UC-NRLF 
 
 B 3 ISM 1M3 
 
OKS, PRINTS AND OIL 
 
 PAINTINGS, 
 NASSAU STREET, N.Y. 
 
 T. WATTS, Librarian. 
 rch, 1847. 
 oks and Curiosities Bought. 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
LIBRARY OF 
 
 ENTERTAINING KNOWLEDGE, 
 
 NOW PUBLISHING 
 
 BY LILLY & WAIT, (late WELLS & LILLY,) AND 
 CARTER, HENDEE & BABCOCK, BOSTON, 
 
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 The LIBRARY OF ENTERTAINING KivowLEDGEis pub- 
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 A 
 
diffusion of Useful Knowledge, (Mr Brougham, now Lord 
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PRACTICAL NATURALIST 
 

"""1 onSnn, t,,A(FTiB> 
 
 "As ;in < >b.-;<M ver of Nature. 'ivt-ry in/iu lias i( in h 
 power to become a N^Turalist." 
 
 LILLY & WAIT A- 
 CAH'I KK.HENi>KK & M 
 
MANUAL 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PRACTICAL NATURALIST; 
 
 DIRECTIONS 
 
 FOR COLLECTING, PREPARING, AND PRESERVING 
 SUBJECTS OF 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Containing instructions and recipes according to the most approved 
 
 methods for taking and stuffing Quadrupeds, Birds, Fishes, 
 
 Reptiles. Selecting, preserving, and arranging 
 
 Ins ects, Minerals, Plants, Shells, 4 c, <^c. 
 
 BOSTON LILLY AND WAIT, AND 
 
 CARTER, HENDEE & BABCOCK. 
 
 1831. 
 
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, TO WIT: 
 
 District Clerk^s Office- 
 
 HE IT REMEMBERED, that on the fourteenth day of May, A. D. 1831, 
 Lilly & Wait, of the said District, have deposited in this Office the Title 
 of a Book, the title of which is in the words following, to wit : 
 
 * Manual of the Practical Naturalist; or directions for collecting, preparing, 
 and preserving subjects of Natural History. Containing instructions aiid re- 
 cipes according to the most approved methods for taking and stuffing Quadru- 
 peds, Birds, Fishes. Reptiles. Selecting, preserving, and arranging Insects, 
 Minerals, Plants, Shells, &e. 
 
 The Right whereof they claim as Proprietors, in conformity with an Act of 
 Congress, entitled ' An Act to amend the several acts respecting Copyrights.' 
 
 JNO. W. DAVIS, 
 
 Clerk of the District. 
 

 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE object of the present work is to afford the 
 necessary instruction for preserving the various 
 productions of nature, and to present a general 
 idea of the arrangements with respect to family 
 and species, upon which naturalists have esta- 
 blished their methods of classification. 
 
 It is evident, that without any efficient means 
 for the preservation of the various subjects which 
 compose the three great departments of nature, 
 natural science, so far from having made, that im- 
 mense progress which at the present day is the 
 object of so much admiration, would be still 
 shrouded in the deepest ignorance. The ante- 
 lopes, the dolphins, the apes, and the phocae of 
 the animal creation, would maintain the charac- 
 
 M351776 
 
Vlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ter imposed upon them by the uninstructed cre- 
 dulity of former ages, and figure to our imagina- 
 tions as unicorns, tritons, fawns, satyrs and sirens. 
 But the torch of science has enlightened a great 
 portion of the globe ; sober truth has exploded 
 the extravagances of fiction, and a philosophical 
 criticism occupies the place of wonder and cre- 
 dulity. 
 
 We owe this advantage to the study of Natu- 
 ral History; a study which has been promoted 
 chiefly by those admirable collections of materi- 
 als for this department of knowledge in Europe ; 
 collections which have excited the admiration of 
 every individual, and continue to hold out a fur- 
 ther incitement to researches destined to tear 
 aside the veil from what is still a mystery to our 
 eyes. 
 
 The different branches of human knowledge 
 advance by means of the reciprocal aid which 
 they lend each other. No art but has afforded 
 some discovery useful to the rest, and which* 
 they have applied to extend their own limits. 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 In our own infant country, and with that predo- 
 minant bias toward the practical and useful, which 
 is the characteristic of the present day, the sci 
 ence of Natural History is not without high claims 
 to our notice. 
 
 Europe possesses museums of Natural History, 
 the loss of which would throw back the science 
 for a century. Ought not the citizen of this 
 thriving republic to feel a wish to rival the old 
 continent in these precious collections ? It would 
 be needless to expatiate upon the richness of the 
 materials which our own land offers. 
 
 Although the knowledge which is imparted in 
 these pages may not appear to enter immediately 
 into the great interests of mankind, yet it is not 
 the less worthy of occupying the attention of the 
 friend of science. The enthusiastic admirer of 
 nature will not fail to appreciate it. By means 
 of this knowledge we are enabled to preserve 
 animals for years after their death, in all those 
 brilliant colours and graceful attitudes which con 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 stitute their principal charm when living. By 
 this help the studious naturalist may have under 
 his own view the representatives of the various 
 tribes which people the whole animal kingdom. 
 Within the walls of his own cabinet he may com- 
 pare together the tiger of India and the panther 
 of America, the enormous serpent who strives 
 with the lion of the African deserts, and the tor- 
 pid reptile that sluggishly ' drags its slow length 
 along ' in the bogs of Northern Europe. In the 
 confines of his own study he will be able to cor- 
 rect the errors of the traveller who is seduced by 
 the love of the marvellous; and treading in the 
 steps of Buffon and Cuvier, will acquire greater 
 treasures of knowledge in his closet, than thou- 
 sands who traverse the world for study. 
 
 The works upon Natural History which our 
 country has produced, are of high value to the 
 science. The splendid volumes of Wilson and 
 Bonaparte upon Ornithology, and of several other 
 writers in different branches, are known with high 
 reputation beyond the limits of our own^country. 
 A systematic collection of the various tribes of 
 
INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 animals indigenous to our continent, ought to 
 occupy our first attention in the endeavour to 
 promote this science. The recent formation in 
 this city of a society of Natural History, leads 
 us to hope that an undertaking of so much inter- 
 est and usefulness to the study will soon receive 
 the countenance and aid of the Boston public. 
 Whoever has witnessed the admirable collection 
 of the Museum of Natural History at Paris, must 
 be sensible what accredit would be reflected upon 
 the citizens of that portion of our country which 
 could pride itself upon the possession of a simi- 
 lar treasury of scientific riches. 
 
 As an aid and exhortation in behalf ^of so de- 
 sirable an object, the following manual has been 
 prepared. To make it the more acceptable to 
 the general reader, care has been taken to avoid 
 or explain all the less common scientific terms. 
 
 The art of preparing animals with a view to 
 their preservation is very ancient. The oldest 
 civilized nation upon the globe possessed it in a 
 high degree of perfection a higher than even 
 
Xll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 that of the present day. The Egyptian mum- 
 mies of human subjects, birds, cats, &c, of several 
 thousand years' antiquity, have come down to us 
 in perfect preservation. The Egyptian art, how- 
 ever, has been lost. 
 
 The modern art of preservation can date back 
 but little more than half a century. Some Eng- 
 lish, French, and Swedish naturalists published 
 treatises on the subject about the years 1750 and 
 1760. Those which attracted the most notice 
 were the productions of Dr John Coakley Lett- 
 som and the celebrated Reaumur. The latter 
 formed a very beautiful cabinet of natural history 
 in his own house, which after his death became 
 the basis 'of the collection of birds in the Museum 
 at Paris. Experience, however, proved that the 
 means he proposed were insufficient for preserva- 
 tion. Reaumur received birds from all parts of 
 the world, in spirit of wine, according to the in- 
 structions he had given, and contented himself 
 with taking them from this liquor and arranging 
 them in his cabinet with wires. The larger ani- 
 mals were padded with straw. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xlll 
 
 Some persons in France, struck with the ap- 
 pearance of these animals, attempted to skin 
 some native birds, and to mount them for the 
 cabinet. They succeeded but indifferently ; the 
 body was too forward, and the thighs projected 
 out behind. It may be well to observe that this 
 fault always happens with those who mount a 
 bird for the first time, even when they have re- 
 ceived proper instructions. 
 
 To these succeeded the German, Schoeffer. 
 This naturalist, after skinning them contented 
 himself by cutting the birds longitudinally in 
 two, and filling one half with plaster ; then fixing 
 the skin at the back of a box of a depth propor- 
 tionate to the size of the bird, he stuck in an eye, 
 and replaced or represented the beak and claws 
 by painting ; he then carefully fixed a glass on 
 this frame, to protect the object from insects. 
 This method is still followed in Germany, but 
 much improved, 
 
 A work appeared at Lyons in 1758, entitled 
 ' Instructions on the manner of Collecting and 
 
XIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Preparing the different Curiosities of Natural 
 History.' M. Turgot, the author, was the first 
 who announced some useful principles for the 
 art. This work likewise contained a memoir of 
 M. Duhamel, entitled f Instructions for the trans- 
 portation by sea of Living Plants, Seeds, &C.' 
 The work is altogether an interesting one. 
 
 In 1786, the Abbu Manesse published a trea- 
 tise on the i Manner of Stuffing and Preserving 
 Animals and Skins.' He presented his work to 
 the Academy, who made a very favourable re- 
 port of it. This book contained some very use- 
 ful advice, but the instructions it gave for mount- 
 ing and preserving birds do not appear altogether 
 admissible. The author excludes the use of poi- 
 sons, and in this we recognise the principles of 
 
 humanity which have always characterized him. 
 / 
 
 The Abbe Manesse has rendered great service 
 to science by his excellent observations on the 
 manners of animals. He neglected no informa- 
 tion which might be procured either by corre- 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 spondence or his own labours. At the age of 
 forty-five he climbed the highest trees with the 
 assistance of two hooks fitted to a pair of boots, 
 and a girth which encircled his body and the 
 tree at the same time. 
 
 M. Mauduyt has given a memoir on the man- 
 ner of preparing birds for collections in the fifth 
 livraison of the Encyclopedic Methodique, His- 
 toire Naturelle des Oiseaux. He does not, how- 
 ever, point out any effectual means of preserva- 
 tion. His recommendation of sulphureous fumi- 
 gations for killing insects, is liable to strong objec- 
 tions from the injury to which the skins them- 
 selves are exposed. 
 
 The English work of Dr Lettsom contains some 
 judicious directions, and is valuable as far as it 
 goes, but is much too concise for a safe guide. 
 There had been previously written, although not 
 published, a treatise upor; the same subject by 
 John Reinhold Forster, the traveller ; of this 
 work Dr Lettsom made considerable use in the 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 compilation of his own. The writings of Davis 
 and Kuckahn,in the Philosophical Transactions, 
 were also turned by him to the same account. 
 Lettsom's ' Naturalist's and Traveller's Compa- 
 nion/ with all its deficiencies, may still be con- 
 sulted with advantage. 
 
 Besides these, many small treatises were given 
 to the world in various scientific journals ^and 
 other shapes, among which number may be men- 
 tioned one by Linne. The Dutch had shown 
 a great taste for birds, and had made four or five 
 collections of much interest for the rarity of the 
 species and the beautiful preparation of the indi- 
 viduals. An old sculptor at the Hague devoted 
 himself to the practice of preparing skins, and 
 in a short time surpassed all those who had at- 
 tempted large animals, especially mammalia. 
 
 It does not appear, however, that either the 
 Dutch or the English had published any work 
 which treated of the mounting of animals accord- 
 ing to system. The French had as little to offer 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV11 
 
 of their own, if we except the memoir of Mau- 
 duyt, which being inserted in an encyclopaedia 
 was not in a sufficiently popular shape, and the 
 work of the Abbe Manesse, whose tediousness 
 frightened every student. Besides, the systems 
 of both these writers were essentially faulty in 
 the means they offered for the preservation of 
 skins. The alkalies recommended by Manesse 
 attract the dampness in moist seasons, and injure 
 the feathers. The sulphureous fumigations of 
 Mauduyt have the same bad effect in many in- 
 stances. Up to the beginning of the present 
 century, a general want was felt for a systematic 
 work, which should furnish a method of preserv- 
 ing and augmenting the various Zoological col- 
 lections, which the increasing taste for the study 
 of Natural History had brought together in many 
 countries of Europe. 
 
 In 1802 this defect was nearly supplied; there 
 appeared nearly at the same moment, two works 
 on Taxidermy (the art of preparing skins) ; the 
 one by M. Nicholas, a chemist, and the other by 
 
XV111 - INTRODUCTION. 
 
 M. Henon. M. Nicholas makes an analysis of 
 all that had been previously written on the pre- 
 paration of animals : this review comprehends 
 nearly half the volume. Like the Abbj Ma- 
 nessse, he renounces poisons as dangerous^ to the 
 preparers,and insufficient to avert the destructive 
 effects of insects on zoological collections. He 
 affirms, that with his soapy pomatum and tanning 
 liquor, stuffed animals may be preserved a long 
 time. The drugs which compose his prepara- 
 tions do not injure those who use them. 
 
 In the work of Henon and Mouton Fontenille, 
 the authors had at first no other object than to 
 read their manuscript to the Athenaeum at Ly- 
 ons, of which they were members ; they were 
 solicited to print it, and the work was published 
 in 1802. These authors speak of birds only ; 
 they describe an infinity of methods practised by 
 others, and compare them with their own, which 
 without doubt are preferable, but too slow to 
 satisfy the impatience of ornithologists. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XIX 
 
 Becoeur, a skilful apothecary of Metz, may be 
 said to have created the art of Taxidermy. The 
 arsenical soap invented by him is the most va- 
 luable material hitherto known for the preserva- 
 tion of the skins of all animals. Many birds pre- 
 pared by him sixty and seventy years ago, are still 
 in beautiful preservation. His method of mount- 
 ing both birds and quadrupeds, is one of the best 
 hitherto made known. 
 
 The materials of the work which we now offer 
 to the American reader, have been drawn from 
 most of the sources indicated above ; the treatise 
 on the management of insects at the end of the 
 work, we have taken from the instructions of the 
 naturalist Donovan. Several other compilations 
 in a popular shape have within a few years been 
 collected from the same quarters. M. Boitard, 
 an experienced French naturalist, has published 
 a comprehensive and methodical treatise, entitled 
 'Manuel du Naiuraliste Preparateur,' which we 
 have regarded as the most judicious in point of 
 arrangement, and satisfactory in direction. We 
 
XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 have accordingly made it the basis of our per- 
 formance, adopting this author's general divi- 
 sions of the subject, and adding to his own obser- 
 vations such remarks of others as were judged 
 necessary to make the work complete in all its 
 branches. 
 
 Boston, June 1831. 
 

 CONTENTS. 
 
 OF THE METHODS OF PROCURING OBJECTS OF 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Of Taking Birds, 26 
 
 Marnmiferous Animals, 35 
 
 Reptiles, -38 
 
 Fishes, 47 
 
 Crustacea, 48 
 
 Insects, 53 
 
 Shell-Fish, 61 
 
 Zoophytes, 64 
 
 Corals, fyc, ib. 
 
 Polypes, 65 
 
 Collecting Seeds and Plants, 67 
 
 Wood, 71 
 
 Minerals, 72 
 
 Of Packing and Transporting objects of natural history, 77 
 
 Birds, ib. 
 
 Mammiferous Animals, 79 
 
XX11 CONTENTS. 
 
 Reptiles and Fishes, 79 
 
 Crustacea, 80 
 
 Insects, ib 
 
 Shells, ib. 
 
 Zoophytes, 81 
 
 Plants, ib. 
 
 Minerals, ib. 
 
 Of the Instruments necessary to the practical naturalist, 82 
 
 Materials for Stuffing, 83 
 
 Preservatives, 85 
 
 Steeping, 88 
 
 Liquors for exterior lavation, 90 
 
 internal application, 92 
 
 Perpetual Preservatives for such animals as cannot 
 
 be dried. ib. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 TAXIDERMY, 
 
 Of Skinning Birds, 95 
 
 Mounting Birds, 103 
 
 Remedies for occasional difficulties, 108 
 
 Preparation in demi-relief, 110 
 
 do in St Esprit, 111 
 
 Pictures, 112 
 
 Nests and Eggs, ib. 
 
 Of Skinning and Mounting Mammiferous Animals, 113 
 
CONTENTS. XX111 
 
 Remedies for occasional difficulties, 116 
 
 Elephants, 119 
 
 Hedgehogs, 123 
 
 Fishes, ib. 
 
 Seals, 125 
 
 Tortoises, 126 
 
 Frogs, 127 
 
 Lizards, ib. 
 
 Snakes, 128 
 
 Of Preparing Crustacea, 129 
 
 Insects, ib. 
 
 Butterflies, ib. 
 
 Caterpillars, 130 
 
 Shells, 131 
 
 Plants, 132 
 
 Of Skeletons, ib. 
 
 Natural Skeletons, 133 
 
 Artificial Skeletons, 134 
 
 Of Embalming, 135 
 
 Egyptian Method, ib. 
 
 Embalming Birds, 137 
 
 Of the method of making Artificial Eyes, ib. 
 
 General Remarks respecting the preservation of subjects 
 
 of Natural History, 142 
 
 Of Grouping, 145 
 
 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF INSECTS, 
 
 The Egg, 149 
 
 The Caterpillar, 151 
 
 Pupa, Chrysalis, or Aurelia, 154 
 
 Insects, general collection of, 157 
 
XXIV CONTENTS. 
 
 Breeding Cages, 161 
 
 Pupa, 164 
 
 Setting or preserving of Insects, 165 
 
 The Egg, ib. 
 
 The Caterpillar, 166 
 
 The Pupa or Chrysalis, 168 
 
 The Last or Perfect State, 169 
 
 Coleopterous Insects or Beetles, . ib. 
 Lepidopterous Insects; as Butterflies, Hawk-Moths, and 
 
 Moths, 171 
 
 Minute Moths; Tinea, Tortrix, Alucita, &c, 176 
 
 Neuropterous, Hymenopterous, and Dipterous Insects, 179 
 
 Apterous Insects, 181 
 
 The Cabinet, 183 
 
 Description of the Museum of Natural History at Paris, 186 
 
 Glossary, 201 
 
MANUAL 
 
 PRACTICAL NATURALIST 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Of the Methods of procuring Objects of Natural 
 History. 
 
 BY a singular fatality, the greater portion of 
 those who in any way turn their attention" to 
 Natural History, constantly neglect their native 
 territories. An uncommon plant, or strange ani- 
 mal from India or Africa, has excited the inte- 
 rest, of numbers among us, who pass by with 
 indifference many a native production of equal 
 importance. We are in many instances better 
 acquainted with the animals of foreign lands, 
 than with those which inhabit under our very 
 eyes. A common error, which affects other de- 
 partments of human conduct, may be designated 
 as the cause. What is familiar to us and imme- 
 diately within our reach, we are apt to regard as 
 of inferior value to that which is of distant origin 
 and difficult acquirement. 
 3 
 
26 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 It is true, that the naturalist who is desirous of 
 attaining a complete perfection in his study, should 
 possess other qualities beside the knowledge of 
 preserving such objects of his attention as chance 
 or a mere desultory research may throw in his 
 way. He who would be a thorough naturalist, 
 and exhibit a true enthusiasm for the science, 
 must indeed arm himself with patience, courage 
 and resolution. He must visit foreign lands, and 
 encounter the fatigues of distant voyages. There 
 are treasures invaluable to science to be sought 
 out among the burning plains of India, and the 
 rugged mountains of the western world. These 
 are worthy objects of a noble ambition, but the 
 opportunity and means for the attempt are at the 
 command of but a small number. But let not 
 the lover of natural science despair if the means 
 of prosecuting extensive researches are not within 
 his power. All nature is full of life: and though 
 it be his lot to find his endeavours circumscribed 
 within the limits of his own country, he may still 
 be enabled to make valuable discoveries, and ren- 
 der essential service to that branch of knowledge 
 which it is his ambition to promote. 
 
 OF TAKING BIRDS. 
 
