132 HOW TO OBTAIN SKELETONS. 



away every particle of the soft portions, leaving 

 only the skeleton, which will then look like a 

 singularly beautiful specimen of carved ivory. 

 Ants, by the way, are very useful insects to the 

 naturalist, and are capital skeleton developers. 

 Only they do not store up the food in their 

 subterranean mansions, as is popularly imagined ; 

 for as they feed on animal substances, and not 

 on corn, their stores would soon be exhaled in 

 the form of gas. There are always plenty of 

 ants' nests near the coast, and it would be useful 

 to look out for them as soon as possible, taking 

 care to choose those that are not exposed to the 

 public gaze, or near a public path. I would 

 recommend the use of a box, perforated with 

 many holes, as a convenient mode of keeping 

 the specimens from dust, and at the same time 

 of permitting free access to the ants. I had, 

 until lately, an exquisite skeleton of a lark that 

 had been prepared in a similar manner. 



The colour of the five-finger star is generally 

 a dusky red on the upper surface, the colouring 

 matter of which is sometimes irritating to those 

 wJio possess delicate skins. Sometimes, however, 

 specimens are found of a purple or violet hue 

 and are by some authors considered to be a 

 distinct species, although they are probably but 



