It is hardly necessary to recommend a double-barrelled gun. One of the
barrels should be loaded with small shot or dross of lead for small
birds and the other with large shot. These should have much less powder
than an ordinary charge, so as not to tear and injure the animals.
Paper, cotton or flax and powdered dry earthen ashes should form part of
the naturalist’s stores.
When a bird is killed, a small quantity of dry dust is to be put on the
wound. For this purpose the feathers must be raised with a pin, or a
gun-picker, close to the wound. The bill of the bird should have a small
quantity of cotton or flax introduced into it to prevent the blood from
flowing and spoiling the plumage. The feathers must be all adjusted, and
the bird then placed on the ground to allow the blood to coagulate.
Every specimen should be placed in a piece of paper of the form of a
hollow cone, like the thumb bags used by grocers. The head should be
introduced into this, the paper should then be closed around the bird,
and packed in a box filled with moss, dried grass or leaves.
Birds taken alive in nets and traps are to be preferred to others for
stuffing, and also those caught by birdlime, which must be removed by
spirits of wine.
Birds should always be skinned the same day they are killed, or next day
at farthest, particularly in summer; as there is a danger of
putrefaction ensuing, by which the feathers will fall off. However, in
winter there is no danger for some days; but in tropical climates they
must be prepared soon after they are killed. The same observations apply
generally to quadrupeds.
Bats and owls are caught during the day, in the hollows of aged trees,
in the crevices of walls, and ruins of buildings. These are animals
which, it may be presumed, are still little known in consequence of
their nocturnal habits.
Those who prepare for the chase, with the intention of preserving
animals, should take care to provide themselves with implements
necessary for fulfilling the objects advantageously. The articles most
needed are one or two pairs of large pincers, scissors, forceps,
scalpels, knives, needles, thread and a small hatchet, as well as one or
more canisters of preserving powder, some pots of arsenical soap, or
arsenical composition, and some bottles of spirits of turpentine. Cotton
may be employed in stuffing the skins, and therefore a considerable
quantity should always be taken along with the naturalist. In parts of
Asia and Africa, where this cannot be procured, tow must be employed, or
old ropes teazed down; and where even this cannot be found, dried grass
and moss may be used. M. Le Vaillant used a species of dog-grass while
in Africa, which is very abundant in that country; and it answered the
purpose remarkably well.
It being supposed that a traveler has an ample caravan, provided with
all the necessaries which we have pointed out, and having killed a
quadruped, he will skin it immediately, according to the method which we
have pointed out. He will then sew up the skin after receiving a partial
stuffing, and having been anointed with the arsenical soap or
composition. All the extremities must then be imbued with spirits of
turpentine, and the skin should be placed in some convenient place to
dry, so that it may have the advantage of complete exposure to the air.
The turpentine must be again applied at the end of three or four days,
more especially around the mouth of the quadruped.
It will be of the utmost advantage to remain a week or ten days at one
place; by which means the naturalist will have had time to render
himself somewhat acquainted with the animals which localize in that
neighborhood. And as some species frequently confine themselves to a
very limited spot, by leaving the place too hurriedly he is apt to
overlook them.
After the traveler has determined on leaving his cantonment, he must see
that all the objects he has collected are in a condition to be removed.
He must examine carefully each specimen, and see that they have not been
attacked by the destructive insects, so abundant in warm climates.
Should flies have deposited their eggs in the lips of the quadrupeds or
birds, these must be destroyed by spirits of turpentine. When a set of
animals or birds are thoroughly dry, they should be packed in a box or
case, which has been well joined.
A journal ought to be kept detailing all the circumstances connected
with the animals, the places in which they were killed, and the color of
their eyes, together with any information that can be procured of their
habits from the natives. People are too apt to forget particulars when
engaged in such varied pursuits, and the sooner they are committed to
paper the better.
