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round a small circle or ellipse, and thus cutting out a piece. The 
larger kinds should be well washed inside, and all allowed to dry- 
before packing away. If the egg be too small for the name, a num- 
ber should be marked with ink corresponding to a memorandum list. 
Little precaution is required in packing, beyond arranging in layers 
with cotton and having the box entirely filled. 
The eggs of reptiles, provided with a calcareous shell, can be pre- 
pared in a similar way. 
The eggs of fishes, salamanders, and frogs may be preserved in 
spirits, and kept in small vials or bottles. A label should never be 
omitted. 
§ VI. SKELETONIZING. 
Skulls of quadrupeds may be prepared by boiling in water for a 
few hours. A little potash, or ley, added, will facilitate the removal 
of the flesh. 
Skeletons may be roughly prepared by skinning the animal and 
removing all the viscera, together with as much of the flesh as pos- 
sible. The bones should then be exposed to the sun or air until 
completely dried. Previously, however, the brain of large animals 
should be removed by separating the skull from the spine, and ex- 
tracting the contents through the large hole in the back of the head. 
In case it becomes necessary to disjoint a skeleton, care should be 
taken to attach a common mark to all the pieces, especially when 
more than one individual is packed in the same box. 
Skulls and skeletons may frequently be picked up, already cleaned 
by other animals or exposure to weather. By placing small animals 
near an ant's nest, or in water occupied by tadpoles, or small Crustacea, 
very beautiful skeletons may often be obtained. The sea beach some- 
times affords rich treasures in the remains of porpoises, sharks, whales, 
large fishes, and other aquatic species. 
§ VII. PLANTS. 
The collector of plants requires but little apparatus ; a few quires 
or reams of unsized paper, of folio size, will furnish all that will be 
required. The specimens, as gathered, may be placed in a tin box, 
or, still better, in a portfolio of paper, until reaching home. Here 
they are to be spread out carefully between sheets of the paper, and 
