THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



179 



through the neck, so the neck has to 



be cut off, and the head skinned separ- 

 ately, through a slit made behind the 



head, which must be nicely sewn up 

 after the operation. 



For white bellied birds Mr, Browne 

 recommends skinning down the back, 

 but we think one uniform way of skin- 

 ning will be found the best, and by 

 practice and perseverance — two inchs- 

 pensible requisites — it is possible to 

 skin any bird by the above method, 

 and sew it up again, so that it is im- 

 possible to tell where the joining is. 

 (To be continued. ) 



NOTES, CAPTURES, &c. 



Summer Migrants. — To-day (Mar. 28th,) 

 I have heard the Chiffchaff. I never heard it 

 before the 31st in previous years. I also 

 heard the Tree Pipit at the same time. — S. L. 

 M., Huddersfield. 



EXCHANGE. 



Duplicates : — Ova of Zonaria. 

 Desiderata: — Ova of other Macros. — J. 

 W. Ellis, 34, Paddi»gton, Liverpool. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



P. T. D., Edgbaston. — We return your insects 

 named, and have put in one or two others 

 also named. Before you think of exchanging 

 you should obtain proper entomological 

 pins, a sample card of which can be had 

 from D. F. Taylor & Co., New Hall Works, 

 Birmingham. 



C. S. G.— Next Week. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



Dear Sir,— I have lately received many 

 articles from different friends, and amongst 



them were many of the following, which have 

 been found in the bellies of codfish, I wanted 

 to preserve them, either in a dried state, or a 

 preserving solution, as: — small crabs, lob- 

 sters, soles, whiting, place, sea-mice, sea- 

 urchins, starfish, and any other small fish, as 

 shrimps, spawns, sea-lice, &c. Is it possible 

 without skinning the above to preserve them 

 by dipping them into a solution, and so pre- 

 serving them, or must they be kept in the 

 solution. Also sea-cucumbers, Crustacea, &c. 

 And is it possible to dry or preserve in 

 alcohol (or anything else) sea-anemones, or 

 do they only keep their beauty in the sea, and 

 when alive. Having read this week's Natural- 

 ist, and see you mention Thomas Edward, the 

 Scotch naturalist, a book which I some time 

 ago read, it puzzled me how he would stuff 

 and preserve his specimens when he had no 

 books, never learnt or seen any stuffed. Will 

 you please kindly tell me how he did it, and 

 how I can preserve such things. — Believe me, 

 yours sincerely, O. Weiss. 



Edgbaston, March 22nd. 

 [Will some of our readers give the methods 



they employ ? — Eds.] 



Fig. 47. 



OTIORHYNCHUS SULCATUS. 



Specimens of this Beetle has been sent to us 

 from the vineries at Fixby Hall, near Hud- 

 dersfield, where the gardeners say they are 

 attacking the vines, by nibbling the young 

 shoots, and thus endangering the crop. From 

 Miss Ormerod's report, which we have just 

 received, and which we refer to on another 

 page, it appears that this Beetle has been very 

 numerous during the past two years. In one 

 garden in Cornwall, consisting of over two 