When the traveler arrives in Africa, he will meet with animals of the
largest size, such as the elephant, the rhinoceros, hippopotamus,
giraffe, quagga, urus, bubulus, condoma, as well as large antelope and
deer. He will unquestionably find some difficulty in his endeavors to
bring with him the skins of these animals, as in that country it is even
troublesome, in many cases, to transport the necessaries of life. But
the ardor of the zealous naturalist will here be increased by beholding
such splendid specimens as he can never meet with elsewhere. All his
energies will be strengthened and every sacrifice made to enable him to
transport the fruits of his toils.
We need only to recur to the zeal manifested by Le Vaillant in his
travels, and the rapturous delight experienced by him when he first
beheld and killed the giraffe. He brought this large skin from
Caffraria, where he killed the animal, a distance of two hundred leagues
from the Cape of Good Hope.
Should the traveler, accidentally, or in pursuit of natural objects,
find himself possessed of the carcase of one of these large and fine
animals, he would deeply regret not being able to fetch away the skin
from want of a knowledge how to separate it from the body. We shall,
therefore, suppose that he has killed an animal the size of a bull. He
must first make an incision under the belly, in the form of a double
cross. The central line must reach from the chin to the anus; the two
other transverse cuts must reach from one foot to the other. These are
always made inside, so that the seams may be less conspicuous when the
animal is mounted. When the skin is stuffed, the hoofs are detached by
laying them on a stone, and striking them with a hatchet or mallet. The
nails or hoofs must be left attached to the skin. After this, the skin
is removed from the feet, legs, and thighs, and treated in other
respects as pointed out in skinning other large animals. The bones of
the head must be preserved if possible, leaving it attached at the
muzzle only. All the muscles must be removed from the head, and the
bones rendered as clean as possible.
As it is probable that an animal of this magnitude has been killed at a
great distance from any habitation, there will not be an opportunity of
macerating the hide in alum and water. The skin will also be too thick
for the arsenical soap to penetrate with effect. Under these
circumstances, the next best thing to preserve it is to take the ashes
of a wood fire, and rub it well inside. The skin should then be
stretched along the boughs of a tree, and allowed to dry. The skull,
after it has been dried, must be returned into the skin, and the lips,
ears, and feet imbued plentifully with turpentine, which operation must
be several times repeated at intervals. Nothing is more effectual in
preventing the attacks of insects than this spirit, and no larvæ will
exist in places which it has touched.
The skin will be sufficiently dried within two or three days, so that
the hair may be turned inwards. If some common salt can be procured, a
solution of it should be made, and the hair rubbed with it. Both sides
of the skin must be rubbed with this two or three times, at intervals of
a day.
When sufficiently dry, the skin may be rolled up and packed. The hair
ought to be inwards, with a layer of dried grass intervening, to prevent
friction during conveyance. The operation of rolling up the skin must be
begun at the head.
If the journey is long, the skin should be unrolled, and placed in the
sun for a few hours, and the places liable to the attack of moths should
be again rubbed with turpentine.
When a skin thus prepared has reached the place where it is to be put
up, it must undergo a preparation previous to its being mounted. In the
first place, it must be extended along the ground with the hair
undermost, so that it may acquire fresh pliability, and those parts
which remain stiff must be moistened with tepid water. The skin must
then be placed in a large vessel of water saturated with alum, there to
remain eight or ten days; after which, it must be extended on half
rounded pieces of wood, and thinned with a sharp knife, which is
facilitated by the projections of the wood, enabling the operator the
more easily to cut it, while it is gradually shifted, till the whole has
been pretty equally thinned. When this operation is completed, it is
allowed to soak in water with an equal quantity of that saturated with
the alum. Twenty-four hours will be sufficient.
In hunting for snakes, great caution must be exercised, as it is well
known that the bite of some of these proves fatal within a quarter of an
hour, particularly that of the rattlesnake and some others. Indeed, it
would be more prudent to allow the natives to hunt for these poisonous
reptiles, as they are better acquainted with their haunts, and the means
of defense to be employed in this dangerous pursuit. They are also
better acquainted with those which are poisonous. We may, however,
remark, that the poisonous snakes have, in general, much larger heads
than those which are harmless, and their necks are also narrow.
=Shells.= Shells, on account of the elegance and variety of their forms,
and beauty of their colors, are objects much sought after, not only by
naturalists but also by most persons who are unacquainted with science.
