230 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY. 



mate of potash, and is tlien allowed to dry, exposed to tlie liglit, 

 whicli makes the bichromated gelatine perfectly insoluble, even 

 in boiling water, and tborougbly prevents tbe escape of any 

 glycerine." 



Permanganate of Potash (see page 84) is recommended at 

 p. 49, Science Gossip, 1S79, by a French scientist, for "preserving 

 delicate organisms." "It is especially good in histological 

 researches, as it acts like osmic acid, burning up the protoplasm, , 

 bringing out the minutise, and showing the nuclei, outlines of 

 cells, &c. It is used as a saturated solution in distilled or very 

 pure spring water; sea-water also dissolves it. The concen- 

 trated solution, of a lovely violet colour, kills small organisms at 

 once, and then bums them. They are left in it from thirty 

 minutes to an hour, then withdrawn, and placed in alcohol, after 

 which they can be made transparent with essence of terebinth 

 and mounted in Canada balsam. Beautiful results are thus 

 obtained with echinoderms, zoophytes, worms and marine arthro- 

 poda. For delicate researches, especially in the ciliated infusoria, 

 it is better than osmic acid, without its great cost, and is every- 

 where easily obtained." — G. DU Plessis. 



Glycerine (see page 76). — Glycerine will be found useful for 

 rubbing on the eyes or noses of animals to keep them moist and 

 prevent their drying up when modelling, as well as for many 

 other purposes, which will readily occur to the practical worker. 



Corals, &c., may be cleaned by first soaking in warm water, 

 to remove surface dust, &c., then allowing the tap to run on 

 them for some hours, and afterwards soaking them in a weak 

 solution of chloride of lime for a short time, until fairly 

 bleached. 



Birds may be roughly preserved from immediate decay by 

 pouring down their throats, or into their bodies by an incision 

 imder the wing, crude creosote or carbolic acid. I remember 

 once having a collection of birds from India prepared in this 

 way, which after a lapse of years were successfully skinned and 

 made up — " as well as could be expected." 



Sometimes I have been written to by correspondents to say 

 that they had cured some mammals' skins by Formula No. 9, 



