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Ossicles thus secured, as well as any obtained by shaking the skull carefully 
while cleaning it, may best be kept in small glass phials, with a numbered 
slip corresponding to the catalogue number of the skull and with a tuft 
of cotton wool to prevent movement. 
If the bones are in good condition and strong enough to be handled 
freely, they should be thoroughly cleaned with a fairly stiff brush. Broken 
pieces, especially of the long bones, will frequently be found to contain 
large quantities of sand which must be worked out by gentle shaking and 
tapping. Bones which are in a fragile condition should be cleaned as much 
as appears safe and then soaked in a thin celluloid solution, dried, and 
soaked again. If they are excessively fragile, it may be necessary to wrap 
them in cheesecloth or bind them w r ith white cotton tape before immersing 
them. This binding will also be of help in removing the specimens from the 
bath. The wrappings should not be removed until the bones are soaking 
in the second bath, when they should be strong enough to permit handling. 
If there is any doubt as to the possibility of lifting the specimen out of the 
bath without injuring it, it is best to pour off the liquid and let the bone 
dry in place. If it adheres to the bottom of the tank, it may be freed with 
a few drops of acetone at the point of contact. 
Teeth which are loose should be held in place with a small pellet of 
plasticine forced into the socket. This will hold the tooth effectively and 
yet permit its removal for examination at any time, which would be im- 
possible if the old method of gluing the teeth into place were followed. 
Care should be taken not to remove any deposits of calculus or tartar 
from the teeth. If there is calculus present and it shows signs of scaling off, 
or if the enamel chips readily, the teeth should be painted with a thin 
celluloid solution. 
Repairs to human bones are seldom advisable. The cement always 
takes up a certain amount of space, even though small, and measurements 
of the bones will be inaccurate to this extent. In the case of fractured 
skulls, the danger is even greater, as distortion is almost inevitable. 
It sometimes happens that efflorescences of salt will appear on bones 
that have been buried in saline soils. These must be soaked in repeated 
baths of fresh water, preferably distilled for the more valuable specimens, 
until the wash water shows no sign of salt on testing. The water may be 
tested for salt by the following method: take a small quantity of the 
water in a test tube and add a drop of silver nitrate solution. If there is 
any salt in the water, a cloudiness will appear; or, if there is much salt, a 
heavy flocculent mass. If after repeated washing the silver nitrate test 
still causes cloudiness, it may be due to the presence of organic salts, in 
which case a drop or two of nitric acid should be added to the water before 
introducing the silver nitrate. Should no precipitate now appear the 
washing may be considered satisfactory. Bones from marine shell-mounds 
frequently need such treatment. 
Bone Artifacts . These are usually in good condition when received, 
but are subject to cracking and splitting if allowed to become too dry or if 
they are exposed to strong light for a long period of time. In many cases 
they will stand washing with soap and water, preferably warm, followed by 
very thorough rinsing and drying. If they are too fragile for this treat- 
ment they may be strengthened with celluloid as described under the 
