THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
191 
A FEW HINTS UPON COLLECTING OBJECTS 
OF 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
BY Mk H. WHITELY, 
CURATOR OF THE MUSEUM, ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
[COMMUNICATED BY THE SECRETARY, R.A.I.] 
Doubtless there are many members of the Institution who would 
gladly contribute to the collection of Natural History, did they but know 
what to collect, and how to preserve the specimens when collected. The 
following brief remarks are published with the view of assisting the 
student, and to facilitate the classification. 
Commencing with mammals :—skulls of all the larger species would be of 
great interest, want of space making it undesirable that the skin of the whole 
animal should be sent, the smaller species—such as bats, rats, mice, moles, 
&c.,—may be either skinned or preserved entire in large bottles, or small 
wooden kegs ; any kind of spirits* will do to preserve them in, and if of 
ordinary strength may be diluted with one-fifth of water, unless it is 
necessary to crowd the specimens; wdien such is the case, the water must be 
omitted. 
It will add greatly to the perfect preservation of the specimens during 
transportation, if each one is wrapped up in cloth or paper. In packing, place 
all the larger specimens at the bottom, and if there are any very delicate 
ones, they must be separated by means of some immovable partition to 
prevent any damage being done to them in case the vessel should be inverted : 
great care must also be taken before the final closing of the vessel, that 
it is perfectly full. 
All specimens should have an incision made in the abdomen to admit 
the spirits; if several of a kind are preserved, the intestines of some may 
be entirely removed to insure their perfect preservation. 
The best plan of capturing the smaller animals, such as rats, mice, &c. is 
by means of the common rat and mouse traps, those caught alive in traps 
* It ia advisable to add a little tartar emetic, as cases Rave arrived at the Institution, from 
which the spirits had been abstracted, and consequently the specimens were completely destroyed, 
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