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The pocket notebook may be used either as an outline for entries in a 
larger field journal or as the finished record. Even in the former case it should 
always be kept as a cheek on errors in recopying. If a longer journal is used, 
it may also include pages for use as a catalogue of collections and a record of 
measurements of specimens. Maps and itineraries of collecting localities 
should always be kept. All collecting localities should be marked on the 
maps. Photographs of collecting areas and specimens in the field are 
invaluable. 
PRESERVING 
Herptiles are usually brought back alive to the laboratory or home, and 
preserved there. To obtain the best results the following steps should be 
taken: 
1. Colour notes and photographs. 
2. Killing. 
3. Measuring. 
4. Labelling and cataloguing. 
5. Preservation: 
Adults in 10 per cent formalin, injected, fixed, checked, and stored. 
These headings are discussed in detail below: 
Colour Notes and Photographs 
In amphibians, some colour change often occurs at death. All reptiles 
and amphibians preserved in formalin and alcohol lose colour over a period 
of time. If possible, therefore, detailed colour notes should be taken before a 
specimen is killed. Colour photographs of living specimens should also be 
taken when practicable. 
Killing 
It is important to kill specimens so that, relaxed after death, they 
may be easily measured and arranged uncontorted in preservative. Direct 
immersion in formalin or strong alcohol results in stiff contorted specimens 
since they die in severe pain. 
Ether is excellent for killing specimens if used carefully. A small amount 
is poured in with specimens confined in a glass jar which has a tight lid. Care 
must be taken not to use too much or specimens will stiffen. Fifteen to thirty 
minutes will kill most specimens. If too little is used, or if specimens are left 
in the jar an insufficient length of time, they will revive. 
Chloroform is effective for killing small and medium-sized turtles and 
may be used in the manner described above. It will kill other herptiles, but 
they almost always die stiff and contorted. 
Warm water (110°-120° F) will kill both reptiles and amphibians. They 
may be enclosed in a cloth bag and immersed in the water. They must be 
removed immediately after death, or they will become rigid in the position in 
which they died. 
‘Nembutal,’ the commercial name for Pentobarbital Sodium, can be 
used to kill reptiles by injecting a dilute solution into or near the heart. The 
aqueous veterinarian Nembutal should be used, not the syrupy elixir. The 
commercial Nembutal should be diluted with nine parts of water for each 
