Insects are prepared for the cabinet by being mounted upon pins and

"expanded." There are various sorts and sizes of insect-pins, but those

made by Klaeger, of Berlin, are generally preferred at the present time by

the leading entomologists of the world. The French pins and the so-called

"Carlsbader pins" are too long and the points are too fine, and, therefore,

too likely to be injured to make them desirable. The English pins are too

short, and except in the case of very small insects, are not used by the

best collectors. Insects should be mounted high upon the pin, _i.e._, in

such a way that not more than one-fifth or at the most one-fourth of the

pin shall be exposed above the body of the specimen. Dr. Staudinger, the

celebrated lepidopterist of Germany, makes it his rule to mount all his

specimens in such a way that the wings are elevated upon a plane one inch

above the tip of the pin. The writer has had the greater part of his

collection, of over fifty thousand specimens of lepidoptera, mounted at an

average height of seven-eighths of an inch above the points of the pins.

The "English method" of mounting low down, and only leaving enough of the

pin exposed below to permit of fixing the specimens in the cork at the

bottoms of the drawers of the cabinet, is rapidly passing out of vogue,

even in England, and is giving place to the "Continental Method." Insect

pins are of various sizes; adapted to the size of the insect which they are

to carry. The most serviceable sizes and which will be proportioned to the

majority of the insects which the collector is likely to take, are

Klaeger's No. 3 and No. 5. For very large insects higher numbers may be

employed, and for smaller insects lower numbers, though in the case of the

latter it is perhaps better to use the short English pins and then to mount

the specimens upon the bits of cork or pith which are themselves mounted

upon the longer German pins. Such mounts are known as "double mounts" (see

Fig. 96). The writer desires to utter a caution against the use of the

common black insect-pins so often sold by dealers, and the sole stock in

trade of one or two firms of opticians in this country. They are very

liable to rust at the point and to bend, and are totally unsuited for use

in humid, tropical, and semi-tropical climates, or for collections which

are to be transported far over the seas. Beetles should always be pinned

through the right elytron. Bugs should be pinned through the scutellum, as

the small triangular piece between the elytra is called. All other insects

should be pinned in the middle of the thorax, and care should always be

taken to set the pins perpendicularly.

[Illustration: FIG. 96.--Double Mount. C, Long pin; P, pith; S, specimen

mounted on short pin; L, label.]

[Illustration: FIG. 97.--Frame for Mounting Beetles. a, a, Wooden frame; A,

B, paper drumhead.]

Having pinned the specimen the next step is to expand it properly. In the

case of beetles this is done by simply arranging the feet and the antennæ

in such a way that they can easily be inspected. In doing this it is well

to have a frame seven-eighths of an inch deep, or thereabouts, backed by a

thin piece of soft pine, and covered on top by a sheet of paper, which has

been first moistened and then pasted around the edges, and which when dry

expands like a drumhead. (Fig. 97.) Upon this a number of beetles may be

pinned, their feet drawn out, and there be left to dry. In the case of

lepidopterous insects, and other insects having considerable expanse of

wing, setting-boards are required. These are boards provided with a groove

in the middle capable of receiving the body of the insect, and permitting

of the expansion of their wings laterally. These boards should be of

various widths, so as to be adapted to insects having various expanse of

wings, and the grooves also should be of various depths, adapted to insects

having bodies of various size. The best form of a setting-board, with which

the writer is acquainted, is that given in Fig. 98. The narrow slit below

the groove, which is intended for the reception of the body of the insect,

admits of passing the pin down to a proper depth, and the depth is

regulated of course by the piece at the bottom of the setting-board. The

two side pieces should always be from seven-eighths of an inch to an inch

thick. The best material is soft, clean pine, or, better still, the wood of

the Kiri-no-Ki (_Paulownia regalis_).

[Illustration: FIG. 98.--Setting-Board.]

[Illustration: FIG. 99.--Setting-Board. (After Riley.)]

[Illustration: FIG. 100.--Setting-Block. A, Groove for body of insect; B,

nick for holding thread; C, cork to receive point of pin passing through

holes in bottom of A.]

[Illustration: FIG. 101.--Butterfly Expanded upon Setting-Block.]

Instead of setting-boards, setting-blocks (see Figs. 100 and 101), may be

advantageously employed in setting smaller specimens, especially of the

Hesperidæ and the Noctuidæ, the wings of which are refractory, and refuse

to be treated in the method that has just been described. Instead of using

strips of tracing muslin it is necessary, in the case of setting-blocks, to

use threads or cords, which may be adjusted, as is shown in the figure.

Care should, however, be taken not to draw the thread or cord so tightly

about the wings of the specimens as to cut into their vestiture and thus

leave marks.

[Illustration: FIG. 102.--Setting-Needle.]

The insects having been adjusted upon the board, care being taken that the

pin is set perpendicularly, the next step is to draw out the wings in the

position which they are to maintain when the specimen is thoroughly dry.

This is accomplished by means of what are known as "setting-needles" (see

Fig. 102). They can easily be made by inserting ordinary needles into

handles, which may be made of some soft wood. The writer generally employs

as handles for his setting-needles matches, from which the sulphur tip has

been removed. In drawing the wings into position care should be taken to

plant the setting-needle immediately behind the strong nervure of the

costal margin of the wing. Otherwise the wings are likely to be torn and

disfigured. The rule in setting lepidoptera is to draw the anterior wings

forward in such a way that their posterior margins form a right angle with

the axis of the body, which rests in the groove in the middle of the

setting-board. The posterior wings are then drawn forward in such a way as

fully to expose their outline. The next step is to firmly fix the wings in

position, as they have been placed. Some writers recommend for this purpose

using short strips of paper over the wings, others recommend placing upon

the wings pieces of glass, of a size sufficient to cover the entire wing. A

far better plan is to employ strips of tracing muslin, such as is used by

draughtsmen and engineers. These strips may be secured at the ends of the

setting-board by thumb-tacks, and may be drawn down over the wings of the

specimen and securely held by pins in place. Care should be always taken to

nicely turn up the edge of the strips nearest to the body, so that a crease

or depression may not be left upon the scales covering the wings of the

insects when the specimen has been thoroughly dried. The wings having been

arranged, the antennæ and the feet may be brought forward and displayed in

a natural position. Care should be always taken to lower the antennæ so

that they do not stand erect above the head. In the latter position they

are very apt to become broken. A number of such boards may be conveniently

arranged in a box, as shown in Fig. 103, and if strips of muslin are used,

and are firmly held in place by pins, such a box may be transported from

place to place, upon the backs of men or beasts, and the process of drying

the insects may go on _en route_, while the naturalist is conducting his

investigations. In this manner the writer carried four or five large boxes

with him through the interior of Japan (Plate XXIII., Fig. 2), and

succeeded in bringing home with him nearly six thousand specimens, dried

and ready to place in the cabinet. The length of time which is required for

drying, varies of course a little with the temperature, and the amount of

humidity in the atmosphere. In some climates it is almost impossible to

absolutely dry the specimens, in others they dry very quickly. In the

United States a week or ten days will generally suffice to secure that

rigidity which is necessary in a cabinet specimen.

[Illustration: FIG. 103.--Box for Receiving Setting-Boards. _a_, Board

partly withdrawn; _b_, =T=-shaped strip to hold board in place; _c_,

sliding door of box; _d_, tongue on edge of door working in groove at

front of sides.]

The process of drying may be hastened advantageously by placing the

setting-boards in a cool oven. The temperature, however, should not be

above 130° F. Some insects lose their color when dried, and it is

impossible in certain cases to retain them. In some cases also the bodies

of insects shrivel up very greatly and become distorted. It is very often

advisable in such cases to make an incision into the abdomen and withdraw

the viscera and stuff the body with cotton. Spiders should always be

treated in this way, and so also the larger Mantidæ and Locustidæ. When the

insects have become thoroughly dry, and their wings are rigid, they may be

removed from the setting-board, and are now ready for the cabinet. In case,

however, it is desired to transport them, as is the case with specimens

that have been collected upon a journey, they may be pinned in boxes lined

with cork or pith, with their wings "shingled" as in Fig. 104, and they

may, if firmly secured to the bottom of the boxes, be in this shape

transported for long distances; but it is always necessary to pack the box

in which they are contained in an outer box, separating the inner box from

the outer case by at least two inches of straw, excelsior, or some other

light and elastic substance, to save the specimens from being jarred in

transport.

[Illustration: FIG. 104.--Butterflies Pinned with their Wings Shingled.]

