tA'TURAL HISTORY. 93 
should then be treated as above described, and all packed together ill a 
canvas bag. 
In the cetacea (porpoises, &c.), look for two small bones suspended in 
the flesh, just below the vertebral column, at the junction of the lumbar 
and caudal regions (marked externally by the anal aperture). They 
are the only rudiments of the pelvis, and should always be preserved with 
the skeleton. 
If there is no opportunity of preserving and transporting entire 
skeletons, the skulls alone may be kept. They should be treated as 
above described, picked nearly clean, the brain being scooped out through 
the foramen magnum , soaked for a few days in water, and dried. 
Every specimen should be carefully labelled with the scientific and 
popular name of the animal, if known, and at all events, with the sex, the 
exact locality at which it was procured, and the date. 
For the purpose of making entire skeletons, select, if possible, adult 
animals; but the skulls of animals of all ages may be advantageously 
collected. 
Collectors of skins should always leave the skull intact. The common 
practice of destroying its hinder part for the purpose of getting out the 
brain is unnecessary, and greatly diminishes the value of the specimens. 
Reptiles and Fishes .—The following ‘ hints , have been communicated 
by Mr. Osbert Salvin, E.E.S., who collected these animals most successfully 
in Guatemala:— 
Almost any spirit will answer for this purpose, its fitness consisting in 
the amount of alcohol contained in it. In all cases it is best to procure 
the strongest possible, being less bulky, and water can always be obtained 
to reduce the strength to the requisite amount. When the spirit sold 
retail by the natives is not sufficiently strong, by visiting the distillery 
the traveller can often obtain the first runnings (the strongest) of the 
still, which will be stronger than he requires undiluted. The spirit used 
should be reduced to about proof, and the traveller should always be 
provided with an alcoholometer. If this is not at hand, a little practice 
will enable him to ascertain the strength of the spirit from the rapidity 
with which the bubbles break when rising to the surface of a small 
quantity shaken in a bottle. When the spirit has been used this test is 
of no value. When reptiles or fish are first immersed, it will be found 
that the spirit becomes rapidly weaker. Large specimens absorb the 
