80 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY. 



in its less powerful action on tlie sealing wax or coating used 

 over the corks or stoppers of the glass preparation jars. 



There is no doubt that fure spirits of mne will preserve 

 objects for a great length of time, but the cost is very serious to 

 most persons, or even to institutions of less importance than 

 the British Museum — added to which the strong spirit un- 

 questionably shrivels and distorts such objects as fishes and 

 reptiles, whilst, diluted to any appreciable extent, spirit will 

 not preserve anything for any great period. To obviate these 

 inconveniences chemists have invented more or less perfect 

 preservative fluids, the oldest perhaps of which is : 



No. 24 — Goadbi/s Solution, No. 1. 

 Bay salt,* 4oz. I Corrosive sublimate, 4g:rs. 



Alum, 2oz. I Boiling" water, 2 quarts. 



Keep in stoppered bottle labelled "Poison." 



No. 25. — Goadhys Solution, No. 2. 

 Bay salt, 41b. I Corrosive sublimate, 2grs. 



Araenious acid, 20gr8. | Boiling rain water, 1 quart. 



Keep in stoppered bottle labelled "Poison." 



Note that, corrosive sublimate being a remarkably difficult 

 thing to dissolve, even in pure spirits of wine, it may not 

 be generally known that the addition of a saturated solution 

 of sal ammoniac, in weight about half an ounce, is sufficient 

 to dissolve many ounces of corrosive sublimate. Thus a solution 

 useful for some purposes is easily made as follows : 

 No. 26. — Browne's Freservative Solution. 

 Saltpetre, 4oz. I Corrosive sublimate, :^oz. 



Alum, 2oz. I Sal ammoniac, foz. 



Boiling water, half gallon. — Keep in stoppered bottle labelled " Poison." 

 This, it will be seen, is a modification of Goadby's Solution. 

 In the three preceding formulae the corrosive sublimate must 

 be dissolved in a small quantity of spirits of some kind, or, as 

 explained above, by the addition of a strong solution of sal 

 ammoniac. 



No. 27. — Saline Solution for bottling Fish and Reptiles. 

 Bichloride of mercury (corrosive I Chloride of sodium (common 

 sublimate), 1 grain. | salt), 90 grains. 



Distilled water, 1 pint. 



" "Bay salt" i3 salt formed by evaporation of sea-water in shallow lagoons or "salt-pans" 

 exposed to the rays of the sun. 



