250 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
or profit tliey were called into existence. We cannot know 
too much of the works of Nature; we worship God in his 
works, and every new design and adaptation in these fault¬ 
less creations which we notice and examine, elevates our 
minds and exalts our ideas. It is, therefore, with the desire 
of interesting the public mind in the development of our 
natural productions, and of creating a taste for the beauties 
and wonders of nature, in this highly interesting portion of 
the Globe, that I have been induced to prepare the subjoined 
memoranda, pointing out in a simple and practical manner, 
the easiest methods of collecting and preserving such ob¬ 
jects as may be met with by those Colonists who have 
leisure and who possess innumerable opportunities of im¬ 
proving then 1 own minds, and aiding the advancement of 
science. 
In conclusion, I would add, that my earnest desire is to 
see extended the vast field of the Sciences so rich on this 
Continent, which would render the formation of a good 
Museum so easy, as to tend to onnoble and expand the ideas 
of our colonial youth. 
On Skinning and Preserving Quadrupeds. 
After a quadruped is killed, the first thing necessary to be 
done is to introduce some cotton or old rags into the mouth 
and nostrils, which will prevent the blood or liquid matter 
from flowing out and smearing the skin. This done, place 
the animal on its back, on a table, divide the hair right and 
left down the centre of the belly, and make an incision with 
a sharp knife, from the upper part of the breast-bone to the 
vent; in larger animals, to the tip of the tail. Then, with 
the knife you detach the skin from the body, removing it 
gently on both sides; if fat, use some dry sand with a little 
lime or powdered chalk—sawdust or bran may be employed 
as substitutes. When you have skinned well down on both 
sides, separate from the body the fore and hind legs; the 
fore legs to be divided at the scapular or blade-bone, cutting 
carefully through the fleshy parts until you come to the 
skin, the hindlegs are divided from the hip-joints in the 
same manner. When thus separated, you remove the body 
or trunk, which is done by dividing the tail at its junction 
with the back-bone. Suspend the body by hanging it up 
with a cord ; skin downwards towards the head, which is then 
separated from the neck. The body thus removed, proceed 
to take out the skull, taking care not to cut the eyelids till 
you come to the nose, when the skull will be detached. 
The skull may then be put into a pot of water and boiled; 
when well boiled, all the fleshy parts may be cleaned off, 
and the brains taken out. Return to the legs, and skin 
them down to the toes, if possible—take all the flesh from 
the bones, and make the skin inside as free from fat and 
flesh as you can. Then anoint the skin inside with arsenical 
soap, or some other preserving unguent. After the skull is 
anointed, fill out the eye-orbits with cotton, and the lower 
portions with tow or oakum—unraveled rope is a very good 
thing; pack the leg-bones with tow or oakum, as near to the 
natural form as you are able; return them to their places, 
fill out your skin with oakum, and draw it together with a 
few stitches. If you cannot, in skinning the legs down, get 
the skin to draw over the toes, make an incision in the 
under part of the foot, skin round the toes, and anoint them. 
The last thing to be done is to anoint the ears externally; 
having previously removed the skin from the grisly sub¬ 
stance internally as far as possible. 
Skeletons of Quadrupeds and Wet Preparations. 
In preparing subjects for natural and artificial skeletons, 
what is necessary to be done is to remove the skin, which, if 
done carefully, and well preserved, may be set up irrespective 
of the skeleton. Take out the bowels, and clean away as 
much of the fleshy parts as you can, without separating the 
bones; macerate the body in freshwater for two or three 
days, until deprived of blood ; hang it up in a draft of air, 
anoint it all over with a weak solution of arsenical soap ; it 
may then be packed in a box or cask. Skulls of all animals 
are valuable, they should be collected whenever opportunity 
occurs; place the head in ajar of water until the soft parts 
became detached by maceration and putrefaction; wash 
them clean, and dry them in the sun. The teeth and jaws 
should be preserved when no means are available for 
preserving other parts. Animals preserved in the wet state, 
December 20. 
for anatomical or other purposes, are best preserved in 
spirits, more especially our smaller Australian quadrupeds, 
some of the spirit should be injected into the abdomen and 
chest; it is also a very good plan to inject spirits into the 
mouth and anus. Attach a label with name, locality, &c.; 
the best label for wet preparations is a piece of parchment 
written on one side with pencil and on the other with ink; 
the writing will not be effaced by immersion in spirits.. 
Cetaceous Animals,—Whales, Porpoises, and Dugongs. 
It not unfrequently happens that after storms, the carcases 
of these animals are thrown upon the coast. In such cases 
it is necessary to cut off the fins or fore-paws at the joints, 
also the flukes or tails, leaving in the small bones and the 
dorsal fin, together with these may be dried in a draft of air 
and sun ; the pelvic bones, which consist of four or more of 
small size, are suspended in the flesh of the belly immedi¬ 
ately above the anus; tlieso bones are important, and must 
be cut out and preserved- The carcase may then be drawn 
above higli-watermark, and a hole dug in the sand, whore it 
may be buried, marking the spot by stakes or otherwise. 
The body may thus remain for months without proving 
offensive, and the decomposition of the flesh will leave the 
bones free and fit for transmission when dug up. The 
| smaller cetaceous animals, such as porpoises, dugongs, &c., 
| if too large to be packed entire, may be divested of flesh, 
] and the skeleton may be divided into two or three portions, 
i by separating the vertebra), leaving the ribs and breast-bone 
j connected; hang it up to dry in a draft of air. The head 
may also be separated, taking care of the teeth. In all 
i cases where it is possible, a rough sketch on paper of the 
external form of the animal when first seen, with its 
measurement, &c., should be made, and its body carefully 
examined for parasites, which are sometimes numerous on 
these animals, and of considerable importance to naturalists. 
As it is very desirable that the important collections of 
I cetacea already in the Australian Museum should be made 
as complete as possible, the officers of whaling vessels, and 
persons residing on the sea-coast, are earnestly requested to 
communicate to the Curator of the Museum, should it be 
known to them that any such animals are washed ashore. 
Loose bones even are valuable, particularly skulls. 
C To be continued .) 
RESULTS OF THE BIRMINGHAM EXHIBITION. 
The receipts for admission at the doors on £ s. d. 
Tuesday.291 5 0 
Wednesday. 400 8 0 
Thursday. 049 15 0 
Friday . . '. . . . . 268 11 0 
Total..£1072 19 0 
The number visiting Bingley Hall would amount to about 
42,000 exclusive of the subscribers ; and also 903 children 
from Saint Martin’s Ragged Schools; also all the Blue 
Coat Schools; the Saint Philip’s School; the Free Industrial 
School; the Graham Street School; and all the inmates of 
the Deaf and Dumb Institution; which parties were each 
and every one gratuitously admitted. 
The Poultry Sales, of all kinds, reached £1247 19s. 4d., 
against a return, from the same sources, in 1803, of 
£1081, having on the £ s. d. 
Tuesday, amounted to . , 839 19 4 
Wednesday „ .... 254 7 0 
Thursday „ . . . . 25 15 0 
Friday ..127 17 0 
Total 
. £1247 10 4 
The apparent deficiency (at the first sight,) is very easily 
accounted for (from the sales of last year), the “ single 
cock class ” offering opportunities to purchasers of buying 
this year a coveted bird alone, for “ crossing the blood;” 
whilst, in 1853, “no pen was allowed to be divided;" con¬ 
sequently, four specimens must then be purchased to secure 
I 