 No one is ignorant of that important direction 
 which constitutes the first item in the celebrated 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 27 
 
 recipe for cooking a turbot. It may be expected 
 of us, therefore, before we speak of stuffing the 
 bird, to give some special directions how to catch 
 him. Trusting, however, that the reader has an- 
 ticipated us on this point, we shall pass over the 
 subject of guns and traps as supererogatory, and 
 only remark, that as regards our present purpose, 
 the method is indifferent* 
 
 In whatever manner it is performed, the opera- 
 tor should furnish himself with a pair of pincers, 
 paper, cotton, flax or clean tow, and plaster of 
 Paris in powder. Should the weather be hot, 
 or the place of hunting distant, so as to hazard 
 the spoiling of the game ere it can be sent home, 
 have a tin box containing nettle, mint, and such 
 aromatic plants as grow on the banks of rivers ; 
 in this pack the birds, after preparing them as 
 we shall presently direct. This is recommend- 
 ed as a sure method by M Boitard, who al- 
 leges in its favour an experience of more than 
 twenty years in Italy and the south of France, 
 where from the heat of the climate corruption in 
 ordinary cases takes place in a few hours, 
 
 When a bird is shot, secure him immediately, 
 that he may not soil his feathers with the blood 
 of the wound. Seek out the wound, and raise 
 the feathers which cover it. Put a quantity of 
 the powdered plaster* upon the wound, and 
 
 * In these cases, when plaster is not to be had, you may 
 substitute dry earth, ashes, or bran. 
 
28 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 thrust into it a plug of cotton ; then add more 
 of the plaster, and when the bleeding is quite 
 stanched, replace the feathers. Cleanse the 
 mouth and stop it with the tow or cotton, intro- 
 ducing a quantity of plaster. This precaution 
 must be particularly observed in the case of 
 birds of prey, as they often disgorge their food 
 in dying, and sometimes after death. The nos- 
 trils also should be plugged with cotton, on ac- 
 count of the fetid matter which commonly escapes 
 therefrom ; in the vulture this matter is so strong 
 in odour, that when the feathers become imbued 
 with it, nothing can remove the scent. In per- 
 forming the operation, care should be taken not 
 to distort the nostrils or the corners of the mouth, 
 as in many species of birds these points indicate 
 generical or specific characters. 
 
 If it be a bird feeding upon fish, such as the 
 pelican or heron, cleanse not only the throat but 
 the crop and pouch, for the least pressure would 
 force out their contents and soil the plumage. 
 To empty the pouch of a pelican, you have only 
 to open his beak and take out the contents with 
 the hand. In a bird without a pouch, the pro- 
 cess although longer, has hardly more difficulty: 
 hang him up by the claws with the head down- 
 wards, shake him, and squeeze the neck with a 
 gentle pressure, passing from the breast down to 
 the mouth ; this will force out the contents of 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 29 
 
 the stomach. After this, stuff his mouth with 
 plaster and cotton as above directed. The 
 escape of the excrement is prevented in the 
 same way. 
 
 This is the moment when the naturalist should 
 make the following indispensable observations. 
 Open his eyes and take exact note of their co- 
 lour; measure his extreme length from the 
 point of the beak to the end of the tail; and, 
 if you have had opportunity before shooting him 
 of observing his attitude, note it down, that when 
 he is stuffed he may be placed in the same posi- 
 tion. These observations may consist chiefly of 
 the following. 
 
 1. Does he perch,* or otherwise ? 
 
 2. Are his thighsf bare, or hidden by the 
 plumage of the belly ? 
 
 3. Is his body while at rest placed vertically, 
 obliquely, or horizontally? 
 
 4. Are the wings drawn up, or hanging down ? 
 Do they cross over the tail? Are they con- 
 founded and united with the feathers of the breast 
 and back for a third, one-half, or two-thirds of 
 their length from the top? Do their tips reach 
 
 * To perch , in the language of ornithology, is to follow the 
 habit of alighting on a branch or rail, in contradistinction to 
 alighting on the ground or any flat surface: Thus a robin 
 perches, a duck does not. 
 
 t In the present instance, the word thigh is used in the popu- 
 lar application. The scientific nomenclature gives another name 
 to this limb of the bird. 
 
30 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 to the end of the tail? or half its length? or a 
 quarter? &c. 
 
 5. What is the exact colour of the claws, 
 beak, ceres, and glands? 
 
 These remarks, although they may appear un- 
 necessarily minute, yet are very essential. One 
 example out of a thousand will suffice. Suppose 
 you have shot a young male or old female cres- 
 serette;* the most exact description will not ena- 
 ble you to distinguish it from a female^crewereK- 
 etfe, unless you note the precise length, which is 
 two inches longer in the first mentioned bird : or 
 unless the wings and tail be compared, as the 
 wings in the cresserelle reach but three-fourths 
 the length of the tail. These are the only clear 
 distinctions of the two species. 
 
 Having followed the above directions, hold the 
 bird by die bill, and shake him gently to get rid 
 of the superfluous plaster, and return the feathers 
 to their natural position ; in aid of this you may 
 blow upon him, but always in the direction of 
 the feathers : then roll up a sheet of strong pa- 
 per into a cone, and place him head first within, 
 taking care not to derange the feathers, it being 
 extremely difficult afterwards to replace them 
 properly : the legs should be stretched along the 
 tail, and the wings placed close : then close up 
 
 * The Kestrel of Bnfibn, the Stannel or Wind-Hover of 
 other*. Faleo tmmuneulus of Gmelin . 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 31 
 
 the package, after placing within the notes you 
 have taken respecting the bird : then put it care- 
 fully in a box or bag, and if you have several of 
 these packages put the largest at the bottom. 
 
 When you take a bird in a snare or net, be 
 careful in killing him that he does not beat his 
 feathers off in struggling ; seize him by the two 
 fingers under the wings, between the breast and 
 the belly, and pinch him till he is suffocated. 
 Taking with nets is a tolerable method of 
 obtaining small birds in good condition, but re- 
 quires a degree of skill which is only attained by 
 long practice. Its success too is hardly certain, 
 except during the spring; when, in the season of 
 pairing, the feathered tribe lose their timidity and 
 allow themselves to be approached. 
 
 Many interesting subjects are sometimes taken 
 by birdlime, but they are often quite spoiled by 
 this substance. Nevertheless, if a bird taken in 
 this manner have saved enough of his plumage 
 to render him worth preserving, and his rarity 
 make it an object, he may with care and patience 
 be cleansed, thus : Rub the limed feathers with 
 fresh butter till the lime and butter coalesce, 
 which you may know by the mixture's not stick- 
 ing ; remove as much as you can scrape off with 
 a knife, and wash the remainder with a strong so- 
 lution of potash ; the lime being removed, wash 
 again with clear water and dry it with powdered 
 
32 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 plaster. For want of potash, make a strong ley 
 of equal parts of ashes and water ; let it stand 
 twenty-four hours, and decant it clear. If nei- 
 ther of these lotions be procurable, you may use 
 very strong soap-suds several times renewed. 
 
 Some persons, after applying the butter to the 
 limed feathers, add a quantity of ether, and af- 
 terwards wipe the feathers dry with tow. This 
 is doubtless the most expeditious way, but has 
 the disadvantage of discolouring the plumage. 
 
 In addition to the above methods of procuring 
 subjects, there is another which is by no means 
 to be neglected ; this is, to go to the markets 
 where game is sold. But ere you purchase a 
 bird, however valuable he may appear, satisfy 
 yourself that he is capable of preservation. Exa- 
 mine first the claws, the bill, and the large beam- 
 feathers of the wings and tail. If none of these 
 are wanting, see whether the skull be not broken, 
 as many persons crush with the hand the heads 
 of those birds which they take in nets, or, when 
 shooting, finish them by beating their heads ; in 
 these cases, the bones of the head being fractured, 
 it will be difficult to restore it to its true shape, 
 and with any care it could not be arranged with 
 firmness. Still, in the case of a very rare subject, 
 these circumstances will not detract wholly from 
 its value. 
 
 Examine moreover whether the flesh be suffi- 
 ciently free from putrefaction to preserve the 
 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 33 
 
 feathers upon the skin in the process of flaying. 
 This you cannot always know by the smell, for 
 the wound will sometimes exhale an odour which 
 infects no other part. Examine attentively the 
 small feathers at the corners of the bill and the 
 cheeks ; if they hold firmly, the bird is capable of 
 preservation, but if you can rub off these feathers 
 with the finger, and the skin beneath feels damp, 
 abandon him as unfit for your purpose ; he would 
 part with his plumage or come quite to pieces 
 the moment you attempted to take off the skin. 
 
 Much attention is requisite in the selection of 
 birds ; upon this depends the freshness and bril- 
 liancy of colour, which gives them their greatest 
 value. A bird reared in a cage loses his grace- 
 fulness, the beauty of his dress, and sometimes 
 the characteristics of his species. It is only upon 
 the summit of the craggy rock, that we find the 
 enormous bird of prey armed with his long and 
 sharp talons. It is upon the sandy shores of the 
 ocean or the banks of rivers, that we must look 
 for the feathered combatants armed with a splen- 
 did cuirass of long and slender plumes ; the wood- 
 pecker and the sparrow are decked in the gaudy 
 dress of the pairing-season, solely when they in- 
 habit the solitude of the forest. The naturalist 
 therefore will not make his selections either from 
 the barn-yard, or the aviary of the bird-fancier. 
 Nature must be studied in the fields. 
 
34 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 The nomenclature of birds is at present thrown 
 into much confusion, by the errors of writers who 
 have mistaken young individuals, females, and 
 old males of a single class, for different species. 
 Men of high talent, Buffon himself, cannot be 
 exempted from this imputation. This great natu- 
 ralist has given the name of faucon to the falco 
 peregrinus of Gmelin ; he has made one species 
 of the full-grown male ; a second species of the 
 young male,*vhich he has named faucon-sors; a 
 third species of the year-old male, which he has 
 called faucon noir passager; and a fourth spe- 
 cies of the very old male, which has received 
 from him the title of lanier. An intelligent 
 amateur should employ all the means in his 
 power to collect every variety of age and sex, 
 as well as that variety occasioned by moulting. 
 He who in this manner is enabled to make the 
 acquisition of a whole genus, has rendered a true 
 service to the study ; his cabinet will possess 
 more value in the eyes of a naturalist, than if he 
 had heaped together thousands of individuals, 
 rare in themselves, but isolated in respect to 
 classification. 
 
 Birds of prey in general, and particularly 
 those of the hawk kind (genus falco), deserve 
 the first attention of the naturalist ; next follow 
 those which frequent the shores of the sea and 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 35 
 
 the banks of rivers ; afterwards those of the 
 passer tribe.* 
 
 OF TAKING MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. f 
 
 No one is ignorant of the manner of hunting 
 mammiferous animals, such as the wolf, bear, 
 fox, &c, but the industry of sportsmen has never 
 been exercised upon small game, like dormice, 
 field-mice, and the rest of the same tribe ; in 
 consequence, their history is confused, little 
 known, and sufficient of course to establish the 
 reputation of any one who will devote himself 
 to the study of it exclusively. Common as 
 these animals are in our forests, they are ex- 
 tremely rare in scientific collections. They may 
 be shot with a fowling-piece during the evening 
 twilight, upon the skirts of woods, near the fruit- 
 trees which are scattered about those places ; at 
 this hour the dormice and squirrels profit by the 
 last rays of the sun, to quit their holes and skip 
 from branch to branch in quest of food ; the 
 weasel, ermine and polecat glide silently among 
 the thickets in search of the lark, who has gone 
 
 * The sixth order of birds, according to the Linnaean system, 
 comprising all the singing-birds. 
 
 t Animals which nourish their young by giving suck, are^ 
 termed mammiferous. 
 
 
36 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 to rest in the fields. They may also be taken 
 in trap-cages, similar to those used for birds 
 with this difference, that wire or sheet-iron is to 
 be substituted for wood ; the trap may be baited 
 with nuts and fruit of various sorts. 
 
 If the animal be large, he will require no pre- 
 paration previous to skinning, for which process 
 we refer the reader to a subsequent chapter. 
 But if it be a small creature, or if his long and 
 shining fur appear in danger from staining, as 
 that of the ermine for example, stanch the 
 bleeding, plug up the wounds with cotton or tow, 
 and apply the pulverized plaster in abundance 
 till the whole be dry ; stop up in the same man- 
 ner the mouth, ears, nostrils, and all openings of 
 the body, to hinder the flow of blood, and the 
 extravasation of the matter contained in the sto- 
 mach and intestines. If it be necessary to pre- 
 serve him a long time before he can be skinned, 
 you may do this by a method which has always 
 been found successful: Open the belly, and 
 take out the intestines and other viscera ; fill the 
 cavity with powdered charcoal ; then making the 
 body as clean and dry as possible, put a thick 
 layer of charcoal-dust in a box and place the 
 animal within; add more of the charcoal and 
 cover him entirely, so that he may be completely 
 surrounded, and no part touch the side of the 
 box; then pack the whole snug, that nothing 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 37 
 
 may be deranged during conveyance from place 
 to place. 
 
 Game packed in this manner may be kept 
 fresh three months, but no air must be admitted 
 for an instant during this time ; otherwise what- 
 ever care you may exert in replacing it, the flesh 
 will speedily corrupt. 
 
 The smallest quadrupeds may be kept for 
 years by only putting them in spirit, taking care 
 to keep them entirely submerged. 
 
 For those who have opportunities of procur- 
 ing rare animals alive, in foreign countries, it 
 may be of service to remark, that the younger 
 animals are, the easier it is to accustom them to 
 live in their cages. They will at first require 
 particular care, and must always be nourished 
 some weeks on shore before they are embarked. 
 You cannot take too much pains to tame them. 
 An animal who is not frightened at the sight of 
 those who attend him, is always better, and more 
 able to resist the fatigues of a voyage than when 
 he remains wild; and there is scarcely any ani- 
 mal which we cannot tame by good treatment. 
 An excess of food, when animals are shut up 
 and not able to take exercise, is very injurious 
 to them. The surest method of preserving them, 
 is to give them only what is necessary. After 
 this, the greatest requisite is cleanliness. It is 
 4 
 
38 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 also necessary to take precautions that such ani- 
 mals be not worried by passengers. 
 
 OF TAKING REPTILES. 
 
 This class of beings comprehends two princi- 
 pal divisions; the first containing oviparous quad- 
 rupeds, frogs, lizards and tortoises, and the se- 
 cond, snakes. Each of these divisions offers to 
 our researches, a different animal in respect to 
 manners, shape, and locality of habitation; the 
 method of hunting them is therefore dissimilar. 
 
 Frogs delight in marshes, ponds, and especially 
 miry ditches. They are found in watery pastures, 
 and upon roads after rain, or when a sultry and 
 close air prognosticates a storm. You may seek 
 for them with good success in stony places over- 
 grown with wood, in the clefts of rocks, and the 
 trunks of old trees ; sometimes they will be found 
 upon trees and in hedges, w r here they sit crouched 
 upon leaves which they closely resemble in co- 
 lour, and which cause them easily to escape 
 notice. 
 
 Notwithstanding the vulgar notions respecting 
 some of this tribe, particularly the toad, no spe- 
 cies of them is venomous ; and very singularly, 
 the only one that offers any appearance of dan- 
 ger, is the one which is eaten. The skin of the 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 39 
 
 common frog exudes a viscous matter, sufficiently 
 acrid to cause a painful smarting to the eyelids, 
 if they happen to be rubbed by the hands which 
 have touched one of these reptiles ; but the dan- 
 ger extends no farther. 
 
 Most of the individuals of this class are clumsy 
 in their movement, and cannot easily escape when 
 you have once discovered their retreat. You 
 may catch them with the hand without using any 
 precaution ; but those who cannot overcome their 
 repugnance for these harmless creatures, may use 
 leather gloves, or nippers made for the purpose. 
 Some of the species of frogs, those in particular 
 which haunt wet places, escape with a good deal 
 of agility ; these you may take with a small net 
 stretched upon a hoop ; they may also be caught 
 with a hook and line, thus: bait your hook 
 (which should be very small,) with a grasshopper 
 or other insect, or even with a bit of red cloth ; 
 draw it near the frog upon the surface of the water, 
 or on the ground, taking care to keep it in motion 
 like a living insect ; many species of frogs may 
 be drawn to a great distance by the view of this 
 bait, and it is not uncommon to see a dozen at 
 a time hopping after it and fighting among them- 
 selves for the bite. Some kinds are less vora- 
 cious or more prudent, particularly toads; in pre- 
 senting these w r ith the bait, care must be taken 
 not to frighten them ; you must bring it to their 
 
40 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 very mouths, in which case they can rarely re- 
 sist the temptation. 
 
 With regard to tortoises, the persons who in- 
 habit those places where they abound, are best 
 acquainted with their haunts and the manner of 
 taking them. Sea-tortoises are fond of those 
 immense lagoons w r hich are covered with a small 
 depth of water, where they can feed upon the 
 sea-weed and other marine productions growing 
 in the sand at the bottom. Here you may har- 
 poon them in your canoe ; sometimes you may 
 take them just as they are leaving the water to 
 deposit their eggs upon the sand in the sunshine ; 
 at this time they are caught easily, and if there 
 are many, turn them on their backs and they 
 cannot escape. Land-tortoises are found in 
 marshy places near the sea, and sometimes in 
 the fresh water of ponds and rivers. 
 
 Lizards inhabit both land and water. Some 
 kinds, as the crocodile, are dangerous from their 
 size and the terrible power of their jaws, armed 
 with long and sharp teeth ; these you cannot 
 master till you have shot them with a gun, or 
 overpowered with clubs. Others of a small 
 kind, like tritons and some species of salaman- 
 ders, dwelling in marshes and ponds, may be 
 caught easily with hooks or nets. A third class 
 are found only in close and damp woody spots, 
 among subterraneous ruins, and under rocks in 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 41 
 
 unfrequented places ; among these are the land- 
 salamanders which you may take without diffi- 
 culty, as they are slow of movement, and have 
 no means of escape or defence. 
 
 The most numerous class of lizards are those 
 which inhabit the trunks of trees, old walls with 
 a southerly exposure, slopes of ground with the 
 same aspect, among fallen leaves, and in woody 
 places not sufficiently grown to shade entirely 
 the low shrubs and dead leaves, where they love 
 to hide. These creatures are so quick in their 
 motions, that the eye can scarcely trace their 
 progress ; in addition, they are courageous and 
 snappish, and bite with their toothless jaws so 
 firmly, that no method but killing will oblige them 
 to loosen their hold ; the wounds which they 
 give, however, are not dangerous. Some of 
 these little creatures are decked in the most 
 brilliant colours ; all are very difficult to catch ; 
 they must be taken by surprise or artifice, but 
 the first method has the inconvenience almost 
 always of mutilating them irreparably ; their tail 
 is extremely delicate, and broken by the slightest 
 blow. 
 
 To catch this animal without injury, you must 
 come upon him without being seen, and strike 
 him with a flexible rod so as to hit him upon the 
 back, just between his two pair of legs ; thus 
 breaking the back-bone, when you may secure 
 4* 
 
42 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 him without difficulty. Some of them have so 
 keen a sight and smell, that it is almost impossi- 
 ble to surprise them ; among these are the green 
 and occellated lizard of the south of France. 
 Take a very small hook, and attach it to a horse- 
 hair line of three or four threads strongly twisted ; 
 bait this with a large fly, and hang it before the 
 door of his dwelling; when he catches a view of 
 it, he will not fail to bite. 
 
 Snakes should be hunted with precaution ; 
 some of an enormous size, which inhabit the 
 burning plains of Africa, attack and conquer 
 powerful animals by the aid of their prodigious 
 strength and courage. It is particularly in hot 
 climates that we find those species the most va- 
 luable for their rarity and splendid colours. Cold 
 and temperate countries possess but few. The 
 viper has the upper-jaw armed with one, two, 
 three, and four moveable fangs, which closely 
 resemble the claws of a cat ; these fangs have 
 a hollow through the whole of their length, by 
 which the poison is conveyed into the wound. 
 The bite is not commonly mortal ; but in many 
 circumstances may become so, especially if the 
 person bitten be not of a robust temperament and 
 healthy blood. Remedies should be promptly 
 applied ; the most sure is volatile alkali (sal vola- 
 tile), a few drops of which should be swallowed 
 in a glass of water ; rub also the wound with 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 43 
 
 the same, and bind on a linen cloth dipped 
 therein, 
 
 It would be serviceable here to specify the cha- 
 racters which distinguish the venomous snakes 
 from the harmless, but unfortunately these marks 
 are not sufficiently striking to catch the view at 
 first sight; at any rate, beware of the serpent 
 with a triangular head, flat at the top, wide to- 
 ward the body, and with a narrow neck. These 
 reptiles often sleep stretched out upon rocks in 
 the sun, or upon dry leaves ; if you surprise 
 them at this moment, you may be sure their 
 first movement will be to bite or attempt an es- 
 cape. It seems as if nature, in furnishing them 
 with the most terrible of all weapons, had with- 
 held the privilege of abusing them; for every 
 noxious species is so slow of movement, as to 
 be unable to inflict a bite except by surprise. 
 From the moment you have discovered them, it 
 is quite easy either to shun or attack them with 
 advantage ; they are too clumsy to spring upon 
 you, and hardly able to escape by flight. 
 
