172 
Be careful not to lose the clavicle (collar bone). In the cat family 
the collar bone is very small and lies loose in the flesh between the scapula 
(shoulder blade) and the front end of the sternum (breast bone). The 
collar bone of a weasel is very minute and difficult to find, whereas that 
of climbing and burrowing animals is usually well developed, uniting the 
shoulder blade with the breast bone. Deer, antelope, bears, and seals 
have no collar bone. If the legs are detached, leave the collar bone 
attached to the shoulder blade. 
Next, disjoint and clean the skull, being careful not to break any of 
the neck vertebrae in the operation. In removing the eyes be careful not 
to break the slender zygomatic process (cheek bone) just below the eye 
and do not punch a hole through the thin bony plates back of the eyeballs. 
Figure 51. Ligamentary skeleton of small mammal cleaned and dried for packing. 
Also, be careful not to break any of the thin bones on the base of the skull 
back of the upper teeth, particularly in deer and other ruminants, and 
be careful not to cut or scrape off any bony projections. 
Remove as much of the brain as possible with a scraper, bent w T ire, or 
small stick. A green switch with the end pounded into a fuzzy brush is 
useful and loose brains may be washed out with a syringe or by pouring 
water through the foramen magnum and shaking the skull vigorously. 
When cleaning the ribs, take care not to cut the cartilages joining 
them to the breast bone, and when the tail is reached, look out for a few 
little bones projecting downwards from the first few vertebrae. 
Fold the legs snugly along the body, or, if they have been detached, 
thrust them, with the skull, as far as possible into the chest cavity, bend 
the tail back upon itself, and tie the whole into a compact bunch with 
strong thread or twine wrapping (Figure 51). Any detached bones, or 
splinters of broken bones, should be rolled up in a rag and tied firmly to 
any of the leg bones. 
Hang the skeleton to dry in the shade, or if necessary in the sun or by 
a fire, and away from dogs, cats, and rats. If the parcel is to be some 
time on the road, give it a very thin coat of arsenical soap to repel insects, 
or, better still, soak the skeleton for an hour or so in the sodium arsenite 
solution (See page 75) ; all rough skeletons in collections should be thus 