Specimens that have been preserved in paper, as described on page 328, in

order to fit them for the cabinet, should be relaxed and then expanded. In

order to relax them, one of the best methods is to place the envelope which

contains the specimen between layers of cloth that have been dampened in

pure water, to which has been added a small quantity of carbolic acid,

enough to prevent mould. Be careful not to add too much carbolic acid.

Another method is to lay the specimens at the bottom of a jar, half-filled

with sand, which has been moistened and well carbolized. The jar should be

tightly closed, so as to retain the moisture. Specimens that have been

fastened with pins may be placed on pieces of board, and then set in a jar,

prepared in the way that has been described. After exposure to the moist

atmosphere of the jar, or to the moisture contained within the towelling,

for a period varying from a few hours to a day, the specimens will be

sufficiently relaxed to permit of them being treated as if they had been

freshly taken, and mounted and expanded upon the setting-board as described

on page 331. It is well to have the top of the jar, before the lid is

placed upon it, covered with a layer of blotting-paper, or some other

substance which will absorb the moisture which otherwise might drip from

the lid upon the specimens below. This is a precaution which is especially

necessary in the case of butterflies which are of a bright blue or a pale

green color, and which are much disfigured by water stains.

Mould is one of the great enemies of the collector, and strenuous efforts

should be made to prevent its appearance in the cabinet or among the

specimens. In order to do this, it is well to secure a thorough desiccation

of the specimens, but where it is impossible to thoroughly dry them,

moulding may be prevented to a greater or less extent by placing between

the paper envelopes pieces of blotting-paper which have been saturated with

carbolic acid and permitted to dry. The sides of the boxes containing the

specimens may also be painted with carbolic acid. Naphthaline in crystals

may be introduced among the envelopes, and this appears in many cases to

serve as a partial preventive of mould. When a specimen has been attacked

by mould, the mould may be largely removed by thorough drying in a cool

oven and then dusting off the specimen with a soft camel's-hair pencil that

has been rubbed in carbolic acid and dried.

Specimens sometimes become greasy, and it is then desirable, if possible,

to remove the grease with which their bodies and wings are saturated. The

only method which can be employed advantageously is that of washing out the

grease by means of benzoline, or some of the allied volatile mineral oils.

By immersing a greasy specimen for a considerable time in gasoline, it is

possible to remove the grease. The specimen having been thus exposed should

be placed in a cool spot, free from dust, and all the gasoline should be

allowed to evaporate. Care should be taken to conduct this process away

from fire and lights, in order to prevent an explosion. The writer has

found that the best method for removing grease is to allow the gasoline to

fall drop by drop upon the thorax of the specimen. The specimen is

therefore placed in a very large glass jar, say six inches in diameter, and

is fixed at the bottom upon a piece of cork, tightly secured in place. The

gasoline is placed above and is allowed to filter down from the bottle in

which it is contained upon the specimen drop by drop. In this way the

grease is gradually washed out, and will be found after a while at the

bottom of the jar in the form of thick globules, the density of which

causes them to sink to the bottom. In the case of some large bombycid moths

the writer has washed out as much as a teaspoonful of animal fat from the

body and wings of the specimen, in the manner that has been described.

The receptacles into which entomologists place their collections vary

somewhat according to the taste and the length of the purse of the

collector. Some large collections are contained in boxes, and most of the

coleopterists of this country, so far as the writer knows, have adopted

these as receptacles for their collections. The boxes should be about two

inches deep in the clear, the bottom should be lined with the best quality

of cork, about one-fourth of an inch in thickness, and the whole papered

inside with white paper. The lid should be fastened upon the lower part of

the box, either by a tongue and groove or by thin strips nailed around on

the inside and projecting above the margin of the bottom portion at least

half an inch. These boxes should also be hinged. The material should be

well-seasoned. Double boxes with cork on the top and on the bottom are

sometimes used, and these may be prepared with backs resembling books, and

may be placed upon their ends upon shelves. They should not be laid one

upon the other, as the insects pinned upon the upper side are liable

sometimes, through jarring, to become detached, and falling out to cause a

breakage among the specimens. The writer employs in his own collection

drawers twenty-two inches long, eighteen inches wide, and two inches deep,

covered with glass, the glass cover being attached to the bottom by a

tongue and groove.

The specimens should be kept in the dark, as exposure to light bleaches

them, sooner or later. Great pains should be taken to keep out dust, mould,

and insect pests, such as Anthrenus and Dermestes. Naphthaline crystals

destroy mites and they cannot exist where it is abundantly present.

Anthrenus and Dermestes may be kept out of collections by naphthaline, but

when they have been once introduced they will remain and propagate in spite

of the presence of the drug. In order to exterminate them various agents

are employed. The best is perhaps chloroform, and next to this carbon

bisulphide. In buying the latter drug, care should be taken to purchase the

washed and purified article, which is not as malodorous as the common

varieties which used formerly to be sold by druggists. It is, however,

highly explosive when mixed in quantity with the air, and care should be

taken not to use it in proximity to a light. It has the advantage of

destroying at once the imago, the larva, and, perhaps, the eggs of

museum-pests. The writer makes it a point annually, in the early summer, to

place sufficient chloroform or carbon bichloride in his cabinet drawers to

exterminate anything that may be living there, and thus secures comparative

immunity from insect attacks.

* * * * *

Instructions as to the use of labels may be restricted to the simple advice

to make them small enough to permit of their being placed upon the pins

bearing the insects, and to have them written legibly. Of course every

label should bear, if it is possible for the student to determine them, the

generic and the specific names of the insects, and that of the author of

the specific name, together with the date and locality of capture. In

writing labels a small crow-quill pen is to be preferred.

A great many instruments of different sorts will suggest themselves to the

collector in the process of his labors as being more or less useful, but

none will prove more so than the forceps. It is impossible to do good work

in the cabinet without a forceps, and those made by Blake, of Philadelphia,

are the very best.

_Books to be Consulted by the Collector for further Information as to

Methods of Manipulating Specimens._

Packard: Guide to the Study of Insects. 8vo. Henry Holt & Co., New York.

Scudder: Butterflies. 8vo. Henry Holt & Co., New York. Kirby and Spence:

Introduction to Entomology. Various editions.

McCook: American Spiders. Strecker: American Moths and Butterflies.

A great deal of practical and valuable information is to be derived from

the pages of the following journals:

The Canadian Entomologist.

The Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society. Psyche.

_Names of Dealers in Entomological Supplies who are to be Recommended_.

John Akhurst, 78 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, N.Y.; pins, etc.

John Burr, North Fifth Street, Camden, N.J.; boxes, cabinets, etc.

Armstrong, Brother & Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.; cork. The largest cork

manufacturing firm in the United States. Will cut cork of any size which

may be ordered, within practical limits.

Blake & Co., 55 North Seventh Street, Philadelphia; forceps.

PART VI.--GENERAL INFORMATION.

CHAPTER XLIV.

INSECT PESTS AND POISONING.

THE PESTS.--If an island of bare rock should be born to-day in the middle

of the Pacific Ocean, and an unpoisoned skin of bird or mammal laid down

upon it to-morrow morning, I would wager that _Dermestes lardarius_ would

find that skin before sunset. If you were to prepare a skin without poison,

and lock it up immediately in the bowels of a burglar-proof safe, not to be

opened for six months, at the end of that time you would find it swarming

with _Dermestes_. If you ever omit to poison anything in the shape of a

vertebrate specimen, be sure your sin and the beastly bugs will find you

out.

DERMESTES.--The greatest enemy of the zoological collector and conservator,

and one which is world-wide in its distribution, is a small beetle,

one-third of an inch in length, commonly called the "bacon beetle." Its

flight is rather feeble, but "it gets there just the same." The most common

species, _Dermestes lardarius_, is of a dark, dirty-brown color, with a

broad, transverse band of dull gray encircling the middle of the body. The

imago is not of much consequence as a destroyer, but the larva, a nasty,

hairy, brown-backed, and white-bellied abomination half an inch long, and

with an appetite like a hog, is the incarnation of all that is pestiferous.

A skull that has been "roughed out" and put away without poisoning will

soon be literally swarming with _Dermestes_ larvæ, and half-buried with the

brown, powdery excrementation they leave behind. If the curator ever sees a

fine, brown dust falling in little heaps out of any part of a mounted

specimen, he may know that _Dermestes_ larvæ are at work.

Not long ago the National Museum was visited by another species of the

bacon beetle, _Dermestes maculatus_, a gray-colored variety, beside which

his congener seemed harmless and inoffensive. _Maculatus_ was an

unmitigated terror. He disdained to graze modestly on the outside of a

specimen, as did _lardarius_, but simply began to eat wherever he "lit,"

and went straight in to a depth of an inch or so, as if shot out of a gun.