 They should be managed with precaution, not 
 only alive but dead. Serious, results have fol- 
 lowed the imprudence of persons who have 
 scratched themselves with the fangs of a rattle- 
 snake, dead and dry for several years. There 
 are instances of persons dangerously bitten by 
 the head of a viper, which hatl been separated 
 
44 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 from the trunk more than forty-eight hours. 
 Again you must be on your guard, when you 
 have taken one apparently dead ; these crea- 
 tures, when they find themselves hotly pursued 
 and without the means of escape, have the cun- 
 ning to lie still and counterfeit death ; wo to the 
 rash mortal who trusts the deception ! 
 
 Snakes are fond of rocky and woody spots, 
 lying open during most of the day to the 
 sun, 'and in the neighbourhood of a marsh 
 or river, whither they go in hot weather to 
 hunt the frogs, shrew-mice, and little birds. 
 Some, not content with occasional visits to the 
 banks of rivers, take up their abode there among 
 the stumps and bushes ; others keep about the 
 rocks, among the ruins of old buildings, and 
 even in the dunghills of yards little frequented. 
 Every country and village has its particular lo- 
 cality, where they are most abundant; the inha- 
 bitants entertain too much dread of these rep- 
 tiles, to be ignorant of the precise spots. 
 
 Upon setting out in pursuit of them, provide 
 yourself with a pair of long-handled nippers or 
 tongs, a leather sack in which you should sprin- 
 kle a quantity of snuff, and a net of the following 
 make: It should be a dip-net with very small 
 meshes, or of a substance sufficiently transparent 
 to enable you to see what is inclosed; the upper 
 edge of the hoop to which the net is attached 
 must be set with a row of sharp iron teeth, half 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 45 
 
 an inch long, and not above a quarter of an inch 
 apart ; to the hoop attach a handle three or four 
 feet long, obliquely joining the hoop, so that you 
 may hold the mouth of the net flat upon the 
 ground without bringing the handle to a level. 
 With this you may hold the reptile, whether 
 snake or lizard, secure upon the ground ; the 
 teeth will prevent his escape underneath, if he 
 be wholly within the circumference of the hoop ; 
 and if he be partly without, he will be fast 
 pinned to the earth. In both cases, it will be 
 easy to kill him without tearing the skin. Throw 
 him into your sack, where the snufFwill despatch 
 him if he be not previously dead. In the same 
 sack you may put your frogs, toads, lizards, &c. 
 They may then undergo the following prepar- 
 ation. Wash them in water several times, and 
 extract the contents of the stomach ; you may 
 judge of the quantity of these, by the stuffed and 
 prominent condition of the belly. It is well 
 known that a snake no bigger round than the 
 finger, and with a head of the size of the thumb, 
 will swallow a toad as big as the fist ; this sur- 
 prising voracity is owing to the singular conforma- 
 tion of his jaws, whose elastic ligaments permit 
 the enormous distention. When you find a 
 snake's belly stuffed to this degree, hold him up 
 by the tail, and with the other hand squeeze the 
 swallowed mass downward to the mouth, where 
 
46 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 commonly it will stop ; then placing him on a 
 table, force open his jaws by prying within them 
 strongly and repeatedly ; when his throat is 
 widely distended, you may draw out the mass 
 by a corkscrew attached to a long handle ; after 
 this, wash him again, and dry him by the fre- 
 quent application of a cloth ; you may then put 
 him in spirits. 
 
 The best liquor for preserving not only rep- 
 tiles, but all other subjects for Natural History, 
 without doubt is alcohol or spirits of wine, as 
 this is in no danger of freezing ; still it has some 
 disadvantages; in the first place, it is costly; 
 secondly, it is apt to discolour the subjects when 
 too strong (the proper strength may be fixed at 
 the 18th or 20th degree of Baume's areometer); 
 in the third place, it quickly evaporates when 
 the vessel is not hermetically sealed. In the 
 course of this work we shall give the composi- 
 tion of several liquors, which in many cases may 
 be advantageously substituted. Every sort of 
 alcohol is alike useful for the present purpose, 
 whether manufactured from wine, the peach, 
 potato, grain, or molasses. 
 
 If you design to keep a subject in liquor for a 
 great length of time, let it first saturate therein a 
 day or two ; then take it out, and wipe off the 
 mucosity which has gathered upon it; after 
 which, put it in fresh liquor. Without this in- 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 47 
 
 dispensable precaution, the fluids of the animal 
 will unite with the spirit, and weaken it to such 
 a degree that the whole will be unable to pre- 
 serve it from corruption. 
 
 In concluding this part, we may remind the 
 young naturalist who wishes to collect reptiles, 
 that the months of May and June are the best 
 for his purpose ; at this time the greater part 
 have cast their slough, and appear in colours 
 much more brilliant than at any later period. 
 
 OF TAKING FISH. 
 
 It will be needless to go into details upon this 
 subject ; every land has a class of people who 
 make it an occupation. The naturalist, instead 
 of furnishing himself with the whole train of im- 
 plements necessary for the business, will find it 
 more advantageous to procure from the fisher- 
 men whatever they may acquire worthy of his 
 notice. 
 
 Fresh-water fish are easily obtained ; with 
 those of the sea it is different ; most of the art 
 that can be exerted in this department, consists 
 in profiting by the occasions which mere hazard 
 offers. There are few fishermen upon the sea- 
 coast who do not at times, especially after a long 
 or violent storm, find in their nets some individual 
 of a tribe altogether unknown. If you could 
 
48 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 establish a regular correspondence with a num- 
 ber of these persons at different places, you may 
 be certain of receiving unquestionable rarities. 
 No branch of natural history has made slower 
 advances than this, for the simple reason, that 
 the method just recommended has been very 
 rarely employed, although it happens to be the 
 only one which can lead to any satisfactory re- 
 sults. ' I have a striking instance,' observes M, 
 Boitard, ' within my own knowledge. A friend 
 of mine made a journey four years ago to Mar- 
 seilles, where, upon the most frequented part 
 of the coast of France, there was little apparent 
 chance of any new discovery ; he found means 
 to engage a fisherman in his employ, who since 
 that time has transmitted him various subjects 
 altogether unknown to the Museum of Natural 
 History at Paris.' 
 
 The only preliminary preparation necessary to 
 a fish, is to wipe off the slimy matter from the 
 scales, and dry him by the frequent application 
 of a cloth. He may then be put in liquor as 
 above directed of reptiles. 
 
 OF TAKING CRUSTACEOUS ANIMALS.* 
 
 Most of these dwell in the water ; few are 
 
 * That class, chiefly aquatic, which are covered with a semi- 
 calcareous crust, and are furnished with jaws, feeders and eyes; 
 thus a lobster is a crustaceous animal. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 49 
 
 found at a distance from it, save some species of 
 crabs. The greater number inhabit shallows, 
 and rocks covered by the sea ; some in rivers, 
 springs and brooks; all of them are carnivorous, 
 and feed upon the dead carcasses of other ani- 
 mals. 
 
 The land species should be sought for in moist 
 woody places, on the slopes of mountains, in the 
 trunks of old trees, in the clefts of rocks, and 
 concealed in thick bushes ; but always as before 
 remarked, in the neighbourhood of the sea, they 
 being obliged to resort thither to lay their eggs. 
 They march commonly in troops ; so that upon 
 meeting with an individual, you may be sure by 
 looking further to discover many more. 
 
 Those of the salt and those of fresh water 
 have nearly the same habits, and are consequent- 
 ly taken in the same way. Procure an iron-hoop, 
 larger or smaller according to the size of the spe- 
 cies you are fishing for ; attach a net to its cir- 
 cumference, and furnish it with a long handle ; 
 bait the net with a piece of meat, and if you 
 want the marine species, place it under the sur- 
 face in the mouth of a small stream when the 
 tide is coming in ; if the river species be your 
 object, sink it near a clump of roots or a heap 
 of stones, in a cool, clear, running stream; after 
 a few hours raise it, and you will find it covered 
 with the objects of your search. 
 
50 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 
 
 Some of them have the custom of hiding them- 
 selves in a shell. The cancellus,and the rest of 
 the same kind, are soft in the lower parts, and 
 unable to resist the slightest blow ; these have 
 the habit of seeking out a univalve shell and be- 
 stowing themselves safely within, leaving exposed 
 nothing but the head and their formidable claws, 
 kept upon the watch for the small insects which 
 constitute their food ; the slightest alarm will 
 drive them to these retreats ; they drag, them 
 about wherever they go, and abandon them only 
 when their bodies grow too big for their cover- 
 ing, at which time they cast them off and seek 
 larger ones. The value of these when they are 
 taken, consists in the shell ; they should in con- 
 sequence be caught together, and not separated. 
 
 Some individuals of the crab kind, too weak 
 to resist their numerous enemies, creep into the 
 shell of an oyster or a muscle, where they dwell 
 in perfect harmony with the owner; the intruder 
 thus provides himself with an impregnable for- 
 tress, but which does not allow him the perfect 
 liberty of going in and out at pleasure ; to exer- 
 cise this privilege, the crab must wait till the 
 oyster opens his shell to take a sup of water. 
 This kind will not be found in the water ; you 
 must look for them in the shells of bivalvular 
 fish, at certain seasons known to fishermen. 
 
 Those of a larger size, as lobsters, generally 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 51 
 
 follow the tide as it rises, and at ebb remain 
 caught in the weirs of the fishermen ; they are 
 abundant, and you will commonly have no diffi- 
 culty but in making a choice. 
 
 Finally, the naturalist should leave no recess 
 unexplored ; rocks, cavities in the mud and roots, 
 either upon the sea-shore or in the beds of rivers, 
 the sea-weed, the sand all these places upon a 
 close scrutiny will recompense his researches. 
 
 Some authors recommend these subjects to be 
 dried in the sun, or in an oven or stove, and thus 
 preserved by covering them with varnish ; but 
 this is a bad method, even when designed merely 
 for temporary preservation ; it blackens the shell, 
 causes an unpleasant odour, and attracts insects 
 who destroy the muscles of the joints, and the 
 animal falls to pieces. If you wish to keep a 
 subject for a few days previous to commencing a 
 preparation, keep him alive. Have a box or 
 basket of double his width ; fill it half-full with 
 sea-weed, moss, or other marine plants, fresh 
 from the water; put the animal within, and cover 
 him with the same ; add a second animal, and 
 another layer of plants ; proceed thus till you 
 have filled two-thirds of your box ; then fill up 
 with the plants and press the whole tightly 
 down, so that the animals without being crushed 
 may be hindered from leaving their places ; pour 
 
52 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 on salt-water, and cover the box; in this way 
 you may keep them alive at least fifteen days. 
 
 If they are to be kept longer than this before 
 preparation, or the weather be too hot, you must 
 put them in spirits like reptiles. 
 
 Use particular care in your choice of the crus- 
 taceous tribe ; they are all subject to the loss of 
 their claws, and although these are quickly re- 
 produced, the new ones are smaller than the first, 
 which inequality hurts their looks. You will 
 of course select those without this deformity ; 
 still if it happens that in the whole number be- 
 fore you, not one has both claws alike, they are 
 not to be wholly rejected, as there exist species 
 which never exhibit the claws perfectly equal. 
 
 All seasons are not equally favourable for tak- 
 ing them ; at a certain time of the year they 
 change their shell, and appear in new and more 
 splendid colours ; this is the proper period, al- 
 though you must be careful that the new cover- 
 ing has grown sufficiently hard, which requires 
 about fifteen days. 
 
 The entornostraceous tribe form a numerous 
 division of the crustaceous order; these little ani- 
 mals are found in springs and running brooks of 
 clear water, and in ponds under the stones and 
 sand at the bottom ; they have singular shapes, 
 but their semi-pellucid bodies are so delicate, 
 that in the space of half an hour they dry up, 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 53 
 
 and lose their shape, colour and transparency. 
 They are interesting from their having yet re- 
 ceived little notice. You may catch them with 
 the nets used for insects ; keep them in a phial 
 of spirits of wine of fourteen degrees, otherwise 
 they will quickly spoil. 
 
 OF TAKING INSECTS. 
 
 We shall treat this subject in many of its de- 
 tails, as it furnishes the only means by which the 
 amateur can complete his collection; the traders 
 in these commodities have only those of the 
 largest kind ; their perfect preservation requir- 
 ing minute attention, and causing a great ex- 
 penditure of time ; add to which, the necessary 
 knowledge of insects is difficult to acquire. 
 
 Upon commencing the business, you must be 
 furnished with several implements which require 
 a pretty exact description. These are a box 
 with pins, a butterfly-net, a net for aquatic in- 
 sects, a pair of net-nippers for insects with a 
 sting, and a large-mouthed phial of brandy or 
 alcohol. 
 
 The box is of thick pasteboard or thin deal ; 
 
 the length and breadth are indifferent, but the 
 
 depth should be 2 inches within ; the bottom 
 
 is covered with a sheet of cork two or three 
 
 5* 
 
54 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 lines* in thickness, the cover of the box is lined 
 with the same ; add a ball, with fifty pins or 
 more. If you cannot buy a sheet of cork to 
 your mind, you may manufacture it, thus : Se- 
 lect a piece sufficiently compact, without being 
 too hard ; let it be light, and as little porous as 
 possible; if out of shape, you may flatten it by 
 heating it till the hand can hardly bear it, when 
 you must press it under a board and load it with a 
 weight for three or four days ; with a fine saw you 
 can then cut it into sheets, which you will polish 
 with a rasp and pumice-stone ; glue these sheets 
 of cork within the box, and a smaller piece upon 
 the outside to pin the insect upon the moment. 
 he is taken, that you may have both hands free 
 to handle the box. 
 
 If you are seeking for chrysalises, live cater- 
 pillars and bugs, two smaller boxes are necessa- 
 ry ; a common pine-box will serve for the first ; 
 the caterpillars and bugs require one of a particu- 
 lar construction: make this of very thin wood, 
 and divide it into small compartments ; each 
 caterpillar, or at least each species, should have 
 its separate place, some are enemies to others, 
 and will attack and destroy them ; in the cover 
 over each apartment, make a hole as big as a 
 cent ; cover this with a thin but strong cloth, 
 
 * The fine i<? the twelfth part of an inch. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 55 
 
 which will admit the air ; bugs are powerful 
 enough sometimes to eat through the cloth : a 
 very fine wire net would be an advantageous 
 substitute. 
 
 The box first mentioned, destined for the keep- 
 ing of dead subjects, should have fastened in one 
 corner a small piece of camphor covered with a 
 cloth ; this will suffice to keep off devouring 
 vermin. Others recommend 'for the same pur- 
 pose, a sprinkling of the essence of wild thyme. 
 
 The two other boxes should contain no odor- 
 ous substance, nor even be kept near the first; 
 caterpillars are extremely delicate, and killed by 
 the slightest exhalation. 
 
 Some choice is necessary in the selection of 
 pins ; their size should be proportioned to the 
 size and strength of the insect that is to be stuck 
 upon the cork. When you are catching them, 
 use a small rather than a large pin; as when you 
 take away the pin to fix him finally in your col- 
 lection, the new pin should quite fill up the hole 
 made by the first, and be firmly attached to the 
 animal.* 
 
 The nippers are indispensable, both for catch- 
 ing those with stings and placing them upon the 
 cork. 
 
 * Pins made expressly for this purpose, are sold at th 
 Maison dVY upon the Q,uai St. Michel at Paris. 
 
56 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 The butterfly-net is made thus: Take an 
 iron wire stiff enough to handle, bend it into a 
 circle of 9 or 10 inches diameter and weld the 
 ends together, leaving a portion sufficient to 
 fasten into a socket of iron or copper, which you 
 may screw, when wanted, upon a handle as long 
 as a walking-stick ; attach to this hoop a net of 
 gauze \vith the stiffening removed, or other fine 
 net-work, the net -may be a foot or 18 inches 
 deep. With this you may catch butterflies and 
 many other insects ; move it from left to right 
 horizontally till it bellies or swells full; then cast 
 it over the insect, and immediately bring the hoop 
 perpendicular, this movement shuts him com- 
 pletely in. 
 
 The net for aquatic insects is much like the 
 former, and by means of the socket screws upon 
 the same handle ; the hoop must be stronger, and 
 instead of being circular should be triangular; the 
 net of strong and transparent gauze, the longer 
 the better ; with this you may fish in shallow 
 ponds, ditches and small streams ; stagnant wa- 
 ters exposed to the sun, will afford the most suc- 
 cessful fishing. 
 
 Both these nets are also employed advantage- 
 ously in another method, called by the French 
 faucher (mowing) ; in meadows and other places 
 overgrown with thick grass, drag the net along 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 57 
 
 close to the ground, shaking into it such insects 
 as come in the way. 
 
 Spread a table-cloth or large sheet under a 
 bush or tree, and beat the branches ; the insects 
 will fall into the cloth. You may supply the 
 place of the cloth by an umbrella, which you 
 hold inverted with the left hand while you strike 
 the branches with the right. This was the 
 method of the naturalist Bose. 
 
 The net-nippers are like a pair of scissors or 
 curling-tongs, the jaws making a sort of cage of 
 wire ; when an insect with a sting has alighted 
 upon a flower, nip him flower and all within it, - 
 you may then stick a pin through him without 
 danger. 
 
 Into the phial above-mentioned put the cole- 
 opterous* tribes, and those insects whose dull 
 colours are in no danger of spoiling. 
 
 Butterflies are of two sorts, those of the day 
 and those of the night : the former appear only 
 during the daytime, and should be sought, only 
 in the hottest hours. They may be caught 
 upon the flowers on the skirts of forests, in 
 meadows and pastures among clover especially 
 during the flowery season, in gardens, and upon 
 such plants or trunks of trees as have nour- 
 ished the caterpillars which produced them. 
 
 * Those insects which have wings with hard cases; a bee- 
 tle is coleopterous. 
 
58 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 The mars changeant is found only upon poplar- 
 trees; many other kinds inhabit only those places 
 near which they were produced. 
 
 Having caught a butterfly in your net, kill him 
 immediately, lest he beat his colours off or his 
 wings to piecas in attempting to escape, for it 
 is well known that his gaudy tints consist in a 
 fine dust, which the slightest touch will rub off; 
 to effect this, seize the net in the middle with 
 the left hand, and with the right gently force him 
 downward ; then seize and pinch him with the 
 thumb and fore-finger by the neck, under the 
 wings, bringing them together over his back ; as 
 soon as he is still, stick him through the neck 
 with a pin and fasten him upon the cork of your 
 box. 
 
 Some sorts are very tenacious of life, and are 
 not to be killed by this method ; such you must 
 stick through the breast, below the insertion of 
 the wings, otherwise they cannot be kept still. 
 The small and slender sorts dry very quick ; and 
 if they are kept too long in the box, the wings 
 cannot be placed in a proper attitude unless care 
 has been taken to fix them in this manner at 
 first. 
 
 Night-butterflies come abroad only after dark, 
 and would be difficult to take by the method 
 above specified. Look for them in shady and 
 dark places, upon the bark of old trees, walls 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 59 
 
 and rocks ; they are in a state of perfect torpid- 
 ity, and you may take them by the mere thrust 
 of a pin ; this manoeuvre however demands a 
 degree of dexterity, for if you miss your thrust 
 the pin slips by him and he is off; when you are 
 not confident of sticking him, you had better first 
 cover him with the net. 
 
 The greater part of the moth species keep 
 all day under the leaves, among thick bushes 
 and hedges, invisible to the eye ; you must beat 
 the bushes for these with a stick, and ply your 
 net. When the air is calm and the night dark, 
 place a light in a low, bare place, and you will 
 quickly have a swarm of them around it. 
 
 Most caterpillars lurk among the lowest herb- 
 age in the night, begin to ascend early in the 
 morning, and about noon are found feeding on the 
 tops of their respective plants ; they descend 
 gradually as the sun declines, and at the close 
 of the evening are again concealed in the low 
 herbage; night-feeders ascend in the evening, 
 and descend as morning approaches. 
 
 In collecting insects, you should pay a proper 
 attention to the weather. If it be pleasant, and 
 the sun emits much warmth, insects are very 
 brisk ; but in a cold or windy day, it will be a 
 fruitless toil to attempt collecting them ; as all 
 insects at such times shelter within the herbage, 
 and instead of flying upward as usual when dis- 
 
60 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 turbed, they dart into the thickest of the under- 
 wood, or if once they rise above the bushes, 
 they are impetuously hurled by the wind far 
 beyond the reach of the fowling-net. 
 
 For the smaller kinds of lepidopterous insects, 
 the best time is before sunrise or after sunset, 
 though many may be taken by beating the bushes 
 in the daytime. The best time to catch moths 
 on the wing is during the night, especially an 
 hour or two after sunset. 
 
