example of the U. S. Biological 

 Survey and the large museums which 

 maintain a corps of field assistants. 

 With these institutions the careful 

 measuring, cataloging and labeling of 

 the specimen is required, and is as im- 

 portant as the preparation of the speci- 

 men itself. Without entering into a 

 lengthy discussion of the methods of 

 preparing skins, I will mention some 

 of the more important items, particu- 

 larly with regard to labeling. 



As in collecting birds, every speci- 

 men should be catalogued, and the 

 catalog number should appear on the 

 label. The followiiug data should al- 

 ways be entered in the catalog and on 

 the label, viz: Locality, date, sex, 



measurements and name of collector. 

 The name of the specimen is of the 

 least importance. 



The three measurements are usually 

 recorded in millimeters and are taken 

 as follows: Lengtlt, from tip of nose to 

 end of tail bone, not end of hair; Tail, 

 length from rump to end of the verte- 

 brae; Toe, length of hind foot from 

 heel to end of longest claw. These 

 measurments should appear on the 

 back of the label, as should the cata- 

 log or collection number. 



Probably most bird or mammal col- 

 lections of any size, contains skins 

 taken many years ago, and the ink 

 with which the writing was done has 

 faded almost beyond recognition For 

 this reason it is advisable to use a per- 

 manent ink such as Higgens' Eternal 

 ink, which always remains black. The 

 labels should be standard in shape and 

 size; lectangular, about one-half inch 

 v/Ide by two and one half or three 

 inches in length. A few collectors still 

 U3e the old style tag labels. 



The skinning of the specimen is 

 purely mechanical, and the method of 

 stuffing may be a matter of opinion on 

 the part of the operator, but the 

 method of operation is not material so 

 long as the desired results, viz , a 

 smooth, rather firm and well propor- 

 tioned skin is obtained. Some prefer 

 to stuff with cotton. Personally I use 

 cotton only for the smaller mammals 

 up to the size of a mole. For larger 

 species I use tow, and for rabbits, 

 muskrat and others of like size I ob- 

 tain a firm smooth body by forming ex- 

 celsior around a center stick and cover- 

 ing same with a thin layer of tow. 



After the skin is stuffed it will be 

 put into shape and pinned in a tray to 

 dry. Here again, the collector, if he 

 wishes his specimen to be standard in 

 all respects, will take pains in certain 

 details. The front feet should be 

 drawn somewhat under the body and 

 pinned in place; the back feet pinned, 