An unhappy stuffed monkey that once crossed the track of this little fiend

had half a dozen neat round holes eaten through the dry skin of his side,

and straight on into the hard tow filling for quite an inch. A gimlet could

not have done the work half so well. The most ridiculous thing was that

this insatiable little monster attacked a plaster cast, and bored it full

of holes also! Fortunately for the National Museum, the stay of this highly

interesting stranger was of brief duration. He came in 1885, and vanished

that same year--so far as my observations went.

MOTHS.--Next in destructiveness are the tiny moths, of which four species

are to be fought in the museum and the household. These are the clothes

moth (_Tinea flavifrontella_), the fur moth (_T. pelionella_), the carpet

moth (_T. tapetzella_), and the grain moth (_T. granella_). The perfect

moth is of course by preference a night-flying insect, and very seldom

flies in the daytime except when disturbed. The imago is harmless, but the

larva--a tiny, white worm no thicker than a pin, and about one-tenth of an

inch in length--will soon shave the hair off an unpoisoned elk or deer head

more smoothly than you could do it with the best razor ever made. Of course

moth larvæ are most active and destructive during the breeding season--the

warm months from May to October--but in warm rooms they sometimes keep at

work all through the winter.

In one sense the moth is the zoologist's most dreaded foe, for the reason

that its work is so subtle and unseen. Often the first intimation the

victim has of the presence of his enemy is when dusting a favorite head he

suddenly knocks off a section of hair half a foot square, exposing

underneath the smooth, bare skin covered with fine gray dust. The larvæ of

the moth attack birds and quadrupeds in one way only, that is by eating the

roots of the hair or feathers, and the epidermis. Mounted heads of large

ruminant animals are the particular prey of these abominable pests, because

they cannot be protected by glass cases, and are seldom touched save with a

feather duster.

In ethnological collections all the garments of skin and leather, and all

the textile fabrics are subject to the attacks of the Tineids, as they also

are to those of the species to be noticed next.

ANTHRENUS.--Although I have seen this "buffalo bug" try hard to make an

impression on mounted mammals, I have not yet seen it do harm except to

furs and leather or woolen garments. The adult buffalo bug (_Anthrenus

lepidus_) is a tiny, round, brown beetle, with white spots on its elytra,

and, as usual, it is the larvæ that do the mischief.

SYMPTOMS OF THE PRESENCE OF INSECT PESTS.--Whenever little heaps of brown

dust are seen accumulating here and there on a pedestal underneath a

mounted specimen, know that dermestes are actively at work somewhere above.

Sometimes the larvæ will even show themselves on the hair, which means a

bad case.

If a perfect moth is seen flying in a case, or resting on a specimen,

search at once for the larvæ. The best way to do this is to go over a

specimen with a rough brush, or a comb, to see if the hair pulls out at any

point. If a tuft of hair gives way at its roots, and you see a bare spot

underneath, it means moth larvæ.

POISONING.--Let us take first the case of a mounted specimen which is known

to be infested with the larvæ of either _Dermestes_ or Tineids. It must be

treated thoroughly all over with a powerful poison, not only to kill the

insects already there, but to poison any larvæ that may be hatched

hereafter and seek to attack it.

If possible, remove the specimen from its pedestal, and beat out of it

whatever dust it may contain. Procure a quantity of alcohol sufficient when

diluted with fifty per cent of water to completely saturate the hair (or

feathers) of the specimen, and dissolve in it some corrosive

sublimate--about one ounce to every three pints of the liquid. The point to

strive for in making up such a solution is to make it as strong with the

corrosive sublimate as it can be without leaving on dark hair a gray (or

white) deposit when the liquid has evaporated. In practice I always mix the

liquid, and then test it with a tuft of black or brown hair. If the deposit

left is quite apparent to the eye, a little more alcohol and water must be

added. The principle of the process is simply this: The alcohol, being at

once very penetrating and very volatile, and also capable of combining

chemically with the corrosive sublimate, is used as a vehicle for the

distribution of the poison. The poison is carried to the roots of the hair

and left there as a deposit when the liquid evaporates. In Chapter XVIII.

the method of applying this solution is described. Arsenic water, also

described there, is _equally good_, and any intelligent person can make up

either solution and apply it successfully without the slightest difficulty.

When the specimen has dried, the hair must be dressed by brushing and

combing it. If the white poison shows on the hair, take a sponge, and with

either hot water or alcohol sponge off the _surface_ of the hair, leaving

all the unseen poison undisturbed. If your solution contains the proper

amount of poison, and is thoroughly applied, I warrant that insects will

never again touch that specimen, even though it should exist a thousand

years.

It often happens that moths get into cases of birds, or mammals, or

insects, which cannot be treated as above without damaging the specimens.

In such an event there are several poisons of a volatile character which

give off fumes so deadly that no insect can live in them. The best for this

purpose is naphthaline crystals, exposed in the cases in little bags made

of musquito-netting, used in abundant quantity, and left in the cases,

which must of course be kept closed as tightly as possible. In insect

collections each box should have a little cone of crystals,[12] as a

standing menace to all would-be marauders. Liquid or crystal bisulphide of

carbon, exposed in saucers on the bottom of a tightly closed case will also

kill whatever living insects may be found therein; but it does not destroy

eggs, and by the time it has evaporated another generation of destroyers

may have been born, hungrier than the first.

A half-ounce bag of naphthaline crystals will last about three months. Mr.

John B. Smith, who published in the "Proceedings of the Entomological

Society of Washington," vol. i., No. 2, p. 113, a very interesting paper on

"Museum Pests," found in treating some boxes of coleoptera that were

infested with _Trogoderma_ that both bisulphide of carbon and naphthaline

killed all larvæ and imagoes, and held all the eggs in a dormant condition,

even through the summer months, until the poison had all evaporated, when

the eggs began to hatch.

At present naphthaline in the form of crystals has become the most popular

of the various volatile poisons, and among ornithologists, mammalogists,

and entomologists is very generally used. It prevents mould, destroys

bacteria and schizomycetes; the salt is perfectly neutral, is not poisonous

to man, and is cheap, costing only twenty-five cents per pound.

POISONING TEXTILE FABRICS AND SKIN CLOTHING.--Objects of this class can not

be put through any liquid poison, for the reason that some would be made

hard and stiff, some would lose their colors, and all would come out in bad

shape generally. To meet the exigencies of such cases one alternative is

to poison the atmosphere of an air-tight case with some of the volatile

poisons already mentioned, and the other is to treat each article with some

powerful liquid poison, applied as a fine spray with an ordinary atomizer

of gutta-percha, which can be purchased for from one to two dollars. The

immense collections of the department of ethnology in the National Museum

have necessitated a great amount of poisoning in both these ways,

especially the latter, which has the merit of being permanent. In the

"Smithsonian Report for 1887," vol. ii., pp. 549-558, Mr. Walter Hough has

published a very complete, lucid, and valuable paper on "The Preservation

of Museum Specimens from Insects, and the Effects of Dampness," which every

zoological conservator should read and hold for ready reference.

In spraying large objects Mr. Hough uses either a Shaw & Geary No. 2

air-compressor (cost, $15) or a four-nozzle gutta-percha atomizer ($2.50),

and the spray is from the following solution:

Saturated solution of arsenic acid and alcohol 1 pint.

Strong carbolic acid 25 drops.

Strychnine 20 grains.

Alcohol (strong) 1 quart.

Naphtha, crude or refined 1 pint.

For treating specimens of ordinary size with the concentrated fumes of

bisulphide of carbon, the National Museum uses a galvanized sheet-iron tank

3 × 2 × 2 feet, which has around its upper edge a deep groove filled with

water, into which the rim of the cover fits when the tank is closed. The

centre of the cover contains an air-hole, which is also capable of being

hermetically closed in the same way. This tank should be used in the open

air, if possible, so that the fumes will not injure the health of the

operator.

POISONING RUGS.--It has long been a problem how to poison a fur rug to

protect it from insects, and yet to keep out of it the dry mineral poisons

which would be injurious to the health of the little ones, the dog, and the

cat, who are "tenants in common" of the bear-skin on the floor. Mr. F.S.

Webster has solved the difficulty by poisoning all his rugs on the inside

with our old and valued friend, arsenical soap. It strikes into and through

the skin, of course, and, contrary to previous expectations, it is by no

means offensive, or even noticeable by odor in the finished rug.

