652 MANUAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



Rays. —These should be opened on the ventral sur- 

 face by a semilunar incision; in small specimens 

 little more can or need be done than to remove the 

 viscera, and detach the skin, by the handle of the 

 scalpel, from the more muscular parts, to enable the 

 operator to apply preservative and insert stuffing. 

 More will be required in large specimens, but the 

 skinning cannot be carried to the edge of the fins. 



Flat-fish should be preserved entire, the opening 

 being made on the ventral edge and carried along 

 the fin on the colourless side. 



Eels may be skinned in the same manner as 

 snakes, an opening being made in the skin for a 

 short distance along the neck, when the head may 

 be separated and the body removed. The skin may 

 be filled with sand to distend it, which will facili- 

 tate the operation of moulding to the proper form, 

 and, when dry, the sand may be allowed to fall out. 



Trunk-fishes. — These being enveloped in a hard 

 and solid covering, a different process is necessary. 

 A portion of the external coat, of an oval form, 

 must be cut out from the belly, by which means the 

 viscera, &c, can be removed ; the vertebrae and 

 muscle from the tail may generally also be taken 

 away by the same opening, but if not, an incision 

 should be made along the skin of the tail to effect 

 it, in order that stuffing may be introduced, and 

 thus prevent the shrinking of that part. It will 

 not be necessary to do more than apply preservative 

 to the inside of these fish, as they will retain their 

 proper form when dry. 