 At daybreak many insects are on the wing ; 
 and most kinds are observed in hot weather to 
 come forth after -rain to enjoy the humidity of 
 the air, which is then damp but warm. This is 
 the best time for collecting, as their wings are 
 less liable to stiffen before they can be set. 
 
 The males of some species of the moth tribe, 
 by a remarkable faculty, are able to discover the 
 females at a great distance and in the most se- 
 cret situations. The male insects may be dis- 
 covered by this means: enclose the living fe- 
 male in a breeding-box, and place it near the 
 usual haunt of the species ; the males will soon 
 be seen fluttering round the box, and endeavour- 
 ing to gain admittance. This experiment is ge- 
 nerally practised with success on the fox and 
 egger moths. 
 
 Every species has a distinct time for its appear- 
 ance, and this punctuality is scarcely forwarded or 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 61 
 
 retarded a few days, except by the unusual mild- 
 ness or inclemency of the season ; if you discover 
 a brood of insects at a certain time of the year, 
 precisely or nearly at the same period of the year 
 following, you will find a brood of the same spe- 
 cies. 
 
 Certain spots of ground and particular situa- 
 tions should always be noticed ; these are the 
 haunts of particular sorts ; some kinds are con- 
 fined to one certain spot, and are not to be found 
 in any other part of the same wood or field; 
 thus having once discovered the haunt of an in- 
 sect, you may be able every season to take some 
 of that species. Some kinds have two or more 
 broods every summer. 
 
 OF TAKING SHELL-FISH, 
 
 The greater number of these are found in the 
 water, either fresh or salt, others dwell upon 
 land ; they form therefore three classes, river, 
 sea, and land shell-fish. 
 
 The first inhabit rivers, brooks, ponds and 
 lakes ; they float upon the surface, or lie upon 
 the gravel and sand at the bottom ; some adhere 
 to the rushes, roots and stones on the edge of the 
 water. You may take them with the net for 
 6 
 
62 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 aquatic insects above described, or seek them in 
 the beds of dried up marshes. 
 
 The sea species are more difficult to procure, 
 their habitations being the rocks and sand under 
 water. Look for them when the tide is out, in 
 places where the sand is worn into furrows and 
 holes ; wherever you see water spirting out, or 
 air-bubbles rising, you may be sure of finding 
 more or less by digging a little with a spade or 
 hoe. Sometimes the animal lies buried a foot 
 and a half, or two feet deep. Some dig into 
 wood, stone, and the hardest substances, which 
 must be broken to pieces to get at them. 
 
 To fish for these animals, make a net like that 
 for aquatic insects, but larger, and with the bag 
 of twine instead of cloth ; the mouth of the net 
 at the outer side of the triangle, must be set with 
 teeth like a rake : you draw this along the bot- 
 tom of the sea, the teeth loosen the shell-fish, 
 and they pass into the net ; this may be done in 
 a boat, two persons rowing while a third manages 
 the net. Where the water is too deep for this, 
 use grappling irons of the common sort ; these 
 should be set upon a triangle of iron, with the 
 edges sharp and sloping. 
 
 Upon sea voyages, the best thing you can do 
 is to follow the advice of M. Bosc, and examine 
 carefully the heaps of seaweed which have been 
 torn up from the bottom of the ocean, and drift 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 63 
 
 before the wind ; these often furnish us with 
 shell-fish that dwell no where but in the deepest 
 parts of the sea. The able naturalist just men- 
 tioned, had a custom of opening all the fish and 
 birds which were taken during the voyage, a 
 species of research often attended with success. 
 
 The shelly tribes of the land are most gener- 
 ally found in damp and shady places, under moss 
 and thick bushes, about the bark of trees, near 
 the edge of the water, or under stones. The 
 best time for them is the spring, after a warm 
 and soft shower. Take with you a small leather 
 bag for the larger kind, and a large-mouthed bot- 
 tle for those of a more delicate and fragile con- 
 struction. 
 
 In all cases take none but the live ones ; the 
 shells found empty, and which the traders in 
 these articles call dead, must be rejected by the 
 naturalist, for however brilliant their appear- 
 ance., you cannot be certain they possess their 
 true colours ; besides this, they will be often 
 found bruised, and thereby deprived of some of 
 their distinctive .marks, especially about the neck ; 
 such shells have no value. 
 
 Molluscous animals without shells, and worms, 
 are found wherever shell-fish inhabit. Intestinal 
 worms are to be sought for in the viscera of ani- 
 mals ; in the liver, the intestines, the lungs, brain, 
 &c. This branch of natural history has been little 
 
64 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 cultivated, and offers a field for many useful dis- 
 coveries, particularly in relation to medicine. 
 Keep these in spirits of wine. 
 
 OF TAKING ZOOPHYTES.* 
 
 These oddly-shaped animals resemble some- 
 times a vegetable, a flower, a mushroom, a star, 
 a chestnut in the shell, &c. They grow gener- 
 ally in the sea, very seldom in fresh water. 
 Those which are soft should be kept in spirits of 
 wine ; some are hard enough to dry and keep in 
 a box. Those of a flat shape should be put im- 
 mediately between two sheets of paper and rolled 
 up; without this precaution, they will crisp in dry- 
 ing and lose their natural shape, which is that of 
 a palm branch or feather. 
 
 CORALS, &tc. 
 
 Some kinds of corallines, &c, must be washed 
 first in spirits of wine, to kill the insects which 
 are concealed in the hollows, then in common 
 water. White corallines, when dirty or changed 
 
 * Zoophytes are those anomalous productions which partake 
 both of animal and vegetable organization. The five-finger, 
 which grows upon our wharves and on the rocks of the sea- 
 eoast, is a zoophyte. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 6. r ; 
 
 black, may be cleansed by a mixture of soap- 
 suds and pearlash, rubbing them with a soft 
 brush ; the finest degree of whiteness may be 
 regained by this process. Fumigations of sul- 
 phur will also whiten coral that has been turned 
 black. 
 
 POLYPES. 
 
 You may often observe at the bottoms of shal- 
 low pools, or on the plants which grow in or re- 
 cline on the surface of water nearly stagnant, a 
 number of small transparent lumps, about the 
 size of a pea, and flattened on one side ; these 
 are polypes in an inactive state ; they are gener- 
 rally fixed by one end to some solid substance 
 at the other end is an opening which is the mouth 
 of the creature, and the arms shoot forth round 
 it in the form of rays. They are generally found 
 in waters that move gently; neither rapid streams, 
 or pools utterly stagnant, ever abound with them: 
 they adhere to aquatic plants, rotten wood, stones, 
 &c. They are seldom met with in winter ; but 
 in May they begin to appear, and are found in 
 ditches all the summer. 
 
 When you search for polypes, it will be best 
 to take up a quantity of the pieces of wood, &c, 
 that are usually found in ditches ; put them into 
 6* 
 
66 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 a glass of water, and let it stand for a while with- 
 out being moved ; and if there are any polypes 
 adhering to these substances, you will perceive 
 them stretching out their arms in search for their 
 prey. 
 
 These little animals may be fed upon worms, 
 water-fleas, insects, the larvae of gnats, and even 
 butchers' meat, if cut small enough. To preserve 
 them in health, it will be proper to change the 
 water in which they are kept, very frequently, and 
 particularly after they have done eating; the water 
 must be poured off, the polypes taken out, and 
 the sides and bottom of the glass washed free 
 frogn any slimy sediment. In taking them out, 
 first loosen their tails from the glass, and take 
 them up separately with a quill cut in the shape 
 of a scoop. 
 
 The power of reproduction in these creatures 
 is most surprising. If you cut one of them trans- 
 versely or longitudinally, in a little time each 
 part will become a perfect individual ; even a 
 small portion of the skin will produce a new 
 creature. 
 
 If you slit a polypus from the head to the 
 middle of the body, an animal will be formed 
 with two heads; and he will eat with both at the 
 same time. If you slit him into six or seven 
 parts, he becomes a hydra with as many heads ; 
 divide these, and he will have twelve or four- 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 67 
 
 teen ; if these be severed from the trunk, as 
 many new ones will spring up in their place,' 
 and the heads thus deprived of their body will 
 become new polypes. 
 
 OF COLLECTING SEEDS AND PLANTS. 
 
 The collection of a great number of rare plants, 
 ought not to be considered as an object of mere 
 luxury or curiosity. It is useful to the progress 
 of science. We must not forget that several 
 foreign plants, which are now spread in many 
 parts, were first cultivated in botanical gardens. 
 
 Every one knows, that the coffee of America, 
 which is now so great an article of commerce, 
 proceeded from a plant raised in the greenhouses 
 of Europe. 
 
 Seeds. To be certain of the maturity of seeds, 
 you must gather them when they easily separate 
 from the plant. In many instances you may take 
 the branch which bears them, that those which 
 are not perfectly ripe may become so. The 
 bags containing the grains, well dried, ought to 
 be put into a case covered with pitch, to keep 
 them from the damp, insects and mice. 
 
 The oily grains lose their germinating faculty 
 soonest. The seeds of tea, coffee, and the glands 
 of most of the oaks are of this kind. When you 
 
68 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 collect these in foreign countries, they should be 
 put into sandy earth: strew a depth of two 
 inches of it at the bottom of a box, and range the 
 grains in the earth at distances equal to their size ; 
 cover them with about an inch of earth, add a 
 fresh layer of seeds, and proceed in this way till 
 within a foot of the top of the box ; take care 
 that the box be quite full of sand, that nothing 
 may derange the seeds ; cover the box, but in 
 such a manner that the air may penetrate ; make 
 an opening at the to^, which cover with a trellis 
 of brass wire, to admit the air, but not the mice 
 or other animals. 
 
 The grains germinate during the passage, and 
 on arrival they should be immediately put into a 
 proper soil. 
 
 M. de Candolle recommends to pack all seeds 
 collected in a moist country or season, in char- 
 coal. Honey is also said to be a good preserva- 
 tive. 
 
 According to the advice of Dr Lettsom, and 
 other naturalists, the following directions will be 
 found efficient. 
 
 Roll each seed in a coat of beeswax, half an 
 inch thick ;"put a number of these into a box, 
 and fill it up with melted wax ; rub the outside of 
 the box with Smith's liquid (hereafter described), 
 to keep off the insects, and place it during the 
 voyage in a cool, airy place. In this manner, 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 69 
 
 tea-seeds, the stones of mangoes, and all hard 
 nuts and leguminous seeds in general, may be 
 prepared. 
 
 Or they may be inclosed in paper or cotton, 
 which has been first steeped in melted wax ; and 
 then placed in layers in a box, which is to be 
 filled with melted wax as before. Pulpy seeds, 
 as those of strawberries, mulberries, arbutuses, 
 &c, may be squeezed together and dried, and 
 then put into the cerate paper or cotton as 
 above. 
 
 Small seeds, well dried, may be mixed with 
 dry sand, put into the cerate paper or cotton, and 
 packed in glass bottles, well corked and covered 
 with bladder or leather. These bottles may be 
 put into a keg or box filled with the following 
 mixture: 4 parts of common sa.lt, 2 of salt- 
 petre, and 1 of sal ammoniac ; this will keep 
 the seeds cool, and preserve their vegetative 
 power. 
 
 Seeds and nuts in their pods may be inclosed 
 in linen or writing-paper, and put into canisters, 
 jars, or bottles ; the interstices between the par- 
 cels should be filled with whole rice, millet, 
 wheat-bran, or indian-meal well dried. To keep 
 off insects, put in at the top of each canister a 
 little camphor, sulphur, or tobacco, and cover it 
 close. 
 
 Seeds well dried may be put into a box, not 
 
70 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 made too tight, upon alternate layers of moss, 
 in such a manner as to admit the seeds to vege- 
 tate or shoot their small tendrils into the moss. 
 In the voyage, hang the box from the roof of the 
 cabin. On arrival, put the seeds into a pot of 
 mould, with a little of the moss about them, 
 
 In whatever manner seeds have been preserv- 
 ed, it should be a constant precaution to sow 
 them as soon as they have been exposed to the 
 air ; otherwise they probably will never vege- 
 tate. 
 
 Plants. When you are about to undertake a 
 botanical excursion of a few days, provide a tin 
 box 18 inches long by 6 wide; as also a bill- 
 hook, fitted to screw to the end of a cane. If 
 you are desirous to collect cryptogamous* plants, 
 particularly of the mushroom tribe, which are 
 moist and fragile, and dry quickly, being thereby 
 subject to the speedy loss of their colour and 
 shape have a large-mouthed bottle of spirit to 
 hold them ; fruits with a soft pulp are to be kept 
 by the same means. 
 
 When you gather a plant, see that it possesses, 
 as far as possible, all its generic and specific char- 
 acters; that is to say, the flower with all its organs, 
 stamen, pistil, ovary, calix, petals, &c, the fruit, 
 leaves, branches, stalk and root, in whole or in 
 
 * Those which have the stamen and pistils obscure, as 
 ferns, lichens, seaweeds and mushrooms. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 71 
 
 part. If the whole plant be too large for the 
 box, select specimens of parts, but always those 
 above enumerated. 
 
 All seasons of the year are favourable for this 
 business ; in the spring, however, you will find 
 the greatest number of the phanerogamous* spe- 
 cies. The most interesting among the cryptoga- 
 mous kind, abound in autumn and throughout the 
 winter. A plant should not be gathered before 
 the sun has wholly dried up the dew upon the 
 flower and stalk. Every plant should as soon as 
 plucked, be deposited in the box, with the pre- 
 caution not to bruise the flower or stalk. Put 
 the roots in along w r ith them, and if you are to 
 be some days upon the excursion, wrap them in 
 a little wet moss ; by this precaution, and by 
 keeping the box open as little as possible, you 
 may preserve the flowers for a fortnight. Sea 
 weeds require to be washed in fresh water, and 
 then dried between sheets of paper. 
 
 Wood. It is also desirable to collect speci- 
 mens of useful woods. These specimens ought 
 to be about ten inches long, and if possible, the 
 width of the tree. It would be well to procure 
 a longitudinal and transversal cut of the tree. 
 Gather a branch of the tree for the herbarium, 
 and put a number on the wood corresponding to 
 
 * The reverse of the cryptogamous in regard to the organ* 
 above mentioned. 
 
72 PRACTICAL NATURALIST? 
 
 the branch in the herbarium ; this is very essen- 
 tial, for botanists are still ignorant to what trees 
 several of the woods belong, which are articles 
 of commerce. 
 
 OF COLLECTING MINERALS. 
 
 Since we have abandoned systems, to confine 
 ourselves to the observation of facts, and to 
 compare these observations, since we have re- 
 nounced the attempts to guess the origin of things, 
 in order to ascertain their actual state, geology, 
 which formerly belonged to the domain of the 
 imagination, has followed the course of the posi- 
 tive sciences. This regular method has not only 
 extended our knowledge of the construction of 
 the earth, but has produced results useful to the 
 arts. 
 
 It is easy for those who visit distant countries, 
 to procure important notices, and send home pro- 
 ductions, the examination of which can furnish 
 us with ideas of the nature of the soil in different 
 climes, and consequently the general disposition of 
 the minerals which cover the surface of the globe. 
 On all coasts and at all islands where a vessel 
 harbours, those who go on shore can without 
 much difficulty procure objects, which, not pos- 
 sessing any value in themselves, may become 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 73 
 
 instructive and interesting from the notes by 
 which they are accompanied. 
 
 Collect first, on the borders of rocky torrents, 
 fragments which indicate the nature of the rocks 
 over which they pass. Choose the largest ; note 
 their size, and break some of the fragments. 
 Take also some of the smallest, exemplifying 
 the variety of aspect. The further these frag- 
 ments are brought by the stream, the smaller 
 they become. 
 
 Wherever a rock rises, either in the middle of 
 a water or country, travellers must observe if 
 this rock be all of the same substance, whether 
 homogeneous or composite, or if it be formed of 
 different layers. In the first case, detach a por- 
 tion. In the second, observe the relative posi- 
 tion of the strata, their inclination and thickness; 
 take a specimen of each, putting the same mark 
 on all the specimens which come from the same 
 mountain, and a particular number on each of 
 them, to indicate the order of their superposition, 
 or their reciprocal situation. If you can join a 
 sketch to the simple mention of these particu- 
 lars, indicating the form of the mountain, and the 
 thickness and inclination of the layers, the speci- 
 mens will be still more valuable. If the rock be 
 an isolated peak, it will be well to examine and 
 draw two faces, to confirm the inclination of the 
 strata. 
 
 7 
 
74 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 It will be useful to collect the sand of rivers, 
 especially those which carry metallic spangles 
 with them ; the sand must be taken as far from 
 the mouths as possible. 
 
 In some countries isolated masses are found, 
 to which the people ascribe an extraordinary ori- 
 gin; take fragments of these; some may be aero- 
 lites (meteoric stones), others may have been 
 transported by the revolutions of the globe. 
 
 In gathering the fragments of rocks, mines, 
 volcanic productions, fossil or organized bodies, 
 the most essential thing is to notice their bear- 
 ing, that is, the nature of the soil where they 
 are found, and their position relative to the mine- 
 rals which environ them. 
 
 Basaltic layers merit a particular attention, 
 either in themselves, or with respect to the soils 
 which support or cover them ; remark if they 
 are divided into irregular masses, in tables, or 
 prisms, and what is their disposition ; observe if 
 they contain the remains of organized bodies, 
 and collect specimens of the different states, as 
 well as of the substance upon which the basalt 
 reposes ; ascertain particularly if there be no in- 
 terposition of scorified matter, or of those beds 
 of an earthy aspect, to which the Germans give 
 the name of wakJce, and which are supposed not 
 to be volcanic. 
 
 It is not necessary to take pieces of a large 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 75 
 
 size ; specimens of two and a half or three inches 
 square, and an inch and a half thick, are suffi- 
 cient. Take large masses only when they con- 
 tain a fossil animal. 
 
 Minerals are found either in regular and geo- 
 metrical forms, which bear the name of crystals, 
 or in masses more or less irregular. Amongst 
 the crystals there are some so situated, that we 
 can without injury separate them from their 
 support, or the substance which surrounds them. 
 Others compose groups projecting beyond their 
 support, and others appear buried in cavities in 
 the interior. We must procure as frequently as 
 possible, the specimens in these three states. 
 When crystals are inserted within the surround- 
 ing substance, detach parts of this substance 
 with them, at least from three to four inches 
 large every way, so that we may observe the dif- 
 ferent minerals which accompany the crystals. 
 Detach also portions of the masses composed of 
 needles or fibres, of the granulous or compact, 
 taking care to choose them in a state of fresh- 
 ness, and free from alteration, which is most obvi- 
 ous in those situated near the surface. 
 
 In choosing specimens from mines, be careful 
 to leave round the principal metal, either portions 
 of the other metals which are associated with it, 
 or of the stony substances which often accom- 
 pany it, especially those which are crystallized. 
 
76 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 If you find earths which contain the remains 
 of organized beings, such as the bones of ani- 
 mals, shells, impressions of fish and vegetables, 
 collect with care specimens of these different 
 bodies, having them enveloped in a portion of 
 the eaith or stone in which they were fixed. 
 
 When you find any traces of volcanic origin, 
 procure specimens of the different substances 
 thrown up by explosion, some of which are in 
 a state of stone, like basalt ; others similar to 
 glass, like obsidian; others in a state of scoriae. 
 For those that are in prisms, care should be taken 
 to note their forms, and the extent they occupy 
 in the soil. 
 
 A ticket should be fixed to each specimen, 
 indicating the name of the country where it was 
 found, the spot from which it was taken, and as 
 nearly as possible, the nature and general aspect 
 of the soil, and its elevation above the level of 
 the sea. 
 
 Wherever warm or mineral waters are found, 
 care should be taken to fill phials with them, 
 which should be well corked and luted. 
 
 Generally in selecting minerals, give the pre- 
 ference to such specimens as are attached to the 
 rock in which they are found ; other pieces are 
 likely to be damaged by attrition, or by the sim- 
 ple contact of the air. For the same reason you 
 will prefer those portions imbedded a certain 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 77 
 
 depth, to those at the surface. In packing up, 
 be particularly careful of the broken part, as that 
 determines the character which relates to the 
 classification of the mineral. 
 
 OF PACKING AND TRANSPORTING OBJECTS OF 
 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 A naturalist in a distant country, having a col- 
 lection of subjects to send home, would be de- 
 sirous to know a safe method of packing, to pre- 
 serve them from the accidents of the transporta- 
 tion. We recommend the following. 
 