There is no species, particularly in remote climes, which does not
deserve to be brought home, the things most common in those countries
being frequently the most rare in ours. Shells are found on every part
of the surface of the globe. Some are inhabitants of the land, while
others only frequent rivers, lakes, ponds, and ditches; and another and
more numerous class live in the ocean. Land-shells are spread over the
whole surface of the earth, and although more accessible, are perhaps
less known than those which inhabit the “mighty deep.”
=Land-Shells=, for the most part, are to be found creeping abroad either
in the evening or after a gentle shower of rain. During the heat of the
day they retire to shaded retreats, under thick bushes, the crevices of
rocks, the hollows of decayed trees, or under their bark; beneath
stones, amongst moss, or in holes in the ground. A little experience
will teach the naturalist readily to find their retreats.
=Fresh Water Shells= must be sought for, if in deep lakes, with a
dredge, or if in shallow places, with a tin spoon fixed on the end of a
stick. This is made of a circular piece of tin four inches and a half in
diameter, beat concave, and then perforated with numerous small holes,
not exceeding the sixteenth part of an inch in diameter; around this
must be soldered a perpendicular rim three-quarters of an inch broad,
and also perforated with holes. To this must be attached a hollow
tubular handle three inches long, for the insertion of a walking-stick.
It must have a few holes towards its outer end for passing a string
through to tie it firmly and prevent it being lost. With this spoon the
collector must rake along the mud at the bottom of ditches or ponds, and
after bringing a quantity to the surface, he must wash the mud entirely
away by shaking the spoon on the top of the water, and it will pass
through the holes and leave the shells. The sharp edge of the spoon is
also useful for detaching aquatic shells from the under surface of the
leaves of water-plants.
The large swan-muscle (_Anadonta Cygnea_), and other ana-dons, generally
lie deep in the mud, so that they cannot be procured by dredging. I
found it necessary to invent a net to fish for these. This consisted of
an iron triangle of twelve inches, with a hollow handle fixed on its
base, and in this is inserted a pole of sufficient length to reach the
bottom. It is firmly screwed to the handle. A net is attached to the
triangle either of twine or hair-cloth. The point of the triangle should
be sharp so that it may the more easily penetrate the mud, and it is
drawn through it in situations where shells are supposed to exist.
=Marine Shells.= These are to be found in all seas; some of them inhabit
rocks on the shore within high-water mark; others reside in deep water,
and can only be taken by dredging, or by the use of a kind of net called
in France the gangui, and an instrument called the rake has also been
successfully used.
Different species of sea-weed are frequently covered by minute
shells—weeds should always be carefully examined. Many of the smaller
and microscopic shells are found at high-water mark among the fine dross
and drifted fragments of shells; this sand should be brought home and
examined at leisure. To facilitate the process a small wire-cloth sieve
should be made of about six or seven inches square and all the sand
sifted through it and the shells left.
=Molluscous Animals.= Many species of worms and other soft, invertebrate
animals are to be caught also by the dredge. There is no way of
preserving these animals except by putting them in spirits. Animals of
this kind are still very imperfectly known, notwithstanding the
researches of Lamarck, Poli, and other celebrated naturalists. Every
opportunity should, therefore, be embraced of bringing them home;
indeed, we are still little acquainted with those which inhabit our own
seas.
When animals of this kind are procured in foreign parts a careful noting
of the latitude should be taken; and it should be stated whether they
live singly or are congregated, if they are phosphorescent, and if they
were taken in deep water. And as these animals are very liable to lose
their colors by being put in spirits, a careful noting of these should
be taken whenever they are caught, as the colors are very evanescent;
or, what would be still better, a drawing of the animal should be made.
=Intestinal Worms.= Whenever we have killed either a quadruped, bird, or
fish, we should carefully examine the stomach and intestinal canal of
the animal to see if there are any worms; indeed, there are few animals
without them; they must also be preserved in spirits. Besides the
stomach and intestines, worms are also found in the livers and other
parts of the body; also in the back of Skates and various fishes.