PREPARING SKELETONS. 79 



In making these, we are first to remove from the bones the 

 skin, muscles, tendons, and viscera, and, in short, everything ex- 

 cept the connecting ligaments'and cartilages, which ought to be 

 carefully preserved. This is done without any regular order of 

 dissection ; neither in this part of the process need any attention 

 be paid to making the bones clean. The brain may be removed 

 through an opening in the large fontanel, if the subject is very 

 young, if not, a perforation may be made with the trephine for 

 that purpose. Some separate the head from the spine, so that 

 the brain may be the more easily removed by the occipital hole. 

 The skeleton is put in water and allowed to remain for several 

 days, it is then taken out and more thoroughly cleaned by a knife, 

 forceps, and scissors, and replaced in fresh water. This is re- 

 peated from day to day, constantly changing the water, the ob- 

 ject being to preserve the ligaments fresh and transparent. It is 

 of great consequence to work hard by daily scraping and scrub- 

 bing until the bones arc deprived of their blood and oleaginous 

 matter and become white and clean, then remove them into clean 

 lime water, or solution of pearl-ash, for two or three days, 

 to take off any greasiness, and give a more beautiful white. 

 When they have lain long enough, wash them with clean water; 

 they are then placed in a position, by the assistance of a frame or 

 piece of wood and wire, exposing them to a current of air. When 

 perfectly dry, they may receive a coating of copal or mastic var- 

 nish. 



It must be kept in view, that if the preparation is allowed to 

 remain too long in the state of maceration, the ligaments them- 

 selves will be destroyed by putrefaction, and the intention of pro- 

 curing a natural skeleton defeated. 



An excellent and simple way of procuring natural skeletons of 

 Mice, small birds, and fish, is to put them into a box of the 

 proper size, in which holes are bored on all sides, and then buried 

 in an Ant hill. The Ants will enter numerously at these holes 

 and eat away all the fleshy parts, leaving only the bones and con- 

 necting ligaments; they may be afterwards macerated in clean 

 water for a day or two to extract the bloody color, and to cleanse 

 them from any dirt they may have acquired, then whitened by 

 lime and alum water, and dried in frame or otherwise, as may 

 be most convenient. In country situations Wasps may be cm- 