 1. Birds. The first thing is to skin and stuff 
 them ; this we shall enlarge upon hereafter, in 
 the chapter on taxidermy. Suppose the skin 
 taken off and prepared as there directed, stuff 
 the body with tow, cotton, moss, or even straw 
 and hay if a very large subject ; indeed you may 
 apply to this purpose any soft substance easily 
 obtained, provided it be not of an animal nature 
 for wool, hair, and silk will attract destructive 
 insects. Before stuffing, place the wings in a 
 proper position, tying them as we have before 
 directed. All the difficulty in arranging the skin, 
 lies in the precaution not to stretch the neck too 
 much ; in such a case, it is difficult to bring the 
 skin within its ordinary dimensions, and the head 
 7* 
 
78 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 will sit badly. Put inside the notes you have 
 taken respecting the subject, as directed on a 
 former occasion. Give him the right proportions 
 as to length and breadth in stuffing. If the bird 
 be large, sew up the skin ; but if small, you need 
 only bring the edges together. 
 
 If you have some exceedingly large, you may 
 to save room, stow one within another, packing 
 all snugly with tow or other soft matter. 
 
 Small birds, as those of the size of a magpie 
 or swallow, should be put in paper cones, the 
 head first, taking care that the bill be not turned 
 out of the proper direction, so as to disarrange 
 the head ; which inconvenience would be difficult 
 to remedy at a future time. Take care not to 
 injure the tail, in closing up the cone. 
 
 Prepare a box of light wood, but solid ; strew 
 the bottom with any soft matter you have used 
 in stuffing ; lay on this, first, the large birds, then 
 the small ones between ; cover these with the 
 stuffing matter, and add another layer of smaller 
 birds ; in this manner fill the box. Salt-hay is 
 the best material you can employ for packing. 
 If the box is to go a long voyage, it should be 
 caulked and coated with pitch on the outside ; this 
 will keep out alike the wet, dust and insects. A 
 case thus prepared may be kept upon a voyage 
 two or three years. 
 
 If you have none of the above means of pre- 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 79 
 
 paration, or lack time for taking off the skin, or 
 wish to keep the bird whole for anatomical pur- 
 poses, you may put him, if very small, in spirit ; 
 if large, in a cask of brine. We have seen some 
 kept a long time in this manner, and recover in 
 the hands of an able operator most of their ori- 
 ginal colours. 
 
 With regard to birds already mounted that 
 is, fully prepared and fixed in the cabinet,- it is 
 seldom that they are required to go on long jour- 
 neys ; when this happens, they should be wrapped 
 up carefully in paper rolled into a conical. shape, 
 and placed in boxes as above directed. 
 
 2. Mammiferous Animals. The small kind 
 may be transported in spirit ; but the larger must 
 be skinned as we shall hereafter direct, and 
 packed in tight cases as above. If it happens 
 that you have not the means there directed for 
 preparing the skin, you may substitute a powder 
 of calcined alum and arsenic, or a simple mix- 
 ture of salt and ashes ; or in lack of all these, 
 you may give the skin a complete drying. 
 
 3. Reptiles and Fishes. Most of these are 
 transported in spirit; we know of no better me- 
 thod than that proposed by M. Dufresne : 
 Wrap the fish in a cloth, and sew him up ; fill a 
 cask two-thirds with any sort of spirit, choosing 
 that which is not too highly coloured, its strength 
 
 
80 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 should be equal to 14 or 15 degrees of Baume's 
 areometer : at the bottom of the cask put the 
 largest fish, and decrease in size till you have 
 filled it ; the cask should be headed and hooped 
 tight, and done over with pitch. 
 
 The largest species must be skinned, and pre- 
 pared like the mammiferous tribe. 
 
 4. Crustaceans Animals. Spirit is apt to dis- 
 colour these subjects, and the large kinds would 
 be expensive from the quantity they require ; we 
 may therefore recommend the direction of M. 
 Bosc: Put them in weak spirit, in which you 
 have dissolved a quantity of soap ; let them soak 
 in this liquor as long as you have time to spare 
 never less than 15 days ; then dry them upon a 
 board, taking care to give them a good attitude. 
 
 These preparations are easily broken, and 
 should be packed carefully in tow, cotton, &c. 
 It is needless to detail any method. 
 
 5. Insects. These require even more care 
 than the preceding ; such as will admit of it, 
 should be preserved in spirit ; the others may be 
 fastened with pins upon sheets of cork, and pack- 
 ed according to the skill and means of the opera- 
 tor. Butterflies may be stuck with gum upon 
 paper. The boxes holding all these, should be 
 furnished with small quantities of camphor. 
 
 6. Shells should be stuffed with cotton, tow, 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 81 
 
 &c, when they may be packed in the same, or 
 in saw-dust, fine sand, or moss. 
 
 7. Zoophytes. The soft kind must be trans- 
 ported in spirit ; the others may be packed in the 
 ordinary way, after being well cleansed and 
 dried. 
 
 8. Plants must be kept in an herbal; but 
 those of a pulpy nature, as mushrooms, in spirit. 
 
 9. Minerals. To pack specimens of minerals, 
 first cover them with fine paper ; above this pa- 
 per put that on which the notes are written ; 
 then a second fine paper, which cover with 
 tow, and wrap the whole in brown paper. Then 
 arrange all the specimens in a case, close upon 
 one another, filling all the interstices with cut 
 paper or tow, so that the whole shall form a 
 mass that nothing can disturb. The case should 
 be covered with pitch, to defend it from air and 
 damp. 
 
 When the cases are filled, closed, and pitched, 
 they may be enveloped in an oiled canvas, and 
 placed (if beyond sea) in a part of the vessel 
 where they may remain till their arrival, shel- 
 tered as much as possible from excess of heat, 
 and out of the reach of rats. It is desirable that 
 they should not be opened or unpacked at the 
 wharves, or until they reach their destination. 
 
82 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 OF THE INSTRUMENTS NECESSARY TO THE 
 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 1. Scalpel. A knife with a short blade, and 
 the handle flat at the end ; it may be single or 
 two-edged. 
 
 2. Pincers, of various powers. 
 
 , 3. Forceps for dissection. Some with the 
 jaws notched and jagged on the inner surface, to 
 seize the smallest fragments of skin, muscle, 
 nerve, &c. 
 
 4. Scissors, with long handles. The same of 
 the common sort, with sharp points. Surgeons' 
 scissors, with crooked blades. 
 
 5. Flat nippers, of various sizes ; a pair of 
 sharp nippers, sufficiently strong to cut a large 
 iron-wire. 
 
 6. Rasps and Files, of various degrees of 
 fineness. 
 
 7. Awls, punches, and gimlets, of several 
 sizes, to pierce holes for wires in the legs, head, 
 &c. 
 
 8. A handsaw, with a strong, well-tempered 
 blade, and fine teeth ; this is indispensable for 
 dividing the bones. Other small saws. 
 
 9. A small hammer and nails, of different 
 lengths. 
 
 10. Brushes, Paint-brushes, to apply the 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 83 
 
 preservative matter to the skins. Other soft 
 brushes, to clean the fur and feathers from dust, 
 &c. 
 
 11. Wire,* of different sizes, for mounting 
 your subjects. Pass it through the fire before 
 using it. The wire may be proportioned to the 
 bird, according to the following scale. 
 
 No. 1. For birds of the size of the Wren and 
 Tom-tit. 
 
 No. 2. The Linnet and Goldfinch. 
 
 No. 3. Black-bird, Loriot. 
 
 No. 4. Pigeon, Partridge. 
 
 No. 5. Pheasant, Duck. 
 
 No. 6. Bittern, Heron. 
 
 No. 7. Turkey, Goose, Peacock. 
 
 No. 8. Bustard, Crane. 
 
 No. 9. Pelican, Flamingo, Swan. 
 
 And the stoutest you can procure for the Cas- 
 sowary, Ostrich, &c. 
 
 OF THE MATERIALS FOR STUFFING. 
 
 As upon the proper choice of these materials 
 must depend the preservation of your subjects, 
 we shall go into some- detail here. The best 
 materials are 
 
 * The wire which we buy with the polish on, is not sufficiently 
 pliant, but snaps in bending. 
 
84 PRACTICAL, NATURALIST. 
 
 1. Cotton, for small birds, and those of any 
 size where you can afford the proper quantity. 
 When it is of a long staple, and your subject be 
 very small, chop it up with scissors. 
 
 2. Flax and Hemp, combed more or less fine, 
 according as you want it. This should be em- 
 ployed for birds of the size of a pigeon and 
 larger ; for smaller ones it may be chopped. 
 
 3. Moss. Before using it, pick it clean, and 
 bake it in an oven to kill the vermin which may 
 infest it ; use it for birds as big as a hen or 
 larger. 
 
 4. Salt-grass. An excellent material, as it 
 seldom contains insects ; apply it the same as 
 moss ; wash it first in fresh-water, as the salt 
 with which it is imbued would attract humidity. 
 
 5. Common grass, baked in the oven, may be 
 used to stuff large animals, such as the dog, 
 wolf, bear, or the pelican, swan, ostrich, &c. 
 
 6. Straw is seldom used, except for very large 
 animals, like the deer, horse, bison, or rhinoce- 
 ros. It is not commonly baked, though this pre- 
 caution may have its use. 
 
 When none of the above are at hand, and you 
 are driven to substitutes, be careful to select 
 them from the vegetable kingdom. Never make 
 use of wool, hair, or any animal substance ; they 
 all attract insects. 
 
 A subject need not be restricted to a single 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 85 
 
 material; different parts may be stuffed with dif- 
 ferent matter, according to the size of the cavity 
 to be filled. 
 
 If your subject be very valuable and you 
 have sufficient time, you may have an additional 
 means of preservation, by soaking the stuffing 
 for twenty-four hours in a strong solution of 
 alum; take care to dry it completely before use. 
 
 OF PRESERVATIVES. 
 
 The best preservative against the ravages of 
 insects, is that furnished by the naturalist Be- 
 coeur ; his arsenical soap is used with success in 
 the Museum of Natural History at Paris, and by 
 all the operators, traders and amateurs in these 
 articles, in the capital. It is made thus: 
 Arsenic pulverized, 2 Ibs 
 
 Salt of Tartar, 12 oz 
 
 , Camphor, 5 oz 
 
 * White Soap, 2 Ibs 
 
 Lime in powder, 4 oz 
 
 Shave the soap into small pieces, put it in an 
 earthen-pan over a slow fire, add a little water, 
 and while it dissolves stir it with a wooden spatula ; 
 take it off and add the tartar in powder ; stir it 
 well till the whole is amalgamated, then add by 
 little and little the lime and arsenic ; as it grows 
 8 
 
86 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 stiff, triturate it till a complete mixture is effected. 
 Grind up the camphor in a mortar with a little 
 spirit of wine, or dissolve it in a sufficient quan- 
 tity of the same ; add this to the mixture when 
 quite cold, but not before, as the least heat would 
 cause it to evaporate ; stir it well in, and it is fit 
 for use.* 
 
 For preservation, put it in a glazed earthen- 
 vessel, well stopped, and keep it in a damp place 
 to prevent drying. To apply it, take a quantity 
 upon a brush, which dilute in water to the con- 
 sistence of thin paste, and anoint the hide or 
 whatever substance you wish to preserve. 
 
 When great quantities are requisite in the pre- 
 paration of a very large animal, it has been cus- 
 tomary to adulterate it with lime, in the propor- 
 tion of from one quarter to a half. 
 
 Some naturalists, apprehending danger from 
 the constant use of arsenic, have sought a sub- 
 stitute for the above ; but their efforts have not 
 met with full success. To make our work as 
 complete as possible, and facilitate new re- 
 searches, we shall specify a few of their com- 
 positions. 
 
 M. Boitard, in his cabinet of natural history, 
 
 * When any preservative is mentioned in the course of the 
 work without any allusion to its composition, it is to be under- 
 stood that the abovementioned arsenical soap is intended. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 has what he calls a soap pomade, of the follow- 
 ing materials : 
 
 White Soap, 1 Ib 
 
 Potash, i Ib 
 
 Alum in powder, 4 oz 
 
 Water, 2 Ibs 
 
 Rock Oil, 4oz 
 
 Camphor, 4 oz 
 
 Shave up the soap, and put it in an earthen 
 
 vessel over a fire; add the water and then the 
 
 potash ; when the whole comes to a paste, add 
 
 the alum and rock-oil; after it is cold, mix in the 
 
 camphor ground up with spirit. Use this with 
 
 the brush as before. 
 
 M. Mouton de Fontenille recommends a tan- 
 ning liquor, of this composition: 
 
 Quinquina (Peruvian Bark), 1 oz 
 
 Bark of Pomegranate, 1 oz 
 
 Oak Bark, ^ : 1 oz 
 
 Gentian Root 1 oz 
 
 Wormwood, 1 oz 
 
 Tobacco, 1 oz 
 
 Alum, 1 oz 
 
 Water, 2 Ibs 
 
 Boil the whole together except the alum, 
 
 which add after taking it from the fire. Keep it 
 
 well stopped. With this you should wet the 
 
 skin on the inside. 
 
88 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 Another author proposes an antiseptic powder, 
 of the following ingredients: 
 
 Arsenic, 1 Ib 
 
 Burnt Alum, H Ibs 
 
 Purified Sea Salt, i Ib 
 
 For our part, we do not recommend the use of 
 arsenic in powder ; it may get into the lungs, 
 and cause serious mischief. 
 
 Others use no method but to season the hide 
 with the following composition : 
 
 Burnt Alum, 3 oz 
 
 Flour of Sulphur, 1 oz 
 
 Black Pepper, is oz 
 
 Snuff, i oz 
 
 Savin in powder, $ oz 
 
 Camphor, 3 drs 
 
 Others again make use of an ointment of tallow 
 
 and corrosive-sublimate. 
 
 . 
 
 PRESERVATIVES IN LIQ,UOR. 
 
 Liquors are employed for steeping, for lotions, 
 frictions, and internal applications, and finally, 
 for perpetual preservatives. 
 
 Of Steeping. The hides of many animals, 
 particularly of the mammiferous tribe, are too 
 thick to be sufficiently penetrated by the arsen- 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 89 
 
 ical soap; steeping these becomes an indispensa- 
 ble operation. The following is the composition 
 in use by the Parisian naturalists: 
 
 Water, 4 pints 
 
 Alum, 1 lb 
 
 Salt, i lb dissolve by boiling. 
 
 Soak the hides in this, when cold. Those no 
 larger than that of a hare, will steep sufficiently 
 in twenty-four hours. A week or fortnight 
 would not be too long for a buffalo or zebra 
 Both green and dried hides should be steeped, 
 although those of small creatures, which you 
 have kept a long time in alcohol, may be ex- 
 empted. 
 
 When a hide has been imperfectly prepared 
 and begins to corrupt, you may know this not 
 only by the smell, but by the hair's coming off at 
 the slightest touch. The curriers have the follow- 
 ing remedy: Soak it forty-eight hours in the 
 liquor just described ; take it out and heat the 
 liquor ; put the hide in again, taking care that 
 the liquor be not too hot ; when the hide is well 
 heated, plunge it as suddenly as possible in very 
 cold water ; this sudden transition will cause a 
 general crisping of the pores, they contract 
 spontaneously, and the hair becomes firmly 
 fixed. 
 
 A skin previously steeped, will require but half 
 as much as ordinary of the preservative soap. 
 8* 
 
90 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 The following is a tanning liquor of M. 
 Boitard. 
 
 Tan, or oak-bark, 1 lb 
 
 Alum, 4 oz 
 
 Water, 20 Ibs 
 
 Let it soak for two days, stirring it from 
 
 time to time ; then strain it. The skin should 
 
 be stretched, and the liquor poured on so as to 
 
 keep it covered for at least two inches. Four or 
 
 five days will answer for the maceration of small 
 
 quadrupeds ; the larger require ten or fifteen. 
 
 This liquor is better than the one in common 
 
 use, if more alum were added ; the tan, by its 
 
 astringent power, keeps the hair firm. 
 
 Liquors for exterior lavation. When you are 
 apprehensive that the insects will attack an ani- 
 mal already mounted, you may preserve him by 
 applying some one of the following compositions 
 to his feathers, hair, or skin. Subjects exposed 
 to the open air, stand in especial need of this de- 
 fence. Many amateurs lose their whole collec- 
 tions, by neglecting to employ it. 
 
 1. The Essence of Wild Thyme has lately 
 been used with much advantage. Raise the feath- 
 ers or hair here and there with a long needle, and 
 with a hair-pencil put a drop or two on the skin 
 at the roots of the same,-^- which smooth down 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 91 
 
 again ; their extremities not being touched by the 
 liquid, will receive no discoloration. 
 
 2. Sir J. E. Smith's Liquid is made of the 
 following materials: 
 
 Corrosive Sublimate, 2 drs 
 
 Camphor, 2 do 
 
 Alcohol, 1 pint 
 
 Upon large animals, apply it with a sponge in 
 every part of the exterior, till it be saturated 
 down to the skin. With small animals, use a 
 brush in the same manner. In every case, do 
 not neglect to dry them thoroughly. 
 
 The Bitter Spirit, recommended by others, is 
 thus composed : 
 
 White Soap, 1 oz 
 
 Camphor, 2 oz 
 
 Colocynth, 2 oz 
 
 Alcohol, 2 Ibs 
 
 Infuse the whole cold for some days in a ves- 
 sel hermetically closed, shaking it from time to 
 time ; then filter it through brown paper ; keep 
 it tightly stopped. Use it like the preceding. 
 
 3. Varnishes are used only for the skins of 
 reptiles and fishes, to which they restore a por- 
 tion of their brilliancy. They should be colour- 
 less, and perfectly transparent. Dissolve fresh 
 and clear turpentine in alcohol, and apply it with 
 a camel's-hair pencil ; dry it in the air, taking 
 care to exclude the dust. 
 
92 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 Liquids for internal application. Most of 
 these are used for the preservation of eggs ; they 
 have besides been injudiciously employed in the 
 case of very small animals. 
 
 To decompose the flesh of a foetus within an 
 egg, you may employ a strong solution of fixed 
 alkali or tartar ; another material is ether. 
 
 In drying a small animal, take out the viscera 
 of the lower part of the body, and plug up the 
 shot-holes with cotton; draw out the brains at 
 one of the eyes with an ear-picker, pour in ether 
 at the same place, and stuff the skull, eyes and 
 bill with cotton ; then inject below a quantity of 
 ether with a syringe. The next day renew this 
 operation at the mouth, stopping up all outlets ; 
 repeat this till the flesh be completely dried. 
 But after all, this will prove an unprofitable me- 
 thod ; as besides the great cost, the subject will 
 never make a good appearance. 
 
 Perpetual preservatives for such animals as 
 cannot be dried. These liquids should possess 
 the following qualities. They must be, 1st, free 
 from colour, that the subject may not be stained; 
 2d, void of causticity , that the colour of the ani- 
 mal be not changed thereby ; 3d, transparent, to 
 exhibit the animal perfectly ; 4th, not liable to 
 freeze. 
 
 t 
 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 93 
 
 The following liquids are those the most in use 
 for this purpose. 
 
 1. Alcohol, or spirit of wine of the strength of 
 14 or 18 degrees of Baume's areometer, appears 
 to occupy the first rank. Spirits distilled from 
 grain, potatoes, or molasses, are all equally 
 useful. 
 
 2. M. Nicolas recommends the following com- 
 position : 
 
 Pure Water, 2 pints 
 
 Alcohol, 1 pint 
 
 Sulphate of Alumine, 6 oz 
 
 3. Graves, an English naturalist, proposes a 
 liquor nearly similar : 
 
 Alum, 8 oz 
 
 Water, 1 pint 
 
 Alcohol, J pint 
 
 Heat the water, and when boiling, add the 
 alum in powder ; after cooling, filter it through 
 coarse paper, and add the alcohol. 
 
 The same author recommends another mix- 
 ture, to be made cold; thus: 
 
 Water, 1 pint 
 
 Alcohol, 1 pint 
 
 Alum, 12 oz 
 
 4. The Abbe Manesse, after several trials, re- 
 commends the following as the result of his ex- 
 perience: 
 
94 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 Alum, 1 Ib 
 
 Nitre, 1 Ib 
 
 Sea Salt, 1 Ib 
 
 Water, 4 pints 
 
 Alcohol, 1 pint 
 
 The water should be distilled, that it may con- 
 tain no foreign matter ; the alum as clear as pos- 
 sible, and the salt purified. It may be mixed 
 cold, although it would be better to boil it, 
 taking care not to add the spirit till the rest be 
 cold. 
 
 All the above liquids, with the exception of 
 the alcohol, are more or less subject to freeze. 
 
PART II. 
 
 TAXIDERMY.* 
 
 WE give this name to the art of stuffing the 
 skins of animals ; and by extending the term, to 
 that of mounting and preserving them, and re- 
 storing them to the appearance of life. 
 