FURS.--Even in Washington, the City of Moths, Mrs. Hornaday carried the

family rugs and furs, and all woolen clothing, through eight summers,

unscathed, by the liberal use of camphor gum alone. If the crumbled gum is

sprinkled liberally into the folds of anything when it is being folded or

rolled up, its protection against moths is assured.

INSECT POWDERS.--For the benefit of the American housewife I will mention

the fact that for the complete annihilation of ants, roaches, water-bugs,

and the like, there is nothing that I know of that is so far-reaching and

so deadly as a powder produced in California called buhac, costing sixty

cents per pound. The price is high, but the powder is well worth it--and

this is an absolutely free advertisement.

THE EFFECT OF POISONS ON THE TAXIDERMIST.--Arsenical soap is by all odds

the safest poison that can possibly be used. It gives off no poisonous

fumes whatsoever, its presence in the mouth, nose, or eyes is always

detected instantly, and the worst that it ever does is to get into a cut or

under the ends of the finger-nails of the careless taxidermist, and make a

festering sore which is well in a few days--a purely local ill.

Dry arsenic is more injurious. It sometimes poisons the fingers of a

careless operator, and if it is inhaled in the form of dust the effect may

be serious. A few persons are very susceptible to the effects of dry

arsenic, others are not. If the blood is in a healthy condition there is

little to fear from it, except through gross carelessness. I have used, all

told, probably more than a hundred and fifty pounds of arsenic in various

forms, and never had an hour's illness in consequence, nor anything more

serious than a sore finger.

Corrosive sublimate is much more powerful and more dangerous. It should

never be used in the preparation of a skin before it is mounted; after

mounting it may, with care, be used quite safely.

Strychnine is far too dangerous to be used by a taxidermist save in

poisoning animals he wishes to secure as scientific specimens.

FOOTNOTE:

[12] Made and sold by Blake & Co., Philadelphia.

CHAPTER XLV.

USEFUL INFORMATION.

_Recipe for Making Arsenical Soap._

White bar soap, soft rather than hard 2 pounds.

Powdered arsenic 2 "

Camphor 5 ounces.

Subcarbonate of potash 6 "

Alcohol 8 "

Directions: The soap should be the best quality of laundry soap, and of

such composition that it can be reduced with water to any degree of

thinness. Soap which becomes like jelly when melted will not answer, and

should never be used.

Slice the soap and melt it in a small quantity of water over a slow fire,

stirring sufficiently to prevent its burning. When melted add the potash,

and stir in the powdered arsenic. Next add the camphor, which should be

dissolved in the alcohol at the beginning of the operation. Stir the mass

thoroughly, boil it down to the consistency of thick molasses, and pour it

into an earthen or wooden jar to cool and harden. Stir it occasionally

while cooling to prevent the arsenic from settling at the bottom. When cold

it should be like lard or butter. For use, mix a small quantity with water

until it resembles buttermilk, and apply with a common paint-brush.

The prices charged for the manufactured article by chemists who make

arsenical soap to sell are out of all proportion to the cost and labor

involved, and every taxidermist who uses much of it should by all means

manufacture his own supply.

_Hendley's Enamel Varnish._--Take equal parts of ether and alcohol, mix

them, and add one-third as much gun-cotton. To every gill of this mixture

add six drops of olive-oil to give elasticity. It is a good plan to keep

two bottles, one containing the varnish ready for use, and the other

containing the proper mixture of ether, alcohol and olive oil, to use in

thinning the varnish when it gets too thick. This is a very superior

varnish being absolutely colorless, and of high gloss.

_The Wickersheimer Solution for the Preservation of Fleshy Objects

Entire._--

Alum 500 grains.

Salt 125 "

Saltpetre 60 "

Potash 300 "

Arsenic trioxide (white arsenic) 100 "

Dissolve in one quart of boiling water. Cool and filter, and for every

quart of solution add four quarts of glycerine and one quart of alcohol.

Immerse the objects to be preserved in this solution, and keep them in it.

It is but little else than our old familiar friend, the salt-and-alum bath,

with enough glycerine added to prevent the excess of alum from unduly

hardening and shriveling the specimens.

_Composition for Use in Modeling Tongues, Mouths, and in General

Fancy-Work._--"Procure 3 pounds white glue, 1 pint raw linseed oil, and 1

pound of resin. Heat the oil and resin, then add hot glue and stir

thoroughly. Thicken with Paris white until the mixture has the proper

consistency to mould when warm. This composition soon dries, becomes very

hard, and can be colored or gilded. Fancy decorations of any design can

readily be made from moulds of plaster or wood, and be glued on to shields

and cases, thereby saving the expense of carving. The above is my own

composition, which I have successfully employed for many years."--(_J.H.

Batty._)

_Composition for Snow Scenes._--"Crush burnt alum with a roller, and remove

small lumps. Add frosting, which has been pulverized in a mortar to the

proper degree of fineness."--(_Batty._)

_Varnish Cutter_ (to remove old varnish from antlers, teeth, wood, or from

the surface of an old oil-painting).--Take a sufficient quantity of eighty

or ninety per cent alcohol, and slowly pour into it clear spirits of

turpentine until the mixture becomes of a milky color. Then cork the bottle

and shake the mixture thoroughly, and it is ready for use. Apply it with a

small sponge, rub the surface vigorously for a moment only, then dip a rag

in boiled linseed-oil and apply it to the cleaned surface. The varnish

cutter acts almost instantly, and if left on too long the surface of a

painting might be injured.

_To Prevent Mould in Boxes of Specimens._--Take some carbolic acid crystals

(forty cents per pound), melt them in the sun, and with the resulting

liquid acid paint the entire inside of each box, and, if possible, pack

contents with naphthaline crystals. This is efficacious in boxes of small

skins of birds and mammals, of insects and the like, even in hot climates,

but of course does not apply to boxes of large specimens which contain a

great amount of moisture.

_To Polish Hard Wood._--1st. Rub the surface thoroughly with raw

linseed-oil, turpentine, and powdered pumice-stone. 2d. Give the surface a

smooth coat of shellac. 3d. When dry, take fine sand-paper and go over it

rather lightly. 4th. Give the surface a good coat of hard oil finish (a

white varnish), and let it harden. 5th. When quite dry rub down with raw

oil, turpentine, and pumice-stone, to soften the gloss of the varnish, and

give a polish instead. For rubbing, use a piece of hair-cloth, or clean

burlaps.

_Cement for Gumming Labels to Minerals and Shells._--"Pulverized gum

Arabic, 4 ounces; pulverized white sugar, 2 ounces; starch, 4 drachms.

Dissolve all separately in as little water as convenient. Dissolve starch

in cold water, then stir it into sugar water, and then that mixture into

the gum water. Boil with great care, as burning will spoil the whole. It is

well to use a tin vessel raised from the bottom of another vessel

containing water. After the starch ceases to make the mixture look milky it

is cooked, but at least an hour's time will be required. Keep in large

mouthed, tightly corked bottles, or when done pour into a tray covered with

strong paper, spreading it evenly over the paper, and allow it to dry. When

dry enough, moisten back of paper and remove it from the gum, dry again

thoroughly, break into fragments and preserve for use in wide-mouth

stoppered jar."--(_Southwick & Jenck's "Random Notes."_)

_Arsenic Water_ (for poisoning mammal skins, etc.).--Water, 4 quarts;

arsenic, 4 ounces. Mix, stir and boil until the arsenic is all taken up.

THE TREATMENT OF FURS AND PELTRIES.--Inasmuch as the readers of this book

may sometime desire to preserve a few mammal skins as furs, or to be made

up as rugs, I will quote entire, _verbatim et literatim_, a circular of

instructions lately issued by one of the largest fur houses in this

country, Messrs. William Macnaughtan's Sons, of New York City. Observe

particularly, however, that skins prepared thus are _utterly worthless to

the taxidermist and the scientific museum_. They are good _for furs only_:

"_Directions for Fur Collectors and Trappers, to Insure High Prices, Ready

Sales, and Save from Losses through Ignorance._--'_Cased:_' Ermine, fisher,

fox, lynx, martin, mink, opossum, otter, skunk, must be 'cased,' that is,

not cut open. In skinning, cut at the rump, and turn the skin inside out

(like a glove) over the body of the animal, leaving the pelt side out. Then

after scraping, cleaning, and drying, turn the skin back again while it is

soft and easily managed, leaving the fur side out. Then put a thin board

inside the skin, cut the natural shape of it, stretching the skin to its

fullest extent, but not so much as to make the fur thin. Too much

stretching spreads the fur over a large surface, and makes it thin and

lacking in richness. A liberal supply of good boards should be kept on

hand. Never use bent sticks, bows, or anything irregular in shape or that

yields. When the above are 'opened' they have a Southern appearance that

lessens the value greatly.

