PRESERVATION OF OBJECTS OF NATURAL HISTORY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3261, 30 December 1867, Page 4

PRESERVATION OF OBJECTS OF NATURAL HISTORY.

BY \V. B. IaaETMEIBK,

Having discussed at length the belt modes of preserving fishes and birds, mnd the preparation of the entire or partial skeleton of vertebrate animals, I will now passon to the preparation of the Bkinu of mammals or quadrupeds. In making collections of natural history, especially in countries but little explored, the great general principle should be to gather all the species which, present themselves, subject to the convenience and practicability of transportation. The first specimen of any animal that is a desideratum should be preserved, however imperfect, at least until a better can be obtained. This . rule should never be departed from, as with rare animals it not unfrequently happens that only a single specimen can be obtained. Where only a portion of the specimens collected can be transported, such species should be selected as are least likely to be procured in other localities or on other occasions. In gathering specimens of any kind it is most important to fix "with the greatest precision the localities in which they are found, the date, sex, Ate. These particulars should be written on a label and firmly tied to each specimen. Smaller quadrupeds may be preserved in spirits, having first made an opening into the chest and a second into the belly, to allow the spirits to gain access to those cavities. This mode of preservation should, if possible, always be followed in the case of any rare animal of uncommon structure, as it permits the subsequent dissection and examination of the animal by comparative anatomists. I The general mode of preparing the skins of mam- } mals is precisely the same as that directed for those of birds. The nostrils, mouth, and shot holes should be plugged with cotton wool to prevent the escape of blood, the animal laid on its back, and an incision made along the centre of the abdomen. This should pass through the skin only, and bhould not extend through the muscles into the abdominal cavity, which would allow the intestines to esc»pe, and so render the operation of skinning much more troublesome, especially if the bowels were wounded. Cotton padding should be employed, as in the case of birds, to prevent the adhesion of the skin and the flesh rom which it has been separated. Having separated the skin as far as possible through the abdominal excision, one of the hind legs should be taken in the hand and the knee joint forced through the opening. The limb should then be separated at the joint, and again drawn into the skin, and the same plan pursued witb the opposite limb. Then having separated the skin as far as possible with the fingers and the flat thin handle of the dissecting knife, the end of the intestinal canal fchould be drawn out by pulling the skin and cut across as high up as possible. The tail has next to be divided as closely as convenient to the body of the animal. After this the body has to be bkinned in precisely the Same manner as directed foi skinning birds ; the fore le£s are cut across and separated at the shoulder joint, after which the skin is drawn over the neck and head. On arriving at the ears, care should be taken to cut them as closely te the skull as possible ; the eyelids should also be s eparated by keeping the edge of the knife turned towards the skull ; the lips should be cut well down towards the gums, and the skin removed from the skull as far as tbe point of the nose. The skulls of the smaller animals should be left in the skins, but those of the larger kinds had better be removed, care being taken to place corresponding marks on the s kull and the skin to which it belongs. Whether the skull is left in the skin or removed it is requisite to open the back after severing it from the bones of the neck, in order to clear away the brain, and the muscles must also be carefully cut away from the outside. The skin on the legs should then be drawn down to the toes and the muscles or flesh cut away completely. Considerable difficulty is often experienced in skinning the tail. Professor Baird recommends the slipnot of a piece of twine being passed over the severed end of the tail, and then the b»se being securely fastened to some support, as a nail or hook in the wall j the twine should be pulled towards the tip until the skin is forced off. Others recommend a cleft stick to be used in a similar manner, but I have found that the string is preferable. Abundance of preservative Bhould be applied to the inside of the skin j this may be either powdered arsenic, powdered alum, alum and saltpetre, salt, soap, powdered green vitriol, or sulphate of iron, or any strong vegetable astringent powder, such as nutgalls, oakbark, catechu, or kino. Very valuable small skins may be soaked in a solution of corrosire sublimate in spirits, so as to completely saturate the skin and fur ; and large skins may even be salted down in casks. In skinning large animals care should be taken not to allow native assistants to stretch the skin out of its utmost limits, by pegging it to the ground in the bud, as this operation causes tbe loss of all thelproportions,and distends the skin from beyond its natural limits. Thus we often see stuffed tigers in Europe far larger than the animals are ever seen in their native jungle?. It may be remarked that the tails of many animals cannot be skinned in the manner before directed. This is the case with beavers, opossums, andmonkeys with prehensile or grasping tails ; in such cases the tail must be skinned by making a longitudinal incision along its underside, and the bones and muscles dissected out. It may be desirable to add that in all cases the adhering subcutaneous fat and all fleshy fibres should be most carefully removed from the inside of the skin, for if the fat be left the fur is apt to become greased, when it is cleaned with great difficulty, and adhering fleshy fibres have a tendency to pass rapidly into a state of putrefaction and render the skin subject to decay. 1 he directions given above are applicable to quadrupeds of small and medium size. The skins of large animals, as those about the size of a Newfoundland dog, are preserved with greater convenience by skinning them in the manner pursued by butchers in skinning a sheep, the limbs being cut opeu along the inner side down to the feet, which are to be left in the skin. Eemoved in this manner the skin can be spread out flatly, and the preservative applied with great ease to the inner surface, or it may be immersed for a time in strong solution of alum and salt, removed dried, and rolled up so as to occupy but little space. In my next communication I propose to consider the preservation of amphibia and reptiles.— Field.