 OF SKINNING BIRDS. 
 
 We shall begin with birds ; which, although 
 more easy to stuff than the 'mammiferous tribe, 
 require more study and precaution, if you wish 
 to preserve the splendour of their colours and 
 the graces of their attitude. 
 
 We have already given directions how to treat 
 a bird when first taken ; suppose you have him 
 now in your hand. 
 
 If the feathers be bloody, you may restore the 
 freshness and beauty of their colour in this way: 
 Dissolve a little soap in water, and wash them 
 well ; wash again with clear water, and sprinkle 
 on your powdered plaster ; this last repeated 
 
 * From TAffaruy to arrange ; and eTs/yAOf, skin. 
 
96 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 several times, will dry the feathers completely, 
 it imbibes the water and forms a crust, which you 
 must remove, and add more plaster. 
 
 Birdlime is taken out as before directed ; but 
 if the fat of the bird has exuded at the wound 
 and stained the feathers, the operation is more 
 difficult; the best method is this: Apply a 
 slight coat of spirit of turpentine with a camel's- 
 hair pencil ; wash it out with a solution of pot- 
 ash, then with alcohol, then with pure water ; 
 if the stain be tenacious, use the method recom- 
 mended for the butter applied to the birdlime. 
 
 The first thing in skinning, is to empty the 
 stomach, if it be distended; as its contents may 
 escape by the mouth, and stain the plumage. 
 Hold the bird up by the legs, and with the other 
 hand squeeze the contents down to the mouth, 
 where you may take them out with a little pains ; 
 dry up any humid matter at the mouth and else- 
 where with plaster, and stop up with cotton ; be 
 careful not to deform any of these parts in the 
 operation, for, as already remarked, naturalists 
 have established characteristic divisions upon 
 the shape of the nostrils and corners of the 
 mouth. 
 
 If the bill is very short and pointed, so that 
 you apprehend a difficulty in pulling it out from 
 within the skin, when the latter is turned upon 
 the head in skinning, as hereafter to be ex- 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. . 97 
 
 plained, pass a wire through the nostrils, and 
 bring the two ends up into a knot ; with this you 
 may handle the beak, and hinder it from tearing 
 the skin during the operation. 
 
 Lay the bird upon his back, the head to your 
 left hand, the tail to your right; with the finger 
 and thumb of the left hand draw aside the feath- 
 ers down to the skin, in a line from the throat 
 across the breast to the belly ; cut through the 
 skin along this line, the least pressure with the 
 two fingers of the left hand will draw the edges 
 of the incision apart ; seize one of the edges with 
 your nippers, and with the other hand, or the 
 flat handle of your scalpel, detach the skin from 
 the muscles as you raise it with the nippers. 
 When you have skinned as far as you can go 
 under the wing, sprinkle on plaster to keep the 
 skin from the flesh, and take up the blood and 
 fat; use the plaster for every such necessity; turn 
 the bird, and operate the same on the other side, 
 till he is skinned right and left up to the roots of 
 the w 7 ings. 
 
 Arrived at this spot, cut ofT the wings from the 
 body with scissors, and be careful in this process 
 not to break the skin, which accident is very 
 common in the case of small birds. Detach the 
 skin about the base of the neck, and cut off the 
 neck as near as possible to the body. 
 
 You then come to the thighs, which cut off 
 9 
 
98 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 like the wings, at the joint of the femur and 
 tibia; this demands some explanation, few 
 people give the right names to the different parts 
 of this limb of a bird ; the scaly part immedi- 
 ately above the claws, commonly called the leg, 
 is named the tarsus; above this is the heel, then 
 the tibia, then the femur. 
 
 The skin now adheres to the body only on 
 the back and lower parts ; turn the bird back up- 
 wards, and draw the skin gently down, separat- 
 ing the muscles with your finger nails ; in ap- 
 proaching the tail, stop a little short of the in- 
 sertion of the feathers, cut it off with the tail- 
 feathers attached to the skin, and the body is 
 then disengaged. 
 
 It remains to separate the skin from the other 
 parts, to begin with the legs ; strip the tibia 
 as far as the heel, scrape the bone with the blade 
 of your scalpel, and carefully remove the small- 
 est particle of muscle or tendon ; then give both 
 skin and bone a good coat of the preservative; 
 stuff the tibia with tow or cotton, to replace the 
 flesh, and bring it to its natural shape. 
 
 Remove in the same manner all remnants of 
 fat and muscle about the tail ; apply a coat of 
 the preservative, and stuff the part into shape. 
 Treat in a similar manner the wings, but these 
 last will require no stuffing. 
 
 Your next care is to strip the head : when you 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 99 
 
 have drawn the skin down to the cavity of the 
 ear, have a care that it does not break in this 
 spot ; detach this part from the head by raising 
 it under the little bag formed by the membrane 
 of the ear, plucking the extremity of this last 
 out of the cavity of bone to which it is attached. 
 Keep pulling down the skin till you reach the 
 eyes, and cut the membrane which unites the 
 eyelids to the edges of the sockets ; mind that 
 you do not injure the eyelids in this operation, 
 nor crush the ball of the eye which would 
 totally spoil the plumage with its liquid matter. 
 
 When the skin is drawn quite down to the 
 root of the bill, draw the eyes from their sockets, 
 and clean the latter; remove the muscles and 
 membranes of the skull, and all the flesh about 
 the bill, and lay every bone bare ; cut off the 
 lower part of the head, that you may more easily 
 extract the brain ; if the bird be large, it is suffi- 
 cient for this purpose to enlarge the occipital 
 cavity ; the whole inside of the skull may then 
 be cleaned. Your work of stripping is thus 
 completely finished. 
 
 Now apply your preservative to the interior 
 of the skin, within the skull, the sockets of the 
 eyes, the bill, in fact in every place where you 
 deem it necessary ; but avoid the eyelids, as by 
 passing through the cavities of the eyes, it would 
 stain the feathers. Stuff the skull, the orbits of 
 
100 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 the eyes, ancTthe bill; this done, immediately 
 turn the skin of the neck which has hitherto 
 been inside out back again. 
 
 All these operations must be done with de- 
 spatch; the skin of the head is very slender, and 
 dries quick ; once dry, it will be very difficult to 
 turn. Until you have acquired dexterity in the 
 practice, you would do well to keep the skin 
 moist, by sprinkling it from time to time with the 
 steeping liquids we have prescribed, or even with 
 water. 
 
 The skin of the neck is very pliant ; take 
 care not to stretch it much in skinning, turning, 
 or stuffing; when it is extended beyond its pro- 
 per length, it becomes flabby, and the feathers 
 so disarranged that it is impossible to smooth 
 them. 
 
 As soon as the whole skin is restored to its 
 proper shape, set the plumage in order, for if 
 you postpone this till the skin be dry, you will 
 fitfd it impossible. For this purpose, hold it by 
 the bill, shake it gently, blow in the direction of 
 the feathers ; pinch down with the nippers any 
 contrary feathers here and there ; with the same 
 implement open the eyelids, put them into shape 
 by arranging the stuffing in the sockets. Intro- 
 duce the preservative at the-bill; and if wanted, 
 stuff in cotton to replace any deficient member, 
 as the tongue, larynx, &c. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST, 101 
 
 You come now to the stuffing of the body. 
 Beginning with the neck, lay the bird upon the 
 back as directed at the first of the operation ; 
 pass into the neck the stuffing matter with a pair 
 of slender pincers ; the skull, you will recollect, 
 remains attached to the skin, but denuded of all 
 its flesh ; introduce the stuffing carefully between 
 the skin and the skull, to bring the head to its 
 proper shape; this done, fill up the neck, by add- 
 ing wads of stuffing larger and larger as the neck 
 increases in diameter. 
 
 We now come to a process the more indis- 
 pensable, inasmuch as it determines the possi- 
 bility of giving the wings a good position in 
 mounting. The bone which joins the wing to 
 the body, is named the humerus; the two next, 
 which articulate with this and run close together 
 the whole of their length, are the radius and the 
 cubitus; take each wing by the humerus, and 
 draw them together over the back ; then, with a 
 needle or awl, pass a wire between the radius 
 and cubitus of each, and twist the ends of the 
 wire together, so as to bring the wings a line or 
 two apart in the smallest birds, three lines in those 
 of the size of a lark, and progressively for the 
 rest; it is necessary to be explicit here, for the 
 point is essential; the above distances are to 
 be reckoned between the upper edges of the 
 wings when elevated, and from the joint made 
 9* 
 
102 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 by the articulation of the humerus with the 
 radius and cubitus of one wing, to the same 
 joint of the other wing. 
 
 This done, apply a new coat of preservative 
 to all the bones of the wings which you can get 
 at ; then wedge in between the joints of the hu- 
 merus just mentioned, a wad for the purpose yf 
 keeping them apart. Apply the preservative to 
 every part of the skin, but take care to let none 
 of it touch the feathers; the stain would be diffi- 
 cult to efface. 
 
 The remainder of the stuffing process will not 
 require any detail ; no cavity or fold of the skin 
 should remain empty; bring it out to its natural 
 size ; it should not be stuffed harder than to offer 
 about the same degree of resistance as a sponge, 
 when pressed, Your bird is now stuffed ; if he 
 is to be sent away before mounting, close the 
 edges of the skin, and pin them together if ne- 
 cessary, which however is not generally the 
 case; he should be kept free from dampness. 
 
 It is difficult to preserve an ostrich, by making 
 use of the arsenical soap only. .The feathers 
 being very long and thick, you must soak them 
 with spirit of turpentine at their roots, and place 
 little bags of camphor at intervals. - 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 103 
 
 OF MOUNTING BIRDS. 
 
 To mount an animal, as we shall use the word, 
 is to give him the attitude, grace, and air of ani- 
 mation, which he possessed while living. A 
 bird is mounted either fresh, or prepared; in the 
 first case, the operation is performed immediately 
 upon stuffing and skinning ; in the second in- 
 stance, we suppose that the skin has become dry 
 after this process, in which case it must be 
 softened, in order to receive a proper shape. 
 Subjects generally receive the first preparation 
 at a distance from the spot where they are finally 
 arranged for the cabinet. We shall suppose this 
 last instance. 
 
 Take out the stuffing, and return a quantity of 
 similar matter previously dipped in water, taking 
 care not to wet the feathers ; having put the skin 
 to soak in this manner, proceed to the legs, and 
 wind around them quantities of wet tow ; in large 
 birds the legs take some days to soften, for which 
 reason you should begin with them first. Put 
 the bird in a vessel or basket, and stop out the 
 dry air by covering him with tow or cotton ; place 
 it in a cellar or damp place, till the skin has 
 grown supple ; for small birds, twenty-four hours 
 will suffice; large ones require three or four days. 
 When you have examined the skin throughout, 
 
 
104 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 and find it sufficiently soft, take out the wet stuf- 
 fing, and apply a coat of the preservative ; then 
 stuff it for the last time. 
 
 Now get ready your wires ; we have already 
 specified their proportionate sizes. Cut one wire 
 for the chief supporter, that is, one fourth longer 
 than the length from the beak to the beginning of 
 the tail, we will call this the main wire; straighten 
 it, and sharpen the two ends ; cut two others of 
 equal size, and long enough for the legs; sharpen 
 one end of each. 
 
 Bore a hole through the claw upwards, and 
 introduce one of the wires for the legs ; pass it 
 behind the tarsus to the heel, straighten the joint, 
 and. continue the wire through the tibia to the 
 body; you thus have all the joints of the legs 
 straight, and can bend them into any position you 
 choose ; the wires you will recollect are previ- 
 ously to be passed through the fire. 
 
 Take the main wire, and at one-third from the 
 end twist a portion of it into a spiral ring ; pass 
 the shorter end through the centre of the neck 
 to the head, bore through the cranium with the 
 point of the wire till it comes through in front ; 
 the proportions of the wire must be so managed, 
 that in this position the spiral ring is just below 
 the thighs, and the lower end of the wire going 
 through the rump passes out among the tail-feath- 
 ers to their extremity; the wire thus extends 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 105 
 
 through the head, neck,, body and tail, from end 
 to end. Twist the upper ends of the leg-wires 
 with your pincers around the spiral ring, and 
 bend all the wires so as to bring the bird into 
 proper shape. 
 
 The central wire should be passed into the 
 neck after stuffing ; this is not only the easi- 
 est method,, but it preserves the neck in its cy- 
 lindrical form. Even the long neck of a swan 
 should be no exception. 
 
 If you desire to have the tail spread, twist the 
 lower extremity of the wire into a ring, or fork 
 it by adding another piece ; these support the 
 feathers in an extended position. All the above 
 despatched, finish the stuffing and sew up ; this 
 last must be done with care, that no traces of the 
 seam remain ; in taking the stitches, always 
 pierce the skin on the inside ; if any part be 
 pressed out of shape during the process, you 
 may re-adjust the stuffing afterwards, by thrust- 
 ing a large needle or fine awl under the skin. 
 
 In setting the legs in position, observe that the 
 joints of the heel should jut toward the under 
 part of the tail, and that these joints should be 
 nearer together than the lower extremities of the 
 legs. This is the time for knowing whether the 
 habit of the bird is to perch, or not, that is, 
 whether he alights upon a branch or a flat sur- 
 face. The study of Natural History alone can 
 
106 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 give any precise knowledge upon this point ; 
 still we can furnish the reader with such general 
 information, as will enable him to avoid any gross 
 errors. 
 
 Birds of prey in general perch ; vultures perch 
 or not, at pleasure. In a picture or cabinet, you 
 may put eagles, vultures, and most nocturnal 
 birds of prey upon a heap of rocks. 
 
 The tribe of passeres, constituting the ancient 
 class of pies and ravens in the system of Lin- 
 naeus, all perch. Some of them, as the magpie, 
 crow, &EC, may perch or not. Woodpeckers 
 may be stuck against any perpendicular body, 
 holding on with the claws, and resting upon the 
 tail. 
 
 The other classes of passeres are of the perch- 
 ing habit, except some kinds of larks, and the 
 house-pigeon. Starlings and blackbirds, in cer- 
 tain circumstances, do not perch. 
 
 Geese, ducks, and generally all web-footed 
 birds, save the cormorant, do not perch. 
 
 Birds which frequent the sea-shore, and gener- 
 ally all that have the tarsus long, and a bare leg, 
 never perch. 
 
 Gallinaceous fowl,* for the most part, do not 
 
 * Comprising the barn-door fowl, turkey, peacock, pheasant, 
 partridge, &c. 
 
PRACTICAL NATUKALIST. 107 
 
 perch ; although a few offer occasional excep- 
 tions, as the pheasant, peacock, and guinea-hen. 
 
 In placing the bird in position, let him not 
 look straight forward, if you wish to give him an 
 animated or graceful air ; turn his head some- 
 what to the right or left ; sometimes you may 
 raise the beak a little. The operator, however, 
 must consult his own taste. See farther on, what 
 we shall say under the article of grouping. 
 
 If the wings are large, and hang out of shape, 
 they may be furnished with supporters of wire. 
 
 But before placing in the cabinet, your subject 
 is to be dried ; for this purpose, wrap him care- 
 fully in fine cloth or muslin, this will keep the 
 feathers from being disordered. After drying, 
 furnish him with artificial eyes, of the same colour 
 as the living. For birds no larger than a spar- 
 row, a mere black dot is sufficient ; for the middle 
 size, solid, coloured eyes may be used ; but the 
 largest, as ostriches, &c, must have them of 
 blown-glass. To fix the eye, you must first 
 soften the eyelid, take out a little of the stuffing 
 at that place, and return it wet, in an hour or 
 so take it out again, and enlarge the opening ; 
 stick the eye in with gum-water; arrange the 
 pupils with a needle, that the eyes may not 
 squint unless you wish to represent the bird in 
 a passion ; we have remarked, that these ani- 
 
108 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 mals, when enraged, bring the pupils of the eyes 
 towards one another; in a state of repose, they 
 are in the middle of the orbit ; when agitated by 
 love, they are turned away toward the outeY 
 angle of the eye. 
 
 Now with a sharp pair of pincers cut off the 
 top of the wire even with the crest, smooth 
 down the feathers, and your subject is fit for the 
 cabinet. 
 
 Remedies for Occasional Difficulties. 
 
 1. Sometimes the head of a bird is furnished 
 with a crest or comb, requiring careful handling; 
 or is too large to admit the skin of the neck to 
 be turned over it: Make an incision from the 
 crest to the first vertebrae of the neck ; and by 
 means of this, prepare the head as before di- 
 rected. 
 
 2. If the bird has a fleshy comb, you may 
 follow two methods ; in the first, stretch it out 
 with pins and wires till dry, after which you may 
 paint and varnish it; in this process, however, 
 the membranes contract, and destroy that appear- 
 ance of animation, which constitutes the beauty of 
 the subject. In the second method, remove the 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 109 
 
 whole mass, and substitute an artificial one of 
 mastic, coloured according to life.* 
 
 3. Web-footed fowl should have their claws 
 stretched out with pins in drying: all the scaly 
 parts should receive a coat of spirit of turpen- 
 tine, -as a preservation, and to maintain their 
 brilliancy. 
 
 4. In a large bird, if the wings hang down by 
 their own weight, they may be kept in position 
 by wires passed through them, as in the case 
 of the legs. 
 
 5. If a bird worth preserving has lost some of 
 his feathers, select from some other bird a quan- 
 tity of feathers which resemble the lost ones ; 
 with these you may replace the deficiency, thus: 
 cut off the quill of each feather, dip the cut 
 
 * Good mastic maybe manufactured thus: Take two parts 
 of whiting, and one part of white-lead ; grind them in a marble 
 or metal mortar with a little nut-oil, made desiccative as for 
 painting; or if the oil be unprepared, it must be very old; then 
 let it ferment twenty-four hours at least; after which, add more 
 oil, and grind again till it be soft and ductile, so as not to stick 
 to the fingers. This is good white mastic. 
 
 To colour it, add during the trituration, lampblack for any 
 degree of dark colour, red-lead for flesh, vermilion for the red 
 parts of certain animals, indigo and red mixed for the violet 
 membranes of the turkey, ochre for yellow, &c. Keep the 
 mastic in a leather-bag or vessel ; the older it is, the better 
 provided it does not dry. When used, it should be softened 
 anew with oil. 
 
 10 
 
110 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 end in gum-water, and stick it in its proper place 
 upon the skin ; when you have completed a row 
 thus, begin another row above them, covering 
 two-thirds of each feather in the first row ; 
 proceed thus, till the whole vacant space is 
 covered. 
 
 6. If you have the skin of a bird in pieces, 
 or if you have two or more of the same kind 
 all partially deficient, you may construct a com- 
 plete subject by putting together different parts 
 of them all ; make a stuffed body of the shape 
 of the bird, and glue on the several pieces with 
 gum-water; they should be all of the same sex 
 and age. 
 
 7. The bills and legs are apt sometimes to 
 lose their colour, this may be restored by paint- 
 ing ; the paint should be very fine, and prepared 
 with oil of pinks; add a coat of varnish. If the 
 legs have lost their scales, you may remedy this 
 to a certain degree by little bits of parchment, 
 stuck on with gum-water; varnish these likewise. 
 
 PREPARATION IN DEMI-RELIEF. 
 
 This gives a profile view of half the bird : 
 Cut one-half the skin, taking the whole tail; 
 with a fine saw cut off half the head, saving the 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. Ill 
 
 bill ; you may attach this to a sheet of thick paste- 
 board or wood, stuffing it properly; let the head 
 be turned a little toward the spectator, and the 
 effect of the attitude will be much increased. 
 The above is a good method, when you have a 
 valuable subject partly injured. 
 
 PREPARATION IN ST ESPRIT.* 
 
 By this method, subjects may be compendi- 
 ously packed. Skin the bird as already directed, 
 but leave no bony part ; cut off the skull as near 
 as you can to the roots of the bill, taking care 
 not to injure these last ; in a small bird you may 
 leave the tarsus, but not in large ones; scrape off 
 all the fat from the skin, and give it a coat of 
 preservative ; when three-quarters dry, lay it 
 upon brown unsized paper, and spread out the 
 wings, tail, legs, &c; stuff a little cotton in the 
 head, to bring it on a level with the beak ; add 
 artificial eyes, cover the whole with paper, and 
 press it lightly between boards ; shift the papers 
 every day if they grow damp; when dry you 
 
 * This is explained by the French authors, as an * attitude 
 que les peintres donnent a la colombe par laquelle Us 
 representent le St Esprit, c'est-d-dire, qu'on etend les 
 ttiles,' &c. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 may fasten it upon pasteboard. Preparations of 
 this sort you may keep in portfolios. Preserve 
 them from insects by Smith's liquid. 
 
 PICTURES. 
 