"'_Open:_' badger, bear, beaver, cats, raccoon, wolves, wolverine, must be

'open;' that is, cut open, up the belly from rump to head. After scraping,

cleaning, and drying, stretch a uniformly oblong shape, to the fullest

extent of the skin, but not so much as to make the fur thin. When

thoroughly dry, trim off legs, shanks, flippers, and any little pieces that

spoil the appearance of skin.

"_Exceptions:_ Skunk, long stripe, such as come from the Territories and

sections of California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, cut open and

stretch oblong, as explained. Skunk, with the white stripe (or any portion)

shaved out, blackened, or tampered with, must be collected at half price.

Opossum from Indian Territory, cut open, and stretch oblong as explained.

Chop off the tails where the fur ends, as they make opossum look poorly and

lessen their value. Beaver are sometimes stretched almost round, but appear

very much better stretched oblong. Value by the skin, never by the pound.

They rapidly lose heavily in weight. They bring most sold by the skin.

Muskrats must be 'cased,' but with fur side in. Chop off the tails as

explained. Skin at the nose and make rumps square. Round tails have less

value and do not sell well. Muskrats must not be injured by shooting or

spearing. Trap them.

"Skins that have dried without proper care can be treated same as fresh,

green skins. Otherwise they have no value. Dissolve a handful of common

salt in a pail of fresh water, and apply frequently with brush or rag (to

pelt side only, as it spoils appearance to wet the fur) until the pelt

becomes perfectly soft. Then handle as explained. The same with 'open'

skins.

"_Cautions:_ Do not cure with alum or salt. It injures them for dressing

and spoils their sale. Do not dry skins at a fire, or in the sun, or in

smoke. It often 'burns' them; when they then spoil, and ruin on being

dressed. Dry in the open air where shady. Meaty skins often 'burn.' The

meat and fat on them heats and 'burns' them, and they then go to pieces and

rot on being dressed. Too much warmth curls and spoils the top fur or hair.

Never stuff furs of any kind; dry and stretch as explained. Do not stretch

out the noses and make them pointed. It gives a Southern appearance and

lessens value. Do not cut off heads, ears, or noses, or mutilate in any

way. It lessens value and injures sales. Remove as much of bone from tail

as possible, otherwise the tail rots.

"_Trapping:_ Fur-bearing animals must not be killed till they have at least

a fair growth of fur. Stop trapping as soon in early spring as the fur

begins to shed or becomes thin, or a little faded. These too early or too

late caught furs are a disgrace to fur trappers and collectors, and a

wasteful, worthless slaughter."

CHAPTER XLVI.

THE BEST BOOKS OF REFERENCE FOR THE TAXIDERMIST AND COLLECTOR.

It is manifestly impossible even to name under this head a tenth part of

the excellent books which might well be given place. It is also inexpedient

to include in a list, that must of necessity be brief, the names of

special works relating to the fauna of other countries than North America.

Having been from first to last a diligent user of books in the course of my

work, and ever on the alert for something new in printed word or picture

that would be of practical use, I will give here the titles of the books

that have proven of the greatest practical value to me. I must also in this

connection strongly urge the young taxidermist and collector to supply

himself with as many of these standard works as he can possibly procure. If

diligently studied they are bound to save him from many an error, and

richly repay their cost.

GENERAL ZOOLOGY AND CLASSIFICATION.

"Steele's Popular Zoology." By Professor J.W.P. Jenks. American Book

Company, New York. $1.00.

A model manual; of great value to the student because of its clearness,

conciseness, and wealth of information. Copiously and elegantly

illustrated.

"Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London;" also "Transactions."

Contains a great number of fine animal plates of much value to professional

taxidermists. The series is extensive and very costly, and is therefore

usually inaccessible except when it can be reached in some scientific

library.

ON MAMMALS.

"Illustrated Natural History: Mammals." Rev. J.G. Wood. Routledge, London,

1861. Price about $4.00. Get the original edition if possible.

This book has been of more help to me than any other I have ever found.

"Quadrupeds of North America." Audubon and Bachman.

Out of print and difficult to obtain, but very valuable.

"The Mammalia, in Word and Picture." By Carl Vogt and F. Specht. Translated

from the German by Geo. G. Chisholm. D. Appleton & Co., 1-5 Bond Street,

New York, 1890. Super royal 4to. $12.00.

This great work contains the finest illustrations of mammals, both singly

and in groups, ever published in any country. The groups represented are

wonderfully fine and life-like, and must be seen to be appreciated. No

mammal taxidermist can afford to be without this work.

ON BIRDS.

"The American Ornithologist's Union Code of Nomenclature, and Check-List of

North American Birds." L.S. Foster, 35 Pine Street, New York City. $3.00.

Indispensable to the American collector, because it is the highest

authority on the classification and nomenclature of North American birds.

Thanks to this work, it is no longer necessary to take a daily paper in

order to keep posted on the latest changes in bird nomenclature. The names

adopted by Baird (1858), Coues (1873), Ridgway (1880), and Coues (1882) are

all given. No illustrations.

"Key to North American Birds." By Dr. Elliott Coues. Estes & Lauriat,

Boston. $7.50.

This great work--indispensable to every ornithologist--consists of a

masterly treatise on systematic ornithology and the anatomy of birds, a key

by which even the tyro can learn to analyze any American bird and identify

it, and also a valuable treatise on "Field Ornithology," or

bird-collecting.

"Nomenclature of North American Birds." Robert Ridgway. Sold by F.B.

Webster, 409 Washington Street, Boston. $7.50.

Especially designed for use in the determination of species.

"Illustrated Natural History: Birds." Rev. J.G. Wood. Routledge, London,

1861. Price about $4.00. Get the original edition.

To a bird taxidermist this is the most valuable book ever published in a

single volume, because of its wealth of excellent illustrations. Of special

value in mounting strange foreign birds. Beware of the later editions.

"Studer's Birds of North America." Illustrated by Theodore Jasper. Large

royal quarto. Jacob H. Studer, New York. $25.00.

Contains 119 plates, and a colored figure of every species of North

American bird known at the date of its publication. A notable work. The

illustrations are of great value to young taxidermists as models by which

to mount birds.

"Birds of North America." J.J. Audubon.

This superb work is out of print; rare and costly. The octavo edition is to

be found in most large libraries, however, and every bird taxidermist

should at least know where the copy nearest to him is to be found, and how

to gain access to it in time of need.

"Oology of New England." E.A. Capen. Sold by Frank B. Webster, 409

Washington Street, Boston. $8.75.

This is the finest illustrated work on birds' eggs ever published in this

country.

ON REPTILES.

"Illustrated Natural History: Reptiles." Rev. J.G. Wood. Routledge, London,

1861.

Uniform with volumes on Mammals and Birds.

ON FISHES.

"American Fishes." G. Brown Goode. Standard Book Co., New York, 1888.

$5.00.

An elegant work, of convenient size. Comprehensive and eminently useful.

Fully illustrated. No collector or student of American fishes can afford to

be without it.

"The Fishery Industries of the United States." Section I. By G. Brown Goode

and Associates. 2 vols. Complete and exhaustive, both in text and plates,

and very valuable. Government publication. Sold at cost by the U.S. Fish

Commission, Washington.

"Introduction to the Study of Fishes." Albert Gunther. A. & C. Black,

Edinburgh.

ON INSECTS.

See the end of Chapter XLIV.

ON INVERTEBRATES.

"The Ocean World." Louis Figuier. Cassell & Co., New York. $2.50.

"Recent and Fossil Shells." S.P. Woodward, London. John Weale, 1856. (Apply

to Bernard Quaritch, London.)

A very handy and useful manual for the field. Many illustrations. Price

about $1.50.

"Structural and Systematic Conchology." Geo. W. Tryon. Philadelphia Academy

of Natural Sciences. $12.00.

A great work; complete, exhaustive, and richly illustrated.

FOR SUGGESTIONS OF GROUPS OF ANIMALS.

"Homes Without Hands." Rev. J.G. Wood. Longmans, Green & Co., London. Price

about $3.00.

"Mammalia in Word and Picture." Specht and Vogt, already described.

MISCELLANEOUS.

