270 NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY SPECIMENS 
NOTES ON THE COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION 
OE NATURAL HISTORY SPECIMENS 
By the Curator 
Mammals . — Should be skinned and the skull removed from 
the body ; skull may be either left in the open for ants to clean, 
or dropped into sawdust, which will dry it (it can be cleaned 
later at the Museum). Skins without skulls are of little 
value. Borax, alum, or arsenical soap may be rubbed on the 
skin, and camphor or naphtha kept with it to prevent inroads 
of moths or mites. Place box where ants cannot get at it. 
Birds . — The body should be removed, the neck turned 
inside out ; when the skull is reached the back of same should 
be cut off so as to expose the brain, which must be scooped 
out. After skinning up and removing the eyes with great 
care, the cavities should each be filled with cotton wool, head 
reversed, and then the body filled with wool ; a paper collar 
can be placed around the wings, rendering sewing up unneces- 
sary, as the skin will dry. Best to skin from under right wing, 
but the incision may be made down the breast, and is easier. 
Reptiles . — In killing these it is important not to damage 
the head ; one blow on the back will kill the average snake. 
Both snakes and lizards readily succumb to chloroform. 
Lizards should not be caught by the tail, as they readily part 
with that appendage. The specimen, if over six inches in 
length, should have several small cuts in the under surface 
to allow the formalin to permeate the viscera. In snakes over 
a foot long it is well to remove the internal organs through 
these cuts. Small reptiles are wanted more than large ones, 
as the latter are well known ; small burrowing snakes may 
prove to be new species. 
Shells .- — Should be dropped into boiling water to kill the 
mollusc, which can then be removed with a pin ; the empty 
shells can be packed in cotton wool. 
