1837.] 



and Preserving Animals. 



189 



but never with paint or patty ; or the loose teeth may be tied up in a 

 piece of linen, and securely attached to the skull. 



Delicate specimens of skulls, or sets of bones, should be inclosed 

 in small separate boxes, to prevent their being crushed by larger speci- 

 mens, and many may then be packed in one large case. 



All the parts of one Quadruped should be kept together, and separate 

 from those of another. 



Of Birds.— Some birds are too large to be preserved entire ; there- 

 fore it becomes necessary to observe and describe or delineate their ex- 

 ternal appearances before the parts are separated. 



Birds have few internal parts which are necessary to be preserved* 

 The heart and kidneys are nearly the same, I believe, in all birds. 



The liver, stomach, intestines, ovary, oviduct, &c, may all be taken 

 out as low as the anus, and preserved in spirit. 



The bills and tracheae, with the lower larynx, should be preserved in 

 spirit by themselves ; and when many specimens of a rare or curious 

 bird are procured, the heads of a few of them should be taken off and 

 preserved in spirit. 



The legs and feet should be preserved, but they may be dried. 



Of Reptiles. — When Alligators, Crocodiles, Turtles, or Tortoises are 

 too large to be preserved whole, some parts, as the head, the whole 

 viscera stripped down from the neck to the anus, and also the anus, 

 should be put into spirit. The bones of such specimens are especially 

 desirable. The eggs at different stages of development should be pre- 

 served in spirit, as also the young animals. 



Lizards are to be preserved whole. 



Snakes may be preserved whole, or in part, especially the heads, both 

 of the poisonous and innocuous species, for the examination of their 

 teeth and fangs. 



Of Fishes.— In a fish the external appearances should be attended 

 to, its length, depth and thickness, the number of fins, their shape, 

 where placed, the number of hard and soft rays supporting the fins, &c. 



In very large specimens of the Shark or Ray kind, &c, the abdomen 

 should be first opened, then the head taken off by dividing the fish be- 

 low the heart, across the upper part of the liver, by which means the 

 mouths of the oviducts, if it be a female, the heart, and head are all 

 preserved together. 



The tail, if a thick one, as that of a Shark, may be taken off a little 

 below the anus, and the trunk alone preserved for examination. If the 

 trunk be too large, it should be cut through above the pelvis, and the 