"The Sportsman's Library," as advertised by the _Forest and Stream_

Publishing Company, 318 Broadway, New York, contains an attractive and

valuable selection of books on subjects of special interest to the

sportsman, naturalist, and traveller. It includes books by specialists on

such subjects as "Camping and Trapping," "Hunting and Shooting," "Angling,"

"Boating and Yachting," "Guide-Books and Maps," "Horse," "Kennel," "Natural

History," and miscellaneous works. The list, as a whole, is an excellent

one to select from.

Of course no one with a spark of interest in hunting and the natural

history of the higher vertebrates will be without _Forest and Stream_--a

whole sportsman's and naturalist's library in itself,--or _The Field_, or

_Sports Afield_. No young ornithologist can get along without his best

friend, the _Ornithologist and Oologist_, and it would indeed be rank

heresy for the professional bird-man to ignore the stately and infallible

_Auk_.

INDEX.

Accessories, artificial, 338-339

natural, 247

Africa, destruction of game in, 2

Agassiz, Professor Louis, 72

"Agassiz Tank," for alcoholic specimens, 72-73

Albatross, 62

_Alces malchis_, 248

Alcohol, preservation of specimens in, 66, 70, 71-75, 83, 127, 202-204

Alcoholometer, 75

Aldrich, P.W., 219

Alectorides, treatment of, 65

Alligators, collecting, 66-68

mounting, 204-206

skeletons of, 293-294

Alum, use of, 32, 45, 51, 61, 68, 115, 162

American Museum of Natural History, 109, 236, 249

Ammonia, use of, 322

Anatomy, caution against detailed external, 112

Antennæ, 332

_Anthrenus_, 336, 341

Apes, treatment of large, 43-45

Apparatus for drying larvæ, 315

for inflating larvæ, 314

for mounting larvæ, 315

Arsenic, use of, 32, 51, 64, 115, 148, 151, 344-345

Arsenic water, 342, 348

Arsenical soap, use of, 32, 45, 51, 61, 65, 68, 118, 132, 148, 162, 167

recipe for making, 346

Artificial branches, 127

foliage in group, 238-239

Attitudes of animals, 111, 121, 171-172, 192, 205

of skeletons, 288

Backgrounds, painted, for cases and groups, 221-222

Bailly, Jules F.D., grotesque groups by, 227

Bath, _see_ Salt-and-alum bath

Batrachians, 202-203

Bats, mounting, on glass, 127-128

mounting skeletons of, 291

Battle in the Tree-tops, 233, 234

Beetles, collecting, in alcohol, 328

frame for mounting, 330

Bird, names of external parts of, 47

Birds, arrangement of feathers on, 182

collecting, best season for, 16

collecting skins of small, 46-57

determination of sex in, 56

groups of, 224, 232, 235, 249-250

mounting large, 191-197

mounting small, 183-190

mounting skeletons of, 287, 292-293

painting mounted, 256

relaxing dry skins of, 179-182

shooting, as a pastime, 18

skeletonizing, 276-278

skinning large, 58-65

wrapping skins of, 53-55

Bison, American, extermination of the, 1

group of, by the author, 234-235, 245, 246

manikin for, 148

mounting the skeleton of, 296

specimens of, collected by author, 234

Blood on specimens, 42, 47, 198, 201

Body, artificial, for birds, 184, 191-192

Bone-scrapers, 286

Books of reference on birds, 352

on fishes, 354

on general zoology, 351

on groups of animals, 355

on insects, 337

on invertebrates, 354

on mammals, 352

in "Sportsman's Library," 355

miscellaneous, 355

Boxes for collecting insects, 323, 324, 332

for exhibiting insects, 335-336

for relaxing skins, 180

for tools, 11

Breeding-cages, 317, 318

Breeding larvæ, 316-319

Brushes for painting specimens, 252

Buffalo, _see_ Bison

Butterflies, breeding larvæ of, 317

collecting, 325, 332

Cages for breeding larvæ, 317, 318

Capybara, 103

Carbon bisulphide, use of, 336, 342

Carbolic acid, use of, 61, 323

crystals prevent mould, 348

Carving wooden skulls and leg bones, 104-106

_Carpocapsa_, 306

Cases of ornamental taxidermy, 220-224

Casts, 21, 25

making moulds and, 259-270

of mammals in the flesh, 268

of fishes and reptiles, 269-270

painting plaster, 257

Cassowary, 61

Cat a difficult subject, 127

Chimpanzee, 43-44

Chloroform, use of, 322, 336

Chelonia, collecting, 68-70

mounting, 206-207

Chloride of lime, 88, 89

Clay, Colonel Cecil, moose collected and presented by, 248

Clay as a filling material, 112-113, 119, 124, 167, 207, 211

preparation of, for use, 113, 148

Cleaning feathers, 65

skins of mammals, 102-104

Clothing and food, 4

Collecting, best seasons for, 16

-boxes for insects, 323-324

by amateurs, 17

eggs of insects, 309-311

fishes, 71-79

insects, 320-327

jar for insects, 321

large mammal skins, 37-45

marine invertebrates, 80-89

nests and eggs, 90-97

reptiles, 66-70

small birds, 46-57

small mammal skins, 24-36

shells, 85-89

specimens for groups, 237, 243-244

Collectors, character of ideal, 3, 46

firearms for, 9, 12

golden rule for, 20

need of skilful, 1-3

outfits for, 8-15

Colors, how to handle, 253-255

kinds of, 252

list of, 23

necessity of recording, 22, 25, 43, 48, 71-72

Coloring soft parts, 113-114, 253-255

Combs, furrier's steel, 36

"Coming to the Point," 221-222

Composition for use in modeling, 347

for snow scenes, 347

Corals, collecting and cleaning, 81-83

Corn meal as an absorbent, 59, 64, 198

Cornell University insect-house, 318

Corrosive sublimate solution, 151, 341, 345

Cotton, use of, in making bird skins, 52-54

Crabs, cleaning and mounting, 217-218

Cranes, 65

Crocodiles, collecting, 66-68

mounting, 204-206

skeletons of, 293-294

Crustaceans, cleaning and mounting, 217-218

Cyanide of potash, 321, 323

Dead game panels, 224

_Dermestes lardarius_, 64, 336, 339

_maculatus_, 340

Designing groups, 237, 243, 244-245

Ducks and their treatment, 64

Ear, treatment of the, 45, 125, 160-162, 167

Echini, collecting and preserving, 84

Eggs, blowing, 95

collecting and preserving, 94-97

removing embryos from, 96

Eggs of insects, 309-311

how deposited, 309-310

how devitalized, 310

how preserved, 310-311

Elephant, prize won by, 141

Elephants, firearms for hunting, 12

preserving skin of, 41

Embryos, removal of, 95, 96

Emu, 61

Enamel varnish, Hendley's, 346

Entomological supplies, 337

Entomology, economic, 306

Envelopes for insects, 328

Excelsior, use of, 147, 148

Expression, 169, 171-172

Extermination, animals threatened with, 1

Eye, treatment of the, 44, 124, 160, 169, 172, 188, 196, 212

Eyes, cleaning glass, 177

Feathers, cleaning, 65, 198-201

distribution of, on bird's body, 182

Felidæ as taxidermic subjects, 171

Filling for dry skins, 33, 52, 60, 166

for necks, 166

skins of mammals, 129, 130, 132, 138

small mammals, 122-125

Finishing a small mammal, 123-127

large mounted mammals, 150-155

Firearms, 9, 12

Fire-screens, feather, 225

Fish medallions, 213

Fishes, cartilaginous, treatment of, 77-78, 214-216

field notes on, 71

museum collections of, 208-209

mounting, 208-216

painting casts of, 257

painting mounted, 256

preserving entire, 73-75

skeletons of, 78, 294

skinning, 76-77

