154 Directions for preserving Marine Objects fyc. 



disagree with plants in spirits, but on the contrary mutually assist the 

 antiseptic property of the latter. 



Some little attention is requisite not to collect clumsy specimens, or 

 many of the same sort of thing, as this would encroach upon the means 

 of preserving other objects, and limit the variety and value of the 

 collection. 



Geological, of all collections, are of least interest unless connected 

 with notes ; each specimen should be characteristic of some prevailing 

 rock, and ought to be rolled in paper, numbered, and notes regarding 

 the formation to which it belongs made on the spot. 



Nnmber every thing you collect, but mind not names, except such as 

 are indigenous, which are to be recorded, as well as the uses and pro- 

 perties of things collected. 



Objects of Chinese Fauna likely to be least known and most interest- 

 ing, are reptiles of every kind, crustea, fresh water fish, land and 

 fresh water shells, and the smaller mammalia ; next to these, fishes and 

 shells of the estuaries ; above all, cuttle fish from which the Indian ink 

 is made. The sea horses and pipe fishes, starfishes and sea eggs of 

 every kind, leeches, worms, scorpions, centipedes, and insects of all kinds, 

 except perhaps butterflies, from the difficulty of preserving them per- 

 fect, as well as the chance of their possessing fewer peculiarities than 

 other objects. 



Where room may be valuable and carriage difficult, nothing large 

 should be attempted, and of all such useless curiosities the proboscis 

 of the saw fish, polished shells, and mandarins tails should be eschew- 

 ed ; even the tail of Lin himself would not be worth its room in such 

 circumstances. 



It is useless to say any thing about birds, because every one will 

 collect them, and perhaps every one will find himself in possession of 

 precisely the same species; as will probably be the case with other 



things. 



A small test box with articles enough in it for the cursory examina- 

 tion of waters, as turmeric and litmus paper, nitrate of borytes, acetate 

 of lead, nitrate of silver, acetate of ammonia, prussiate of potash, a 

 blow pipe with two or three acids, and as many alkalies, might be use- 

 ful with collectors ; we never travelled without it. 



J. M. 



