SKELETONS.
During the busy collecting season, _rough_ skeletons may be made by
removing skin, viscera, and as much muscle as possible, covering the
body with the arsenic-alum powder, and allowing it to dry, when the
specimen may be wrapped in paper and laid away for future use. To
prepare skeletons for the cabinet, remove as much of the fleshy parts
as possible, and boil the bones until the remaining flesh is softened
and can be easily removed. Then boil in water in which a piece of
lime as large as a hen's egg has been dissolved. Remove, dry, and if
necessary wire.
Another way recommended is to remove all the soft parts, and scald the
hard parts in boiling water containing a few drops of hydrochloric
acid. Leave the bones in this solution for ten minutes, wash, and boil
in plain water until all the muscle, etc., is softened. Clean this
away with a brush or by a stream of water. Boil in a strong solution
of soda, wash with soap and water, and when perfectly clean, dehydrate
with boiling alcohol (Junker). Skeletons should be mounted on wires
fixed in a wooden standard painted black.