1S35.] of Objects of Natural History. 465 



kept for any length of time, they ought to be frequently sunned, and 

 always kept in an airy place, instead of being, as is too often done, shut up 

 in boxes. It is the notion that zoological specimens must be excluded 

 from the air, that has given rise to another notion not less absurd, that 

 they cannot be kept in India. The experience of some collectors is to the 

 contrary. And any person may analogically test it, by observing whether 

 paper, clothes, &c. are mildewed most, when shut up, or not. 



When an animal has been skinned and stuffed as above, there are still 

 many parts of the body that are valuable to the comparative anatomist and 

 to the zoologist. The bones of many animals are very valuable, and those 

 of new and rare species should always be preserved for examination. The 

 internal parts also of such species should be put into spirit and kept : the 

 parts most useful are, the thoracic and abdominal viscera, particularly the 

 heart and stomach; the organs of generation, external and internal ; and 

 the trachea, tongue and larynx. 



The importance of affixing tallies to every specimen, and making notes and 

 memoranda concerning it, cannot be too much impressed upon the mind of the 

 collector. Every collection derives additional value from its having a good 

 catalogue attached to it; while without such a catalogue, the best preserved 

 specimens are often quite useless in a scientific point of view. As before 

 said, the age, sex, size, height, length, circumference, locality, manners, 

 colour of the eyes, form of the iris, and, in short, every thing peculiar about 

 the animal, should be noted with the greatest care. 



Birds. 

 In birds the skinning process is still more easy than in mammalia; though, 

 as feathers are not so readily cleaned as hair, greater care must be taken 

 not to soil them. 



Birds are best procured for the purposes of natural history, by the gun. 

 Those caught either in nets or by bird-lime, or any other means, are ge- 

 nerally more or less injured in their plumage. To prevent as far as pos- 

 sible the feathers being soiled by the blood, the shot, with which the gun 

 is charged, should be as small as is compatible with the size of the bird to 

 be brought down, and the quantity of powder should not exceed half tha 

 usual load ; in short, just enough of both shot and powder should be emplo) r - 

 ed to bring down the bird. If the bird is only wounded, it should be taken 

 hold of firmly under the wings, when by squeezing the sides of the body 

 together, it almost instantly dies. When dead, the feathers over the wound 

 should be blown aside, and a pledget of fine cotton placed upon it, to absorb 

 the blood as it oozes out. Another pledget should be placed on the vent, and 

 a quantity, proportionate to the size of the bird, must be put into the 

 mouth, to prevent the blood of the wounded internal parts from coming out 

 of the throat. The bird is then to be carefully wrapped in a handkerchief, 

 taken home, and hung in a cool place. 



After being allowed to hang for three or four hours, to allow of the 

 coagulation of the blood, the skinning process may begin. The bird is 

 laid upon its back, with its head towards the left hand of the operator ; 

 the feathers are carefully laid aside, and an incision is made from the 

 fore part of the chest above the merry-thought bone, along the breast 

 and abdomen, to midway between the breast bone and the vent. The 

 skin is carefully pushed aside with the handle of the scalpel, or the fingers 

 and thumb of the operator, backwards over the shoulder-joint, or that 

 joint where the wing joins the breast; an incision through that joint is 

 then very carefully made, (taking the greatest care to avoid cutting the 

 skin of the back,) so as to separate the wing from the body, and a similar 

 process is gone through on the other side. After having proceeded thus 

 far, it is necessary to introduce some cotton between the skin and the body 

 of the bird, to prevent the feathers from being soiled; and in fat water 

 birds, the parts should be well sprinkled with powdered chalk. The 

 mouth is next to be opened,, and a pair of scissors pushed back into it, so 