 Draw with a lead-pencil the profile of a bird 
 upon fine pasteboard; cover the figure with gum, 
 and stick upon this the feathers plucked from the 
 bird ; add the bill and legs the same way, or by 
 painting. The whole may be framed like a 
 common picture. These preparations, however, 
 are more valuable as ornaments than as objects 
 of science. 
 
 NESTS AND EGGS. 
 
 These are generally neglected, but they are 
 not without interest in the study of natural his- 
 tory. A nest, before being placed in the cabi- 
 net, should be baked, to destroy the insects. 
 When it consists in whole or in part of animal 
 matter, as feathers, wool, and the like, soak it 
 with Smith's liquid. 
 
 Eggs are prepared thus: Pierce one end, 
 break the yolk with a needle, shake the egg till 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 113 
 
 the yolk and white are mixed ; then pierce the 
 other end, and blow out the contents ; rinse the 
 shell clean with water by a syringe. 
 
 If there be a chick within, stick it in as many 
 places as you can with the needle, and inject a 
 strong solution of fixed alkali, or salt of tartar; 
 shake it, and leave it till the next day; by this 
 time a portion of the contents will be decom- 
 posed, and you may blow it out. Repeat this 
 operation till you have emptied the shell. 
 
 OF SKINNING AND MOUNTING MAMMIFEROUS 
 ANIMALS. 
 
 The first thing which demands attention, is to 
 note whether the animal has been dead suffi- 
 ciently long for the blood to coagulate ; for if it 
 be still warm, it will escape at every stroke of 
 the knife, and stain the fur. 
 
 We shall particularize only such details as dis- 
 tinguish this process from that previously de- 
 scribed. Take off the head and legs with the 
 skin as before ; skin the legs down to the feet, 
 and remove from the bones all the flesh, muscles, 
 nerves, and tendons, but spare the ligaments of 
 the joints, that these last may not separate. If 
 the hoof be large and fleshy, remove the flesh 
 10* 
 
114 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 and fat. To skin the tail is the most difficult : 
 lay bare the first two or three joints, and tie 
 them strongly with a cord ; fasten the cord to a 
 wall ; take a cleft stick, and pinch with the split 
 the bare joints of the tail ; then, with a hand on 
 each end of the stick, draw towards the extrem- 
 ity, and the bones of the tail will come out of the 
 sheath. 
 
 In skinning the head, when you reach the 
 ear, take out along with the skin the membrane 
 attached to the cavity of the ear, by detaching it 
 as carefully as possible close to the bone to which 
 it adheres. Arrived at the eyes, be careful not 
 to injure the eyelids ; pull upon the hide a little, 
 and when the membranes which unite the eyelids 
 to the orbits are well stretched, cut them off; skin 
 away down to the nose. 
 
 The hide is now attached to the skull only 
 by the nose, and the tip of the lower-jaw ; en- 
 large the occipital opening, that you may take 
 out the brains ; remove all the flesh and muscles 
 from the skull, but spare the ligatures of the 
 jaws. 
 
 When a large animal is killed far from any 
 habitation, and there is no Opportunity of steep- 
 ing the skin, the following method may be pur- 
 sued. When the hide is cold, sprinkle it on the 
 inside with cinders, after having extended it o i 
 some boughs for the air to circulate below. Put 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 115 
 
 spirit of turpentine on the ears, lips, and feet, 
 several times. In two or three days, when the 
 hide is a little dry, turn it the hair within ; and 
 if sea-salt be at hand, wet the hair with brine ; 
 repeat this on each side of the skin two or three 
 times, at intervals of twenty-four hours. 
 
 When it is dry, the hair must be rolled in- 
 wards, beginning with the head ; and care must 
 be taken to put a layer of dried grass or moss, to 
 hinder the friction from spoiling the hair during 
 the conveyance. If the passage be long, it will 
 be necessary to spread the skin occasionally in 
 the sun, and put spirit of turpentine or petrolium 
 on such places as the insects attack ; for want of 
 these liquids, you may use a decoction of very 
 bitter and aromatic herbs, or you may apply 
 internally and externally, pounded tobacco, pep- 
 per, and alspice. 
 
 We come now to the preservation of the skin ; 
 steep it in the liquid as directed in page 89; 
 when taken out, squeeze it to force out the most 
 of the liquid, but take care not to stretch any 
 part ; give the whole hide and skull a good coat 
 of preservative ; furnish the legs with wires, as 
 before directed of birds ; stuff every part, and 
 your subject is ready to be finally mounted. 
 
 After what we have said of preparing birds, 
 the reader will understand in a general way how 
 the quadruped should be provided with internal 
 
116 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 supporters ; but the operator must be left to his 
 own taste and ingenuity; one thing must be re- 
 marked, the skin of the neck is always longer 
 than the neck itself, an arrangement designed by 
 nature to allow the animal to raise and lower the 
 head without too much stretching the skin ; the 
 operator will bear this peculiarity in mind, and 
 not make the neck too long when stuffed. 
 
 If any part be squeezed out of shape in sew- 
 ing up, raise up the stuffing by piercing through 
 the hide. Take care that the eyelids do not get 
 out of shape ; stuff the orbits with cotton while 
 they are drying ; stuff also the nostrils for the 
 same purpose, and set the ears in position ; put 
 in the artificial eyes, or wait till after drying for 
 this purpose ; they are to be glued in with gum ; 
 dry him in an airy place, but in the shade. 
 
 Nothing now remains but to give your animal 
 an appropriate attitude, and here the operator 
 has an occasion for displaying his taste, and the 
 results of his observation of living nature ; the 
 subject should exhibit that sort of grace peculiar 
 to his species, and the air of animation which 
 presents a counterfeit of life. 
 
 Remedies for Occasional Difficulties. 
 
 1. Some animals have upon the abdomen a 
 singular sort of membrane, which is the charac- 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 117 
 
 teristic of the species ; such are the opossum and 
 kanguroo ; the pouches of these animals must not 
 be cut, they should therefore be opened on the 
 back ; the membranes should be stretched out 
 with pasteboard or stuffing till dry. 
 
 2. Horns will sometimes produce embarrass- 
 ment ; when a horn is covered with the skin and 
 hair, as that of the giraffe, saw it off from the 
 skull, and let it go with the hide, you may re- 
 place it when you come to the stuffing ; but if the 
 horn be in substance like that of an ox, cut the 
 hide around the roots of the horns, and leave the 
 latter on the skull. 
 
 3. Some ferocious animals make a striking ap- 
 pearance with the mouth open ; for these you 
 may manufacture the tongue, and other interior 
 parts, from mastic ; when the mastic is dry, give 
 it a coat of transparent spirit of wine varnish, and 
 you will have a perfect resemblance of nature. 
 
 4. Animals with a close, short, smooth fur, pre- 
 sent an almost insurmountable difficulty to those 
 who are ignorant of the method of producing 
 those variations in the surface of the skin, which 
 are caused by the muscles and tendons, par- 
 ticularly those of the legs. In nearly all quad- 
 rupeds, the tendo dichillis* is very prominent, 
 and almost detached from the limb, thus giving 
 
 * The ligament of the heel, which moves the foot. 
 
118 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 grace and agility to the movements of the ani- 
 mal ; if the leg be stuffed withqut attending to 
 this fact, its shape will be spoiled ; the proper 
 method is this: we directed to spare the liga- 
 tures of the joints, in removing the flesh, &c, 
 from the leg bones ; the tendo Achillis passes up 
 the back of the leg ; to make it prominent under 
 the skin,w 7 ind packthread around its whole length, 
 till you have got it of the proper size ; if this 
 operation be not sufficient, draw the skin in on 
 each side of the leg, by sewing it through and 
 through between the bone and the tendon. Lest 
 the purpose and operation of the above process 
 should be misunderstood, the reader is desired 
 to look at the leg of a living quadruped, and 
 notice that it is not completely round, but 
 flattened or grooved on the sides, and approach- 
 ing to something like an edge on the back; this 
 should be imitated as nearly as possible, by the 
 means above specified. 
 
 Other inequalities in the surface of the skin, 
 are to be effected in the same manner. Sew the 
 skin through and through, and draw the thread 
 till you have made a proper cavity in the 
 surface. 
 
 5. Such animals as bats, flying-squirrels, and 
 the like, should be well steeped ; they may be 
 dried by stretching out upon pasteboard ; when 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 119 
 
 dry, give the membranes a good coat of spirit 
 of turpentine.* 
 
 ELEPHANTS. 
 
 The following is the description of the manner 
 in which an elephant, now in the Museum of 
 Natural History at Paris was prepared. 
 
 ' The corpse of the elephant having been ex- 
 tended upon the ground, facilitated our taking 
 its dimensions ; the thickness was taken by a 
 sort of rule, which M. Lassaigne, cabinet-maker 
 of the Museum, invented at the time ; this in- 
 strument resembled the rule used by shoemakers, 
 on a large scale. The curves of the back, belly, 
 &c, were taken by bars of lead three-quarters of 
 an inch thick ; this metal, not having any elas- 
 ticity, accommodated itself to the curves we 
 wished to measure. M. Desmoulins drew the 
 animal on one side of the wall, according to all 
 these measurements, in the workshop where the 
 model was to be constructed in its natural size. 
 This done, we proceeded to the skinning of the 
 
 * The reader need not be discouraged by the length and 
 minuteness of any of our directions; a little practice will enable 
 him to prepare and mount any quadruped of ordinary size in 
 four or five hours, and a bird in one. 
 
120 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 elephant, which we were only able to place upon 
 its backby means of four-corded pulleys fastened 
 to the platform. In this position, we made an 
 incision in the form of a double-cross ; the middle 
 line went from the mouth to the anus ; the two 
 others were directed from each left-foot to the 
 opposite right-foot ; the tail and trunk were opened 
 underneath, longitudinally. We scooped out the 
 soles of the feet within an inch of their edge, 
 that the nails might remain in the skin ; to effect 
 which, we were obliged to employ the chisel and 
 the mallet. This operation was very difficult. 
 
 f After four days' labour of several persons, we 
 separated the skin from the body; it then weighed 
 576 pounds. We extended it on the ground, to 
 take away the cutaneous muscles which adhered 
 to its interior, particularly to the head. In this 
 state, the skin was placed in a large tub ; we 
 spread a considerable quantity of pounded alum 
 in all the folds ; we then boiled alum-water per- 
 fectly saturated, and poured it upon the skin till 
 it was covered six inches deep. 
 
 f To render the dimensions of the model which 
 was to receive the skin more exact, we modelled 
 one-half of the skinned head in plaster, as well 
 as one of the hind and fore legs. 
 
 1 Lassaigne then constructed a factitious body, 
 of linden-wood ; this was done in such a manner, 
 that all the parts could be separated. He opened 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 121 
 
 a pannel, and introduced himself inside by means 
 of this opening, either to diminish the thick- 
 ness of the wood, or for any other purpose. The 
 head, the trunk, all was hollow; so that the 
 body, alarming at first from its supposed weight, 
 might be easily transported from one place to 
 another. 
 
 4 The sides of this model are hardly more than 
 an inch thick. The folds or wrinkles of the skin 
 were adjusted after a beautiful little cast belong- 
 ing to M. Cuvier. 
 
 'After taking the alum-water from the tub 
 where the skin was placed, we heated it and 
 poured it boiling on the skin ; we left it an hour 
 and a half in this state, after which we drew the 
 skin out, to place it quite warm upon the shape. 
 This was not an easy thing, but it was rendered 
 still more difficult by our finding the false body 
 a little too large ; the skin would not entirely 
 cover it, and there was but one thing which 
 could be done; we could not diminish the wood, 
 without destroying the proportions. We then 
 took down the skin, placed it on tressles, and 
 diminished the thickness of it by means of large 
 knives, cutting it away in thick and long shreds 
 from the whole of the inside ; this work occupied 
 five persons for four days. We weighed these 
 shreds, and they amounted to 194 pounds. Dur- 
 ing this operation the skin had dried, and conse- 
 11 
 
122 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 quently lost its suppleness. We put it back into 
 a tub, and covered it with soft, cold water; the 
 next day we placed it afresh on the shape, and 
 fixed it with wire, nails, and large brads; those 
 which fixed the edge of the skin, were driven in 
 deeply; the others only half-way, to accommo- 
 date the skin to all the sinuosities of the model. 
 We drew out a great many of them, when the 
 skin was sufficiently dry. 
 
 'This paring of the skin answered our purpose 
 in two essential points; first, by facilitating the 
 means of enveloping the model entirely, the 
 form of which had not been altered; and se- 
 condly, by ensuring its speedy desiccation. This 
 last had not been the least alarming, for we 
 feared that the humidity secreted in the skin 
 might concentrate in such a manner (notwith- 
 standing we had taken the precaution to give the 
 wooden model a coat of paint), as to occasion 
 mouldiness in the parts exposed to the air. The 
 alum with which it was saturated soon crystal- 
 lized on the interior, and at first gave it a very 
 ugly gray colour; but we entirely got rid of it. 
 by rubbing the surface of the skin, first with 
 spirit of turpentine, and then with olive-oil. 
 Thus the appearance of life was given to one of 
 the largest animals on earth ; and which till then 
 had only figured in our museums as a hideous 
 mass, devoid of alljresemblance to nature.' 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 123 
 
 The camelopard, the couaga, the condoma, (a 
 species of antelope,) which are in the gallery of 
 the Paris Museum, have been mounted in this 
 manner, which serves for most large animals. 
 
 HEDGEHOGS. 
 
 These are mounted in the usual way ; but as 
 they have the habit of forming themselves into 
 a ball, by drawing in all their extremities, it is 
 necessary to know how to give them that atti- 
 tude. When the hedgehog is skinned, lay on 
 the preservative, and stuff it a little less than 
 usual to insure its bending ; sew it up without 
 putting in any wires, and it will be sufficient to 
 draw the head and fore-feet together under the 
 middle of the belly. Then, to preserve this 
 form, place him on his back in the midst of a 
 large cloth, the four corners of which tie strongly 
 together, and hang it in the air to dry 
 
 FISHES. v 
 
 Where there are scales, the skin should not be 
 turned when taken off, lest the scales become 
 detached. Cut off the head, at the first joint of 
 the back-bone ; the head need not be skinned, 
 
124 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 but emptied by the occipital opening and gills. 
 Take out the eyes ; keep the fins in position 
 between pieces of cork or pasteboard ; give the 
 skin, day by day, a coat of spirit of turpentine, 
 which will hasten its drying, and preserve the 
 colours; but first apply the preservative. After 
 stuffing, furnishing with wires, eyes, &c, and 
 when the whole is quite dry, varnish it. The 
 drying must be done in the dark, as the light will 
 take out the colours. 
 
 The most effectual way of preserving fishes, 
 with a view to the study of natural history, is 
 by liquor. Choose always the small ones, where 
 the size would otherwise be incommodious. A 
 small fish is as perfect a specimen, generally 
 speaking, as one of the largest size. In a great 
 number of specimens, a fish will be complete, 
 and possess every organ fully developed, before 
 he attains to the fiftieth part of his growth. 
 
 The only precaution necessary before putting 
 a fish in liquid, is to wash the skin in fresh wa- 
 ter, and rub it with a soft brush to remove the 
 mucosity. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 125 
 
 SEALS. 
 
 These amphibious animals have a very thick 
 skin, which must be diminished by taking away 
 as much as possible of the fat ; the preservative 
 should be plentifully applied. They are always 
 placed on the belly ; put some spirit of turpen- 
 tine on the naked parts of the fins. 
 
 The Porpoise and Dolphin have sometimes 
 two or three inches of fat under the skin, which 
 it is difficult to take away entirely at the first 
 trial. Renew the operation several times, and 
 scrape away as much as possible with the knife. 
 
 To soak up the oil, which flows continually, 
 cover the parts with plaster or bran. 
 
 The porpoise will require no iron-work in the 
 mounting ; a stick, the length of the body, and 
 entering a little way into the skull, will be suffi- 
 cient. Stuff him very close, that the skin may 
 be well stretched. Leave the mouth open to 
 show the teeth; which in this genus are very 
 beautiful, and arranged with admirable sym- 
 metry. 
 
 If the fat penetrate and spot the skin, at any 
 
 time afterwards, take ground pumice-stone, 
 
 mixed with olive-oil, and rub it on with a brush ; 
 
 repeat this, with the addition of emery ; when 
 
 11* 
 
126 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 the skin begins to shine, rub and polish it dry 
 with a woollen cloth. 
 
 TORTOISES. 
 
 As soon as a tortoise is dead, take the body 
 out of the shell; for if you wait till it be cold, 
 you will find it much more difficult. The upper 
 and under shell are sometimes united by a 
 ligament, sometimes the shell is entire ; in the 
 latter case, you must saw the two portions apart; 
 take off the lower shell, and remove the viscera 
 of the breast and abdomen ; leave the head and 
 the paws, but no bones in the latter ; in empty- 
 ing the skull, do not widen the occipital open- 
 ing, because the skin lying close upon the bone 
 will show every inequality in it, and the back 
 of the head would be deformed were any part of 
 the skull removed ; apply the preservative to 
 both skin and shell, stuff the whole, and glue or 
 fasten on with wire the lower shell. The head 
 may be furnished with a wire, but the other limbs 
 have hardly any necessity for such a support. 
 Give the whole a coat of varnish. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 127 
 
 FROGS, 
 
 Open the mouth, cut the first vertebrae of the 
 neck, and take out the interior of the mouth with 
 scissors ; then raise up both jaws, and pushing 
 back the skin with the fingers of the right-hand, 
 and drawing the body in the contrary direction 
 with the other hand, you will easily remove the 
 skin, making the body come out at the mouth; 
 put the feet back into their place ; no pre- 
 servative will be necessary. Fill the skin with 
 fine sand, close the mouth, and place it on a 
 board, giving it the attitude peculiar to its spe- 
 cies; some days afterwards, when it is quite dry, 
 give it a coat of varnish. When the varnish is 
 hard, bore small holes under the belly, through 
 which the sand will escape and leave the body 
 empty, preserving its form. 
 
 Frogs lose their colour in drying ; they should 
 be dried in the greatest possible haste, and in 
 the shade. The best way of preserving the bril- 
 liancy of their tints, is to keep them in spirit of 
 wine. 
 
 Lizards must be skinned like mammiferae ; 
 care must be taken that the scales do not come 
 off in turning the skin. They should be well 
 varnished. 
 
 
128 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 Snakes are skinned whole; begin at the mouth, 
 cut round between the skin and flesh inside, and 
 strip off the hide by turning it over. When the 
 jaws cannot be dilated sufficiently for this, make 
 a longitudinal incision at the belly, take out the 
 viscera, cut the body in two, leaving the skin 
 whole; then strip the two portions separate, by 
 turning the skin from the incision to the head and 
 tail. Give the skin a coat of preservative, then 
 of spirit of turpentine, and lastly of varnish. 
 
 When reptiles of any sort are preserved in 
 liquid, the phial should be hermetically sealed to 
 prevent evaporation. The best method is that 
 of M. Peron, which consists in using a cork 
 stopple, and the following cement: 
 
 Rosin," 
 
 Red Ochre ground fine, 
 
 Yellow Wax, 
 
 Spirit of Turpentine. 
 
 Melt the wax and rosin together, add the 
 ochre portion by portion, stirring it in with a 
 spatula ; after boiling seven or eight minutes, 
 add the spirit of turpentine, and continue boil- 
 ing. 
 
 We have in another part of the work given 
 additional directions respecting the preservation 
 of reptiles in liquid ; to those we now refer the 
 reader. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 129 
 
 CRUSTACEOUS ANIMALS. 
 
 This part will require few details. In very 
 large subjects, the soft parts are removed in the 
 common way. Those no larger than a crab, you 
 may throw into lime-water for two hours; then 
 dry and varnish them. 
 
 INSECTS. 
 
 You may kill an insect by a little spirit of 
 turpentine, but this must not be applied when 
 there is any thing to be spoiled by it ; such as 
 hair, scales, coloured dust like that of the 
 wings of butterflies, &c. An insect dead and 
 dry for some time, may be softened and put into 
 a good shape, by confining him in a tight vessel, 
 along with damp cotton or sand. 
 
 Butterflies. Various methods for preserving 
 these beautiful creatures will occur to the reader, 
 and need not be specified. A good way of keep- 
 ing them in books, is the following: Dissolve 
 very white and clean gum in distilled water, add- 
 ing a little salt; spread this upon very fine paper 
 of a proper thickness ; cut off the wings of a 
 butterfly that has been moistened two or three 
 
130 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 days; place these upon the paper, leaving space 
 between them for the body ; cover and press 
 them tightly, then take off the wings carefully ; 
 the brilliant dust will remain attached to the pa- 
 per, and you will have a beautiful fac-simile of 
 the wings ; to which you may add the body by 
 painting. 
 
