2378 Quadrupeds. 



Sertularia rugosa. Occasional, on Flustra foliacea. 



Thoa halecina. Frequent. 



Tubularia indivisa. Abundant. 



Tubularia larynx. Occasional. 



Tubularia ramia. Frequent. 



Tubulipora patina. Growing on Tubularia indivisa, &c. 



Vesicularia spinosa. A single fine and perfect specimen, found about three miles 

 east of Dover : this, whilst matted together and still wet from the retiring tide, so 

 nearly resembled a bunch of wet wool that I had well nigh passed it without further 

 notice. — W. D. King ; Sudbury, 9th of 2nd mo., 1849. 



On the Preservation of small Mammalia. — I hope to be excused if I take the liberty 

 of instructing the readers of the ' Zoologist ' in a small matter of taxidermy ; but my 

 wish to do so arises from having read some account of a shrew by Mr. Briggs (Zool. 

 2281), which description does not seem to agree with any other description of shrews, 

 either by Bell, or by Jenyns in his ' Manual,' or papers in the ' Magazine of Natural 

 History.' Mr. Briggs says, " When I saw it the flesh was in a state of decomposition, 

 and after taking a description of the colours, &c, it was put away as useless." In 

 the small quadrupeds, especially the shrews and voles, decomposition commences very 

 soon after death, and the fur of the belly comes off in pieces or flakes if handled 

 roughly : nevertheless, I have found that if the skin can be taken off and the preserva- 

 tive applied, the fur will, when the specimen has become dry, remain firmly attached 

 to the skin. The best method I have seen is, to lay the animal on its back, with the 

 head pointing to the right shoulder of the operator, then with a pointed instrument 

 separate the fur in a line along the middle of the under parts, from the front of the 

 sternum to the vent ; a pair of very sharp fine-pointed scissors must then be taken, 

 and an incision made where the hair has been parted : with a pair of dissecting forceps 

 take hold of the edges of the skin, and with the spatula end of the scalpel, or, what is 

 better, a narrow piece of ivory flattened and curved at one end, very carefully separate 

 the skin from the body, and as fast as so separated apply powdered burnt alum to its 

 inner surface. This, besides tawing it, will very rapidly absorb all the moisture, and 

 thereby render the operation more easy : it is advisable, however, to take care that the 

 alum does not set on the outside of the skin, amongst the fur, if there is any moisture, 

 because it will unite with, and be taken up by, the alum, as water of crystallization. 

 This, solidifying in the fur, cannot be removed without injury to the latter. The 

 bones of the legs and tail, when arrived at, must be snipped in two with a pair of 

 scissors kept for that purpose (nail scissors are the best, — the cutting part is short, and 

 the ends strong but pointed). All this must be done with the animal still lying in the 

 position mentioned, and it is not at all necessary that it should be moved until the 

 present stage of the process. With the forceps the pelvis can now be taken up in the 

 left hand, so that the skin will hang down : this is to be detached along the back, un- 

 til the neck is reached, when it must be very gently shoved (not pulled) over the 

 skull with the end of the scalpel. The body is then to be detached from the skull, 

 and the latter — as well as the leg bones, Sec. — cleaned in the usual way, and the pre- 

 servative applied liberally to all the inside of the skin. This should be cither some 