Flamingoes, group of, 232-233

Florida, collecting in, 80-87

Foot, treatment of the, 44, 192, 194

Fossil skeletons, 280

Fraine, Thomas W., 219

fire-screens by, 225

Frogs, grotesque groups of, 227

Furniture of taxidermic laboratory, 100

Furs and peltries, treatment of, 349

Game panels, 224

Garman, Samuel, quotation from, 203

Gasoline, 335

Geese, 64-65

Gelatine moulds, 265

Goode, Dr. G. Brown, 72, 234, 251

"American Fishes," by, 354

"Fishery Industries of the United States," by, 354

Gorilla, 43, 44, 130

Government Museum at Madras, 208

Grease, on skins, 59, 64, 65

removal of, from insects, 335

removal of, from birds, 191-201

Grotesque groups, 227

Group of antelope, 235

of buffaloes, 234-235, 246

of coyotes, 234

of flamingoes, 232-233

of moose, 235, 247

of musk oxen, 235

Groups by European taxidermists, 230, 239

for special exhibition, 239

of birds, 232, 234

of orang-utans, 231, 232

Group-making, general principles of, 237-240

with birds, 249-250

with large mammals, 244-248

with small mammals, 241-244

with reptiles, 250-251

Guides in hunting and collecting, 4

Gum for labels, 348

Hair, treatment of, 126, 127, 150, 169

gluing on, 155-157

Hand of anthropoid ape, 130

Hares, _see_ Rabbits

_Hatteria punctata_, 204

Hawks, group of, by F.A. Lucas, 224

Head, finishing a small mammal's, 124

finishing a bird's, 188

Heads, exhortation to sportsmen regarding, 158

how to cut off, 159

how to skin, preserve, and mount, 159-178

Health, preservation of, 4

Heron, neck of a, 195-196

prize won by F.S. Webster with, 195-196

skins, 59, 60, 65

_Hexanchus griseus_, 214

Holland, Dr. W.J., author of Part V., 61, 305-338

advice from, to insect collectors, 324, 327

collecting-boxes devised by, 323

Japanese insects collected by, 333

"Homes Without Hands," 93

Hornaday, William T., advocacy of painted backgrounds by, 221-223

use of clay by, 112

prizes won by, 141, 222, 233

new method of mounting bats by, 127

development of clay-covered manikin by, 140

method of head-mounting developed by, 163

Hornaday, William T., new treatment of feline tongues by, 174

new method of making ape's hands by, 130-131

new method of mounting fishes by, 211, 213-214

museum groups advocated by, 231, 232, 234

groups of mammals mounted by, 231, 234-235

Human figure in groups, 239-240

Hunting, hints on, 13, 14

the alligator and crocodile, 67

Hygiene, principles of, 5

Ice, artificial, 220

Inflation of larvæ, 312-316

Insect labels, 329, 337

nets, 320

pests, 336, 339-341

pins, 329-330

Insects, boxes for, 335-336

breeding-cages for, 317, 318

carrying-boxes for, 333

classification of, 305-308

collecting perfect, 320-327

collecting-boxes for, 323-324

drying, 333

eggs of, 309-311

effect of light on, 336

house for breeding, 318

killing, best methods of, 321-322

mounts for, 329

mounting, 329-332

mould in collections of, 334-335

pinning, 330-332

poisoning collections of, 336

ravages of, 306

relaxing dried, 334

removing grease from, 335

setting-boards for, 330-331

stuffing, 333

Invertebrates, marine, 80-89

Ward's catalogue of, 81

Iron square, the, 136-137

Irons for necks of mammals, 132

legs of mammals, 130, 131, 145

Javelle water, for skeletons, 287

Jenks, Professor J.W.P., author of "Steele's Popular Zoology," 351

Jesup, Morris K., bird groups ordered by, 235

"Key to North American Birds," 48, 352

"Killing-knife," 15

-jar, for insects, 321

Knives for a collector, 15, 49

Labeling, 23, 72, 94, 97, 387, 348

Laboratory, taxidermic, 99-101

_Lacertilia_, 66, 202-203

_Lamellirostres_, treatment of, 64

Larvæ, breeding and rearing, 316-319

collecting, 311

Larvæ, drying, 315

inflation of, 316

mounting, 315

preparation of, 312

transformation of, 312

Leaves, artificial, 220

Leg-bones, value of, 32, 33, 42

Leg-irons, best attachment for, 136-137

how to prepare and attach, 143-147

Leg-wires, attachment of, in birds, 193

Legs, of large mammals, making, 130-147

of small bird, wiring, 184-186

of small mammals, making, 116-118

treatment of, in skinning, 33, 59, 60, 61

Lepidoptera, 317-318

Ligamentary skeletons, cleaning, 286

mounting, 288

Lion, 171-172

Liquors, hurtfulness of intoxicating, 6

Lizards, 66, 202-204

Lobster, how to clean and mount, 217-218

_Longipennes_, treatment of, 62

Lucas, Frederic A., 69, 219, 223, 276

work in National Museum by, 288

group of turtles by, 250

group of hawks by, 224

wall-cases of birds by, 224

Macerating skeletons, 282-284

Mammals, collecting, best seasons for, 16

gluing hair on mounted, 155-157

groups of large, 231, 234

groups of small, 234, 241, 244

mounting, general principles of, 109-114

mounting groups of, see Groups

mounting heads of, 163-178

mounting medium-sized, 129-134

mounting large, 135-149

mounting small, 115-128

mounting skeletons of, 289-293

painting mounted, 254-255

relaxing dry skins of, 102

skeletonizing, 273-279

trapping and poisoning small, 18

treatment of skins of small, 24-36

treatment of skins of large, 37-45

Manikin, advantages of the, 141, 142

how to construct the best, 142-149

required for largest birds, 193

Maynard rifle, recommendation of the, 12, 13, 15

Medallions, bird, by F.S. Webster, 225

fish, 213

Measurements, of birds, 20, 48, 191

of large mammals, 37-39

of small mammals, 24

Medicines, collector's outfit of, 5, 6

Microscopic slides of insects' eggs, 311

Modeling an open mouth, 172-177

-tools, 173

Monkeys, treatment of, 43-44

Moose, group of, in National Museum, 247

Montana, natural accessories from, 247

Moth, destructiveness of the codling, 306

Moths in museum collections, 340, 341

Mould, in insect collections, 344, 345

precautions against, 61, 348

Moulds, gelatine, 265

making "piece," 259-263

making waste, 263-265

Mouth, expression of the, 171

modeling the, 172

Muriatic acid, use of, 81, 88, 89

Museum, American, 109, 236, 249

British, 235

Comparative Zoology, 202, 203

Government, at Madras, 208

United States National, 97, 109, 209, 221, 234, 235, 241, 251, 270,

343

Naphthaline crystals, use of, 335, 342, 343

Neck irons, 107, 130, 132, 138

treatment of the, 60, 65, 159, 165, 166, 169, 195

of a heron, 195

of a trophy head, 159, 165

Needles, extra long, for sewing manikins, 107

Nests, collecting, 91-93

displaying, 94

Nets for insects, 320

Nose, treatment of the, 44

Nostrils, treatment of the, 169

Notes, field, 22

Oologist, outfit for an, 91

work of an, 90-97

"Oology of New England," 225, 353

_Ophidiæ_, 66, 202

Opossums, group of, 241

Orang utans, groups of, 231, 233

treatment of, 43, 130

"_Ornithologist and Oologist_," 355

Ostrich, 61, 193

Outfit for collecting insects, 320-324

for general collecting, 9

of medicines, 6

for an oologist, 91

for sportsmen and travellers, 11

Outlines of dead animals, 22, 25

Owl, snowy, 192

Packing bird-skins, 56, 61

corals, 82

eggs, 97

insects, 332-333

skeletons, 291.

