344 APPENDIX II 



more care in drying and ordinarily require a much longer 

 period. Soft liay may be substituted for tow; never use 

 feathers or hair. Roll a longish wad of cotton about the 

 size of body and insert with forceps, taking care to form 

 the head nearly as in life. Split the back end of the cot- 

 ton and stuff each hind leg with the two branches thus 

 formed. Roll a piece of cotton around end of forceps 

 and stuff fore legs. Place a stout straight piece of wire 

 in the tail, wrapping it slightly to give the tail the plump 

 appearance of life. (If the cotton cannot be reeled on to 

 the wire evenly, leave it off entirely.) Make the wire 

 long enough to extend half way up belly. Sew up slit in 

 belly. Lay mammal on belly and pin out on a board 

 by legs, with the fore legs close beside head, and hind 

 legs parallel behind, soles downward. Be sure the label 

 is tied securely on right hind leg. 



For directions for preparing and mounting skeletons of 

 birds, mammals, and other vertebrates, see the books of 

 Davie and Hornaday already referred to. 



Fishes, batrachians, reptiles, and other animals. — The 

 most convenient and usual way of preserving the other 

 vertebrates (not birds or mammals) is to put the whole 

 body into 85 per cent alcohol or 4 per cent formalin. 

 Batrachians should be kept in alcohol not exceeding 60 

 per cent strength. Several incisions should always be 

 made in the body, at least one of which should penetrate 

 the abdominal cavity. Anatomical preparations are simi- 

 larly preserved. By keeping the specimens in glass jars 

 they may be examined without removal. Fishes should 

 not be kept in formalin more than a few months, as they 

 absorb water, swell, and grow fragile. 



Of the invertebrates all, except the insects, are pre- 

 served in alcohol or formalin. The shells of molluscs 

 can be preserved dry, of course, in drawers or boxes 

 divided into small compartments. 



