H THE TAXIDERMIST'S GUIDE. 



the specimen. The Butterfly, Sphinx, and Moth tribes are ex- 

 tremely liable to the attack of mites, and should, therefore be 

 frequently examined. 



CHAP. VL 



SHELL FISH, TO PRESERVE — AND THE ART OF POLISHING 

 SHELLS. 



Cuttle Fish, and all other Mulluscous animals, can only be 

 preserved in spirits. The same observation applies to the ani- 

 mals which inhabit that numerous tribe called Testaceous Shells. 

 They must be detached from the shells, and put into spirits, 

 while the shells themselves must be preserved, independent of 

 the animal. « . 



Shells naturally arrange themselves under three distinct heads; 

 Marine, Land, and Fluviatile, or Fresh Water. 



Marine Shells are only to be expected perfect, when procured 

 in a living state. The way to extract the animal, is to pour some 

 warm water on it ; but, if made too hot, it is liable to crack the 

 shells. When the animals are dead, they can easily be pulled 

 out with any hooked instrument, or fork, or if the animal is small, 

 by a common pin. This applies to all Marine Shells, whether 

 Univalve, Bivalve, or Tubular. It is of great consequence to 

 preserve the ligament of Bivalve shells entire, so that the valves 

 may not be separated. The animals of Land and Fresh Water 

 shells are killed by the same means, only that the water requires 

 to be very hot. 



Unless the shells are covered with any extraneous matter, it is 

 not necessary to clean them. Marine Shells are, however, very 

 liable to be incrusted with other marine bodies, particularly with 

 Serpula and Balani, &c. These must be started off by means of 

 a sharp instrument : an engraving tool is well adapted for this 

 purpose. This must be done with great caution, in species which 

 have spines and other excrescences, as they are very liable to be 

 broken. Should any of the calcareous matter still adhere, this 

 must be removed, by applying to it a wry tc$a7c mixture of 



