64 
THE NATURALIST’S GUIDE. 
large fishes should also be injected with alcohol before put- 
ing them in it. 
There is, however, another method by which fishes may be 
preserved ; that is, by skinning and stuffing. Thus : Open 
the fish on the under side from the throat nearly to the end 
of the body, or within a short distance of the root of the tail ; 
then skin down each way, taking care not to scrape off any 
of the pigment that covers the inside of the skin and gives 
the fish its color ; cut off the fins close to the skin on the 
inside, also the head at the gills ; clean out the brains by 
enlarging the hole in the occiput, where the spinal cord 
enters the skull; remove the eye from the outside, dust 
arsenic into the orifice left, and fill it with cotton ; cover 
the inside of the skin with arsenic ; fill it to the natural 
size with cotton, and sew it up ; place a wire transversely 
through the fins to keep them in position. 
Another method is to remove the skin from one side, 
and to clean the flesh out in this way ; the fish is then 
stuffed and placed upon its side, so that the opening will 
not show. This method will answer very well for flat 
fishes, but large ones must always be stuffed in the man- 
ner first described. 
Section II. Reptiles. — Many a harmless snake or toad 
has been sacrificed to ignorance and superstition. Indeed, 
so strong is the general prejudice against the most com- 
mon snakes, — which are as incapable of inflicting an injury 
as a mouse, — that but few persons will hesitate to kill the 
supposed venomous reptile at sight, if indeed they have 
the courage to remain long enough in its vicinity to do so 
valiant a deed. Such persons really believe that they are 
removing a dangerous adversary of man from the face of 
the earth. I would, however, advise them to glance for a 
single instant at the history of these interesting — al- 
though, I will allow, somewhat disgusting-looking — ani- 
mals before they again shed innocent blood. All the snakes 