Painting finished specimens, 170, 218, 252-258

materials, 252

on papier-maché, 155

plaster casts, 257

Papier-maché, how to make, 151-153

rustic case made of, 223

use of, 151, 154, 173, 246

Parasites, 73

Passions, expression of the higher, 171

Pedestals, for skeletons, 292

Pelican, 62

Peltries and furs, treatment of, 349

Penguin, 62

Photographing animals, 21

Pinning insects, 330-332

Plaster Paris as an absorbent, 50-64, 65, 198-201

casts, 21, 25

tablets for reptiles, 202-204

use of, 163-164, 198-201, 220

Plumage, cleaning soiled, 198-201

Poison, effects of, on taxidermist, 344

Poisoning furs and rugs, 344

-jar for insects, 321

mounted specimens and collections, 341

skins and mammals, 32, 110, 148, 151

textiles and skin clothing, 343

wild animals, 18

Polishing hardwood, 348

Principles of bird-mounting, 188-190

of group-making, 237-240, 249-251

of mammal-mounting, 109-114

Proportions of animals, 112

Pulp, paper, 152

Python, 202

Rabbits, mounting, 127

Rats, necessity of guarding against, 33

Ray, author vanquished by a villainous, 215

Rays, treatment of, 77-78, 214-216

Relaxing skins of mammals, 102-104

Reptiles, casts of, by Joseph Palmer, 270

collecting, 66-70

groups of, 250

mounting, 202-207

new method for alcoholic, 202-203

_Rhinobati_, 216

Ribs, attachment of, 298-299

Richardson, Jenness, groups of birds by, 236, 249, 250

preservation of evergreens by, 221

Rocks, artificial, 228-229

Rugs, 227

Salometer, use of the, 30, 31

Salt, use of, 30, 33, 162

Salt-and-alum bath, 30, 31, 102, 115, 127

Saurians, 66-68

Saw-fish, 214-215

Scapula, attachment of, 302

Screens, feather fire-, 225

Sea-eggs, 84

-porcupines and -urchins, 84

Serpents, 66, 202, 293

Setting-boards for insects, 330

Setting-needle, 332

Sewing skins, hints on, 106

Sex in birds, determination of, 56

Sharks, 77

difficulties in preserving, 214, 215

Shells, cleaning, 87-89

fresh-water, 83

land, 85

"living" and "dead," 85

marine, 83

Shooting, hints on, 13, 14

Shot-gun, use of the, 14, 15

Shields for trophy heads, 170

Shrinkage in mounted specimens, 150, 214

Skeletons, bleaching, 283

collecting, 271-279

cleaning by macerating, 282-288

fish, 78, 294, 295

field-work on small mammal, 273-275

fossil, 280

mounting large disarticulated, 296-303

mounting small, 288, 295

packing, 279

repairing damaged, 272

"rough," 271

selection of, 271

snake, 66

tools for mounting, 303

various methods of cleaning, 282, 285, 287

Skeletonizing birds, 276-278

cetaceans, 279

fishes, 78

mammals, 273-279

reptiles, 278

Sketching from nature, 3, 4, 21, 22, 71

Skin, superfluous folds of, 134, 149, 167

Skins, cleaning bird-, 181, 182

cloth lining for old, 182

making alcoholic fish, 76-78

making alligator and crocodile, 66-68

making dry mammal, 32-36

making large bird, 58-65

making small bird, 47-50

relaxing bird-, 179-181

shrinking power of, 214-215

Skinning apes and monkeys, 43

crocodilians, 67

deer's ear, 161

fishes, 76

large birds, 58-65

large mammals, 39-42

and preserving mammal heads, 40, 159, 162

sharks, etc., 77

small birds, 47-50

small mammals, 26-29

reptiles, 66-70

turtles, 69

Skulls, how to dispose of small, 34

value of, 32

Snakes, 66

Snow, artificial, 220

Society of American Taxidermists, 141, 163, 196, 222

Space in groups, 238

Specimens, half-spoiled, 31

selection of, 20

_Sphargis coriacea_, author's struggle with, 206

_Sphenisci_, treatment of, 62

Spirits, use of, _see_ Alcohol

Sponges, collecting and cleaning, 81-82

Squirrels, groups of, 242, 243

Star-fishes, collecting and preparing, 83

Steam, use of, 200

"Steele's Popular Zoology," 47, 351

_Steganopodes_, 62

Straw, use of, 129, 132, 133, 205, 207

Struthiones, treatment of, 61

Strychnine, 18, 345

"Sugaring" to capture insects, 326

_Suidæ_, 103

Swan, 64, 65

Sweat-box, for relaxing skins, 180

Table groups, 224

Tail, wiring the, 118, 132

attitude of, 126, 172

treatment of a bird's, 54, 190

Taxidermy, ornamental, 219-229, 250

possibilities in, 149, 222, 224, 250

common faults in, 109

Taxidermist, 53

materials necessary for, 100-101

requirements in successful, 104, 108, 154

tools necessary for, 100

Taxidermists, Society of American, 231

organization of, 232

exhibitions of, 227

gifts by, 219

prizes awarded by, 141, 195, 222, 223, 224

productions of, 219

Teeth, how to clean, 176, 206

Temperance, value of habits of, 6

Thread, 168

Tiger, facial expression of, 171-172

"Till the Doctor Comes," 6

Tin, sheet, in ears, 167

_Tinea_, 340

Tongue, treatment of the, 174-176, 206

Tools, for bird taxidermist, 183

for general taxidermist, 100

Tools, for oologist, 91

for professional collector, 9

for traveller and sportsman, 11

Tow, use of, 147, 187, 207, 211

Trappers, directions for, 344

Trapping mammals, 19

Turpentine, use of, in cleaning feathers, 65, 198-201

in painting, 114

Turtles, collecting, 68-70

mounting, 206-207

skeletons of, 294

Umbrella, use of, in catching insects, 321

Varnish cutter, 347

Hendley's enamel, 346

Wall cases, 220-223

Ward, Professor Henry A., 226, 234

first large mammal group ordered by, 232

Ward, Henry L., West Indian seals collected by, 2

Ward's Natural Science Establishment, 136, 204, 231

Water, artificial, 220

Wax, use of, in mouth modeling, 176-177

Webster, Frederic S., 189, 204, 219, 228, 232, 233

bird medallions by, 225-226

prize won by, 195, 224

"Wounded Heron," by, 224

Weight of animals, 39

Wickersheimer solution, 347

Winding a mounted bird, 189-190

Wing, treatment of the, 59, 188

Wings, spread, mounting birds with, 194

Wire, how to anneal iron, 116

Wire supports for mammals, 131

supports for birds, 183

Wiring a bird, 184-186

a small mammal, 116-120

Wood duck, by F.S. Webster, 233

GEORGE H. SOWDON. FREDERIC S. WEBSTER. (Formerly of Washington.) SOWDON &

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=ALL OF WHICH WILL BE ABSOLUTELY MOTH PROOF!=

Mr. Webster's long professional experience and reputation as an expert

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STANDARD·SPECIALTIES

IN

MUSEUM HARDWARE.

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THE · UNRIVALLED · SUPERIORITY

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Smithsonian Institution,

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Yale College, Vassar College,

Brown University,

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[Illustration: FIG. 1.]

[Illustration: FIG 2.]

[Illustration: FIG 3.]

[Illustration]

IN MAKING UP YOUR

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ORDER ALL YOUR

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ALSO PUBLISHERS OF THE

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FOREST AND STREAM

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FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY,

No. 318 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.

TWO YEARS IN THE JUNGLE.

The Experiences of a Hunter and Naturalist in India,

Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, and Borneo.

By WILLIAM T. HORNADAY,

Chief Taxidermist U.S. National Museum.

One vol., 8vo, pp. xxii. 512, two folding maps and 51 illustrations.

Price, $3.00.

THE EXPEDITION AND ITS OBJECT.

The author relates the experiences of a hunter and naturalist in India,

Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, and Borneo; and certainly no richer

hunting-ground could be found anywhere else in the world. Mr. Hornaday is

chief taxidermist in the United States National Museum. He was formerly

connected with Professor Ward's Natural Science Museum of Rochester, N.Y.,

and his expedition to the East was in the interests of that establishment.

While his book is in some respects like such works as those which Du

Chaillu and Sir Samuel W. Baker have written to delight and interest a

multitude of readers, he has imparted a vast amount of information, a large

part of which is new and of the greatest moment to the naturalist.

Mr. Hornaday started from New York in 1876. From England he went finally

south to India, arriving at Bombay; he went across country to Benares; from

here he made an expedition to the north to Cawnpore and Agra. From Benares

he worked his way to Calcutta, journeyed down the Bay of Bengal to Madras;

southward again, he made a complete circuit of Ceylon, than to the Malay

Peninsula, and finally to Borneo, where his adventures with the oran-gutan

were met, ending his two years of fruitful and entirely successful search.

The illustrations are many, and most of them are taken from Mr. Hornaday's

own sketches. Though it may seem to be stating much, it certainly may be

truly said that a more interesting book of travel and adventures was never

published.

"Decidedly the most interesting and instructive book of travel and

adventure in the East Indies it has ever been our good fortune to

read."--_Baltimore News._

"An entertaining volume.... The author has proved his ability to write a

good book of travel."--_Morning Post_ (London).

"To the naturalist, Mr. Hornaday's book cannot but be as deeply interesting

as to the sportsman and traveller.... It deserved to be distinguished from

among the mass of books of sporting adventure."--_Melbourne Argus._

"One of the most entertaining and instructive books of its kind that has

been published."--_San Francisco Post._

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes

Obvious punctuation and spelling errors repaired.

In the table "RECOMMENDATIONS IN REGARD TO HUNTING WITH THE RIFLE."

on page 14, column heading "Best distance.", had to be changed to

"Best dist." for space requirements.

In ambiguous cases, the text has been left as it appears in the

original book. In particular, many mismatched quotation marks have

not been changed.

Inconsistent hyphenation has been repaired.

corn-meal changed to cornmeal

some one changed to someone

over night changed to overnight

well polished changed to well-polished

well aimed changed to well-aimed

well seasoned changed to well-seasoned