Taxidermy. 



341 



REPTILES. 



The generality of reptiles, as snakes, lizards, frogs, <fcc, are best 

 preserved in spirits. Large lizards, however, may be skinned and 

 stuffed ; sawdust or dry sand being the best material, for filling with, 

 a3 it can be forced into all the recesses, by means of a stick and pre- 

 vent shrivelling of the skin — when dry the stuffing can be shaken 

 out if thought desirable. The various kinds of fresh water turtles 

 of this country are easily preserved. The breast-plate should be 

 more or less completely removed, by making an incision along the 

 lines of junction with the sides and neck, and when the room is 

 obtained for getting at the inside, all the interior can be removed, as 

 well as the neck and soft parts of the head. After anointing with 

 arsenical soa,p and filling up with any suitable materials, the breast- 

 plate is to be replaced and fixed with pins, and the legs arranged in 

 their natural position on a board until dry. 



FISHES. 



Small fishes, like small reptiles, are best preserved in spirits. 

 However, the skins of fishes may easily be prepared in one or other 

 of two ways. The first, and simpler, is to retain one half of the 

 skin only, including the central fins, and removing all the soft parts. 

 The skin having been cleaned by washing and allowed partially 

 to dry, the arsenical soap should be applied to the inside, and 

 wool, or cotton, or tow employed to distend the one-sided skin to 

 its natural dimensions. It is then to be turned over on a board, 

 when, with the aid of pins and bands of paper, the fins can be dis- 

 played in a natural position, and the correct outline of the fish re- 

 tained. By the other process both sides of the skin are preserved. 

 An incision is made with the scissors along the centre of one side, 

 reaching from the top of the gill to the base of the tail fin. This 

 will give plenty of room for extracting the whole of the interior, 

 detaching the skin, snipping through the base of the fins from with- 

 in, removing the brain, eyes, and soft parts of the head wherever 

 they can be reached. After washing, and anointing 'with arsenical 

 soap, filling up the hollows with cotton wool, the opening should be 

 sewn up. The loose bag then presented by the skin should be filled 



