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EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 



Formaldehyde as an aid in collecting ornithological specimens is the 

 subject of a communication by Mr. Joseph Mailliard to the last number of 

 the * Auk ' for July. It appears that formalin can be procured at a much 

 lower rate under the trade name of " formaldehyde." By its aid the 

 collector is placed in an independent position in regard to the number of 

 specimens he may collect in a day, as with its aid he can keep a number in 

 good condition until time admits of preparing them for his collection. With 

 an old-fashioned veterinary hypodermic syringe, and a bottle of saturated 

 solution of formaldehyde, Mr. Mailliard is now provided on all his expe- 

 ditions. This syringe holds one teaspoonful, and this is sufficient for a bird 

 as large as a Partridge. The sharp needle is punched into the abdomen 

 in one or more places, a few drops are sent down the throat of a bird to be 

 saved, and, if to be kept for some days, a little is injected into the brain by 

 opening the bill and forcing the needle upwards and backwards between the 

 eyeballs. In place of a regular hypodermic, a common glass syringe, or 

 even an eye-dropper, can be made to answer, especially if the end is heated 

 and drawn out to a sharp point, as in an egg-blower. The amount injected 

 and the strength of the solutiou must depend upon the size of the bird. 

 Formaldehyde comes in saturated solution of nominally 40 per cent., while 

 from 4 per cent, to 10 per cent, is what may ordinarily be used. For birds 

 up to the size of a Partridge, 4 per cent, is sufficiently strong ; from this to 

 the size of a Duck, 8 or 10 per cent. ; and for Geese and very large birds 

 a comparatively smaller amount of the full strength seems more satisfactory 

 than a larger amount of a weaker solution. It is well to avoid, as far as 

 possible, having one's hands come in contact with the strong solution, as 

 this is apt to harden the skin of the fingers, and cause cracks, into which 

 arseuic may be introduced. Upon the basis of the original solution being 

 40 per cent., it is a simple matter to approximate any desired strength by 

 mixing in a separate bottle one part of the solution to so many parts of 

 water roughly estimated. The strength and amount necessary for different 

 birds will soon be learned with a little practice. If too much or too great 

 a strength is used upon small birds, the body becomes more or less hardened 

 and dry, making it exceedingly difficult to skin the specimen. Care must 

 also be taken to avoid using more than is absolutely necessary in the throat, 

 as the thinness of the gullet allows the formaldehyde to act directly upon 



