BRIEF DIRECTIONS FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF SMALL MAM- 
MALS AND THE PREPARATION OF MUSEUM SKINS. 
By Dr. C. Hart Merriam. 
DIRECTIONS FOR MEASUREMENT. 
The tools necessary for measuriug mammals are a pair of compasses 
or dividers, a steel rule graduated iu millimeters, and two large i^ins. 
Dividers with round points are better than those with triangular points. 
All measurements should give the distance in a straight line between 
the points indicated. They should be taken by means of dividers, or 
by driving pins into a board to mark the points between which the 
measurement is desired. They should never be made with a tape-line 
over the convexities or inequalities of the surface. 
The three most imi^ortant measurements, and those which should 
always be taken in the flesh, are: (1) total length; (2) length of tail ; 
(3) length of hind foot. 
(1) The TOTAL LENGTH is the distance between the tip of the nose and 
the end of the tail vertebrae. It is taken by laying the animal on a 
board, with its nose against a pin or upright post, and by straighten- 
ing the back and tail by extending the hind legs with one hand while 
holding the head with the other ; a pin is then driven into the board at 
the end of the vertebrae. (See Fig. 2.) 
(2) The LENGTH OF TAIL is the length of the caudal vertebrae. It is 
taken by erecting the tail at right angle to the back, and placing one 
point of the dividers on the backbone at the very root of the tail, the 
other at the tip end of the vertebrae. (See Fig. 3.) 
(3) The HIND FOOT is measured by placing one point of the dividers 
against the end of the heel (calcaneiim), the other at the tip of the 
longest claw, the foot being flattened for this purpose. (See Fig. 4.) 
DIRECTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF SKINS. 
SMn all mammals as soon as possible after death. 
Lay the animal on its back, and make an incision along the middle 
of the belly from just behind the fore legs nearly to the vent. Be care- 
ful not to stretch the skin while removing it, and exercise great cau- 
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