176 
FOURTEENTH REPORT. 
Preservation of Skeletons. 
If the collector is attempting to make an exhaustive collection of 
the reptiles and amphibians of a region, at least one or two specimens 
of each kind should be put up for skeletons. It is necessary, above 
all. that the species of each skeleton be known, and, as this is often 
unknown to the collector, the safest procedure is to preserve enough 
of .the body so that the species can be identified. The most satisfactory 
way to do this is to remove the internal abdominal organs (except in 
the small amphibians and smallest lizards, which only need to be slit 
open along the abdomen) and preserve the specimen in 75% alcohol. 
The larger amphibians, all but the smallest lizards, and small croco- 
dilians may be disemboweled through a longitudinal median ventral slit 
in the abdomen, and the turtles by removing the plastron, and the largest 
species should also have the fleshy parts of the limbs, and in the case 
of lizards, crocodiles and turtles the tail, opened by several long deep 
slits which will permit the preservative to penetrate freely. Care must 
be taken that the sternum and abdominal bones when present are not 
injured by the opening cut. Snakes may be opened on the median 
ventral line from the throat to within an inch or two of the anus and 
all of the internal organs removed. 
When the species is known, the skeletons of large lizards and turtles 
may be roughed out and dried and large crocodile skeletons must al- 
ways be put up in this way. In the preparation of a skeleton of this 
kind the skin is first removed, then the internal organs are taken out, 
and finally as much of the flesh is removed as possible, and the rough 
skeleton folded up, tied firmly together and hung in the shade to dry. 
We have generally found it best to poison these dry skeletons, which 
mav be done bv soaking them for one or two hours in a solution made 
by dissolving powdered arsenic in hot water. The solution is to be 
used after it has become cold. Skeletons prepared in either of the 
above ways will keep indefinitely, and can be readily cleaned and 
mounted at any time. 
As in the case of all other specimens a number (preferably of metal) 
should be attached to the skeleton, and the data recorded in the note- 
book. 
SHIPPING. 
To ship, remove the larger specimens preserved in formalin or alcohol 
from the pans or other containers, wrap in cheesecloth wet in the pre- 
servative, pack in tight tin cans and ship by express. The small speci- 
mens should not be packed with the large ones nor too many large ones 
packed in the same container, and lizards should be packed so that the 
tails will not be broken. Small delicate specimens should be shipped 
in bottles and immersed in formalin. The dry skins and skeletons 
should be packed carefully in dry cotton, tow or excelsior. 
When facilities for preserving the specimens are not at hand they may 
be shipped alive, if they are not to be over a week on the road. Tie the 
snakes in roomy cotton bags into which a small square of bolting cloth 
has been sewed and place in a wooden box. No packing is neces- 
sary unless the box is much too large, in which case some excelsior 
may be thrown in with the bags. The amphibians may be placed in a tin 
box with wet moss, and it is necessary to have a number of holes punched 
