368 



ZOOLOGY. 



[Sect. XT. 



subject It to -ome small pressure ; remove the cloth, and 

 ake away any portions of flesh which may appear easily 



f 



removeahic ; then fold it in a dry cloth and subject it 



again to pressure 



ct 



board and a few weights or stones 



will do if no other press be at hand ; repeat the operation 

 at intervals, until the skin becomes quite dry^ then wash 



it well at both sides with the varnish No. L When dry, 

 sew it on strong paper, and you will have as it were a 



coloured drawing of your fish. The great advantages of 



this phin are the ease with which it is done, and the small 

 space specimens occupy when finished ; a large collection 

 does not require more room than so many dried plants/^ 



Reptiles {Crocodiles, Tortoises, and Turtles, Liza,Js, 

 Snakes^ Toads. Frogs^ Salamanders^ and Newts). 



All these animals are best preserved, particularly the 

 smaller kinds^ in spirit or solution No. II.. Both pre- 

 serving liquors require to be changed once at least, if not 

 tvv^ice ; a piece of linen being wrapped round each f^peci- 



men preserves the scales ; this is requisite at least for the 

 smaller li^a. ^" and snakes. In skinning lizards the ope- 



rator must be very ca^reful not to break the tail. The 

 larger snakes may require to be skinned, when care should 

 be taken to preserve the head attached to the skin, and 

 the skins with the h.ids attached should be put into 

 spirits. In flaying serpents great care must be taken not 



to damage the scales : and the operator should be cautious, 

 for his own ^ake, w^hen employed about the head of the 

 poisonous species : a scratch from a fang of a rattle- 

 snake or of a cobra di capello soon after death may 

 DC fatal. The heads of both poisonous and innocuous 



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