 It is usual to put two specimens of each spe- 
 cies of the butterfly kind into the cabinet; one 
 to display the upper, and the other the under 
 side ; the under-side is much more beautiful in 
 most species, and differs entirely in appear- 
 ance from the upper-side. 
 
 Caterpillars may be kept in perfect preserva- 
 tion in the following liquid : 
 
 Alcohol, 12 oz 
 
 Distilled Water, 1 Ib 
 
 Corrosive Sublimate, 2 drs 
 
 Burnt Alum, 3 oz 
 
 Macerate for twenty-four hours ; when used, 
 add one-third of water; the phials should be one- 
 third larger in diameter than the insect. 
 
 The nests and habitations of insects may be 
 preserved by the application of some of the 
 liquids already mentioned. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 131 
 
 SHELLS. 
 
 To remove the live inhabitant of a shell, plunge 
 it in spirit of wine for a few moments, and you 
 may draw out the body with a needle or pincers. 
 If it make any resistance, .plunge it for two or 
 three minutes in boiling water. These precau- 
 tions are very necessary, for the smallest frag- 
 ment of the body remaining will spoil the shell. 
 
 The above is recommended only in the case of 
 univalves, or those of a single shell, as cockles; 
 the bivalves, or those of two shells, will open on 
 being exposed a few minutes to the sun, when 
 you may easily^ remove the muscles and flesh 
 with a knife. They should not be put in hot 
 water, as the ligament which serves the shell for 
 a hinge may be loosened. 
 
 Those of the multivalvular tribe are more diffi- 
 cult to manage ; the best way is to dry up the 
 flesh, and steep the shells in Smith's liquid to 
 keep away insects. 
 
 Stains, or incrustations of foreign matter upon 
 a shell, may be removed by warm ley, or diluted 
 aqua-fortis. When rough, they may be polished 
 with emery. 
 
132 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 PLANTS. 
 
 As soon as you have well dried a plant, lay it 
 upon a sheet of brown, unsized paper; adjust 
 perfectly all its parts, and press it lightly; change 
 the paper every day till every particle of humid- 
 ity be absorbed, when you may press it as tight- 
 ly as possible ; after this, apply Smith's liquid 
 to every part, when you may dry it finally in 
 the air. 
 
 Some plants have so powerful a vegetating 
 quality, that they revive after drying ; plunge 
 these a minute or two in boiling water. Plants 
 are best kept between the leaves of an herbal. 
 
 SKELETONS. 
 
 All the efforts of man to restore the skin of 
 his own species to its natural form and beauty, 
 have been hitherto fruitless; the trials for this 
 purpose have only produced mis-shapen, hideous 
 objects, and so unlike nature, that they have 
 never found a place in our collections. We have 
 only some parts of man, either dried or preserved 
 in spirit of wine, sufficiently entire to be recog- 
 nised. In several museums we see human heads 
 injected, and preserved in oil of turpentine. The 
 anatomical collection of the Museum of Natural 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 133 
 
 History in Paris, possesses a head prepared in 
 this way more than a hundred years ago, by the 
 celebrated Ruysch, a Dutch physician. It still 
 preserves all the vivacity of its colours ; the cold 
 so far affects the liquor in which it is contained, 
 as to hide it completely; but at the return of 
 spring, the liquor becomes clear, and we distin- 
 guish the object perfectly. 
 
 Anatomists distinguish two sorts of skeletons, 
 one which they call natural, and the other arti- 
 ficial. 
 
 Natural Skeletons. This sort is the most ge- 
 neral, and the easiest to prepare. It is particu- 
 larly employed for small animals ; that is to say, 
 of the size of a fox. Skin the animal, take away 
 the flesh, separating the head only to take out 
 the brains more easily by the occipital hole. 
 The flesh removed, put the skeleton to macerate 
 in water with a little quick-lime added, which has 
 the property of whitening bones. After tw r o or 
 three days, extend the skeleton on a table, and 
 scrape off with a knife the remainder of the flesh. 
 If the solid parts adhere too much, put it again 
 to macerate till the bones are completely cleaned; 
 taking the precaution to preserve all the liga- 
 ments which keep the bones together. These 
 ligaments acquire much consistence when dry, 
 12 
 
134 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 and are sufficient to keep the skeleton upright, 
 when it is a small animal. 
 
 Where the ligatures are not sufficient, they 
 should be strengthened with wires ; and the 
 whole skeleton must be sustained with stout 
 wire props. 
 
 Artificial Skeletons. The skeletons of men-, 
 and animals of middling size, cannot be set up in 
 the manner last described. Begin in the same 
 way, by taking off as much of the flesh as possi- 
 ble; but separate all the bones at the joints, be- 
 fore putting to macerate ; they should remain 
 longer in the water, on account of their greater 
 size. Renew the scraping until they are per- 
 fectly cleaned ; then expose them to the sun to 
 whiten, and turn them every day. Bore every 
 bone at the joint, and fasten them together with 
 wires, leaving a little play at the articulations. 
 
 Wire is insufficient for large animals, as the 
 horse, camel, and elephant; for these you must 
 use plates of iron, with screws. 
 
 As these vast frames are more often set up for 
 instruction than the gratification of mere curiosi- 
 ty, it is customary to saw the head longitudinally 
 in two, except the under-jaw ; the reunion of the 
 parts is effected by a hinge, which permits them 
 to be opened at pleasure, for the study of the 
 interior of the head. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 135 
 
 OF EMBALMING. 
 
 -Egyptian Method.* The Egyptians had three 
 methods of embalming their dead. The first, 
 which was confined to the poorer classes, con- 
 sisted in cleaning the corpse with water, inject- 
 ing it with oil of cedar (probably the essence of 
 turpentine), and preserving it in salt. It was 
 then kept sixty days for drying, after which it 
 was deposited in the tomb. 
 
 When the relatives of the defunct were rich 
 enough to pay twenty minse (about one hundred 
 dollars of our money,) to the public officers 
 charged with the duty of embalming the dead, 
 the body was taken four days after decease; 
 they began by cleansing the body; then, by 
 means of a syringe, they injected oil of cedar 
 within, but made no incision in the body ; this 
 sufficed for the decomposition of the entrails. 
 It was then salted with nitre, and left for sixty 
 days; after which, the decomposed viscera were 
 taken out, and the space filled up with nitre. 
 
 * Besides the Egyptians, it appears that the ancient Gauls 
 were in possession of some art of this sort, now unknown to 
 us. There has been found in the mountains of Auvergne, a 
 body in perfect preservation, embalmed in the Egyptian man- 
 ner. It is now in the Cabinet of Comparative Anatomy, at the 
 Jardin dcs Plantes in Paris. 
 
136 PRACTICAL NATURALIST, 
 
 The relations then took charge of the body, and 
 completed the desiccation. 
 
 The third method was employed upon sacred 
 animals, princes, and persons sufficiently wealthy 
 to pay a talent (five hundred dollars) to the em- 
 balmers. The relatives of the dead entrusted 
 the body to the public officers for seventy days, 
 on common occasions ; but during an inundation 
 of the Nile, it was customary to wait till the river 
 had subsided. One of the officers took the body, 
 arid extending it upon the ground, marked a spot 
 for incision in the left side ; another cut the open- 
 ing with a sharp Ethiopian stone, and immedi- 
 ately taking to flight, was pursued by the people 
 with loud curses and volleys of stones. 
 
 Others then by the help of irons drew out the 
 brains at the nostrils and an opening in the eye, 
 filling up the cavity with aromatic drugs. From 
 the incision in the side they took away the vis- 
 cera, and cleansed the cavities with palm-wine ; 
 they then filled up the body with myrrh, cin- 
 namon, and a variety of other drugs, but were 
 careful not to make use of incense; the body was 
 then sewed up, and covered entirely with natron 
 for seventy days; the natron must have been 
 a fixed alkali, and not nitre as some have as- 
 serted. 
 
 After this, the body was carefully washed, and 
 every cavity filled anew with drugs, aromatics, 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 137 
 
 bitumens, and resinous matter. Before sewing 
 up, several articles were introduced into the 
 body, as amulets, or superstitious tokens ; these 
 were a little bronze statue, with the legs joined, 
 the hands crossed over the breast, a hood upon 
 the head, and covered with hieroglyphics, a 
 book, medals, small vases, &c. 
 
 Thus prepared, a piece of money was put in 
 the mouth, the nails and teeth were gilded, and 
 the whole body received a thick coat of Judean 
 bitumen, dissolved in oil of cedar ; it was then 
 wrapped in several bandages of linen cloth ; 
 after this, a second coat of the bitumen was 
 applied, and then additional bandages, pro- 
 ceeding thus till the whole had reached a suffi- 
 cient size. It was then covered with amulets 
 and bands of gummed cloth, upon which hiero- 
 glyphics were painted. 
 
 Embalming Birds. There are some advan- 
 tages attending this method of preservation, 
 the skeleton is saved, and may serve for anatom- 
 ical study when the bird is destroyed by time or 
 the insects. Place the bird upon the back, and 
 make an incision from the neck down ; skin right 
 and left as far as you can, without cutting the 
 joints of the wings or legs ; take away the entrails, 
 the muscles, and all soft parts, but spare the liga 
 ments of the joints. Extract the eyes carefully, 
 12* 
 
138 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 that the vitreous humour may not soil the feath- 
 ers ; then by one of the sockets draw out the 
 brain with an ear-picker. Remove from the 
 bill all soft parts, as the tongue, larynx, &c; hi 
 fine, make the bird a skeleton in all respects but 
 the skin. Then apply the preservative in all 
 parts, and arrange the wires to keep him in 
 position. 
 
 This done, sprinkle upon all parts the powder 
 mentioned in page 88 ; the whole bird should be 
 covered with it. Stuff chopped cotton into the 
 cavity of the brain, and any proper material into 
 the body ; then sew up, and arrange the eyes, 
 &c. 
 
 The above practice, however, is little pursued; 
 it is more tedious and difficult than the common 
 method. The preservation of the skeleton has 
 not been thought an objfct sufficient to compen- 
 sate for the additional labour. 
 
 METHOD OF MAKING ARTIFICIAL EYES. 
 
 The eyes of animals being the organs by which 
 they best express their dispositions, they demand 
 the particular care of the naturalist. The instru- 
 ments necessary for their fabrication are an 
 enameller's table, blow-pipe, lamp, round pincers 
 about six inches long, which close by means of 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 139 
 
 a ring, and which hold the iron wire forming the 
 means of support; another flat pair of pincers of 
 the same length, which serve to handle the ena- 
 mel when necessary, and at the same time to stir 
 up the lamp. 
 
 The materials are an assortment of small 
 cylinders of enamel of all colours, and clippings 
 or fragments of looking-glasses which you melt 
 by the lamp into a sort of small cylinder like the 
 enamel before using it. Take care in melting these 
 pieces of glass, to free them from all spots and 
 globules of air. When furnished with every 
 thing put the table in an obscure place, that the 
 light from elsewhere may not overpower that of 
 the lamp. The lamp well lighted, direct the 
 blow-pipe toward the middle of the wick, which 
 scatter a little in that part and procure a clear 
 bluish flame, to which you will expose the ena- 
 mel you wish to melt. If this flame be not clear 
 and lively, the colours of the enamel are apt to 
 change, and the operation fails. Practice alone 
 teaches the proper degree of flame ; but it is 
 generally better to expose the enamel to the ex- 
 tremity of the jet of the flame, where it never 
 burns, and frequently melts more easily than in 
 the centre. 
 
 Small eyes being the least difficult, you should 
 begin upon them. For these, take a small iron 
 wire an inch and a half in length, and hold one of 
 
140 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 the extremities in the round pincers, whilst you 
 approach the other to the fire, to which expose 
 at the same time, the enamel of the colour you 
 \yish to make the eye, turning it between the fin- 
 gers until it begins to melt ; then fasten the quan- 
 tity necessary for the size of the eye to the end 
 of the wire, it will form a little globe on being 
 turned in the flame ; when it is well rounded, 
 place in the centre a little speck of black enamel, 
 to form the pupil. Again expose it to the fire, 
 that this pupil may be incorporated with the 
 mass, and when it is well incrusted, put some 
 glass upon it, which should extend at least over 
 three-quarters of the hemisphere; it is this glass, 
 which by representing the vitreous humour of 
 the eye, gives it all its brilliancy. 
 
 Continue to expose the eye to the fire, until 
 the glass has equally extended over that part of 
 it which is to form the iris ; this done, let it cool 
 slowly. 
 
 Eyes of the largest size should be blown. 
 Take a pipe of baked earth, or a tube of glass, 
 from 6 to 7 inches long ; to the end of this put a 
 little white enamel, which present to the fire in 
 order to blow it. This enamel forms a globe, 
 larger or smaller according to the air you intro- 
 duce; the globe being of the proper size, place in 
 the middle, and perpendicularly to the point of 
 the pipe, the quantity of enamel necessary to 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 141 
 
 make the iris ; incorporate the second enamel 
 with the first, by presenting it to the fire, tak- 
 ing care to turn the pipe with the fingers, that 
 the enamel may spread equally, and the iris be 
 exactly round. If the iris is to be of several 
 colours, as for example that of man, distribute in 
 diverging rays several little threads of suitable 
 enamel ; present the eye to the fire, until you 
 have incorporated the iris, after which place 
 the pupil, heat it in the same way, and then apply 
 the glass. As it is almost impossible that the 
 eye should not sink down in the course of this 
 operation, and that the air introduced should not 
 escape as much by the heat as by the pressure 
 used above in applying the different substances, 
 take care from time to time to introduce it afresh 
 that it may not lose its form. This is especially 
 necessary when you apply the glass, and it is ex- 
 tended over the whole surface of the iris. 
 
 After having given the eye its size and form, 
 take away the pipe ; to do which, after the air 
 has been introduced, stop the entrance of the 
 pipe with the finger, and expose the back part 
 of the eye to the fire, and the air contained in 
 the globe, and ramified by the pipe, comes through 
 at the place where the fire has most action. Pro- 
 long this opening, by turning the point of the flat 
 pincers or an iron wire all round the pipe, leave 
 but one point by which the eye remains fixed ; 
 
142 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 warm it equally all over, after which expose it 
 to a gentle heat; and when it is cold again, sepa- 
 rate it from the pipe. 
 
 For very small eyes, a drop of black sealing- 
 wax will be found sufficient. Glass and enamel 
 eyes of all sizes are sold at the shops in London 
 and Paris. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS RESPECTING THE PRESERVA- 
 TION OF SUBJECTS OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Rooms for containing these objects must be 
 perfectly dry ; they may face east or west, but 
 never south. Nearly all preparations are subject 
 to discoloration by the light ; the cases contain- 
 ing them should therefore be y furnished with cur- 
 tains and shutters, which should never be drawn 
 except when necessary ; a ray of the sun must 
 never be admitted. In damp weather a stove is 
 requisite, indeed too much precaution can hard- 
 ly be taken to defend every thing from moisture ; 
 a collection of animals exposed to the damp for 
 a year, is ruined beyond reparation ; a collection 
 of plants will totally spoil by dampness in a 
 month, the leaves and flowers fade and become 
 of a tobacco colour, long before any other trace 
 of humidity is discernible. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 143 
 
 Minerals are also in danger from dampness ; 
 their tendency to combine with the gases of the 
 atmosphere, causes speedy oxidation and efflo- 
 rescence. 
 
 Dust is also injurious, and should be carefully 
 excluded from a cabinet by making every joint 
 and opening perfectly tight, this will have the 
 additional use of keeping out insects; a. good 
 method is to have the doors listed, or lined at 
 the joints with cloth ; this however must be of 
 cotton or linen, never of woollen, or any animal 
 substance, on account of its tendency to attract 
 insects. 
 
 Every month, particularly in the spring, a col- 
 lection should undergo a thorough examination ; 
 when you suspect an animal to be attacked by 
 insects, beat it with a stick and apply Smith's 
 liquid. 
 
 When reptiles are attacked by insects, give 
 them a plentiful appliance of spirit of turpen- 
 tine. 
 
 When flies have deposited their eggs upon the 
 lips of a quadruped, apply the same. 
 
 With regard to those kept in liquid, you have 
 only to fill it up as fast it evaporates. 
 
 Fishes lose their colours by the light quicker 
 than any other subjects ; they should in con- 
 sequence be kept in the darkest parts of a 
 cabinet. 
 
144 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 . 
 
 Testaceous subjects require occasionally a little 
 spirit of turpentine upon the ligaments or hinges 
 of the shells. 
 
 An herbal should be examined every month ; 
 when a plant or flower grows of a darker colour, 
 it requires a new drying. If insects make their 
 appearance, use Smith's liquid. 
 
 When an animal is attacked by insects, you 
 may kill them by the heat of an oven ; if the 
 animal be too large for this, fumigate him with 
 sulphur for some hours, during which time he 
 should be tightly covered in : you may do this 
 by placing him under a wooden box, and burning 
 a quantity of sulphur underneath in an earthen 
 pan. A very dry time is absolutely necessary 
 for this operation ; any dampness would in con- 
 junction with the sulphur seriously injure the co- 
 lours of the animal. Remark, that this treat- 
 ment is improper for birdsT 
 
 Insects are kept in shallow drawers, or more 
 advantageously as regards appearance, in frames 
 covered with glass ; upon the floors of these they 
 are stuck with pins through bits of cork or the 
 pith of alder, upon which they rest. When you 
 see a yellowish dust gathering upon an insect, 
 you may be sure he is attacked ; if he be of the 
 coleopterous tribe, steep him for a few hours in 
 Smith's liquid or alcohol, and when dry apply a 
 coat of the essence of wild thyme; a piece of 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 145 
 
 camphor wrapped in a cloth has the same effect, 
 but this should be renewed every six months. 
 
 OF GROUPING. 
 
 By this term, we understand the arrangement 
 of two or more subjects together, so as to repre- 
 sent an action ; such as a falcon grasping a 
 dove within his talons, a partridge covering 
 her brood with her wings, in defending them from 
 the attacks of a weasel or hawk, a pair of doves 
 perching and billing upon a rose-bush, a mock- 
 ing-bird essaying a vain defence against the fangs 
 of a snake, who is thrusting his head into her 
 nest, &c. Compositions of this sort form a strik- 
 ing and interesting kind of picture, when they are 
 arranged with taste and skill. To this end, the 
 operator should be able to bestow upon each in- 
 dividual, the attitude and expression fitted to de- 
 note the particular emotion which he is imagined 
 to feel, as rage, grief, ferocity, love, &c. 
 
 Animals have passions like men, and though 
 less in number, they are more energetic ; we 
 shall subjoin a short extract from Boitard's work, 
 entitled the Cabinet of Natural History, in de- 
 scribing the effects of some of the passions, as 
 witnessed in a few individuals of the feathered 
 13 
 
146 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 tribe ; in this he refers to three very common 
 and well known species, namely, the magpie, the 
 blackbird, and the wren. 
 
 'When in a state of repose, the feathers of the 
 magpie on the upper portion of the body are 
 smoothed flat to the skin ; those of the belly 
 slightly raised from it, which makes them a little 
 pendent ; the neck drawn in, the tail parallel 
 with the body or but slightly inclined, and the 
 wings fixed in their pectoral cavities: when in 
 this condition, the magpie is always perched. 
 
 'The blackbird's feathers when in repose are 
 a little disordered, the neck drawn quite into the 
 breast, the tail somewhat raised, and the wings 
 in a small degree pendent. He should be 
 perched. 
 
 'The feathers of the wren are smooth, and the 
 tail parallel. He is Always perched. 
 
 l ln action, the body of the magpie is placed 
 horizontally ; the neck stretched out, the head 
 turned aside, the feathers all smooth, and the tail 
 raised high ; the legs are placed near the middle 
 of the body, and the wings pendent ; he may be 
 placed not perching. 
 
 ' The blackbird's feathers are disordered, the 
 neck a little stretched, the head straight forward 
 and a little raised, the tail set high, the legs bent 
 as if unable to support the body, and the wings 
 very pendent ; he may be placed not perching. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 147 
 
 c The feathers of the wren are smooth, the tail 
 raised to a vertical position, the neck considera- 
 bly stretched, the bill pointing downward, the 
 wings pendent, the legs stretched out, and the 
 body parallel to the horizon. 
 
 'When a bird is in fear, the neck is stretched 
 out, the feathers flattened very smooth; the beak, 
 the body, and the tail in the same line, and a little 
 hanging forward ; the forward extremities of the 
 wings are detached from the body, and the tips 
 close to the tail. 
 
 To give a bird the attitude of seizing on its 
 prey, stretch the legs, open the claws, bend 
 down the neck and head, raise the wings high, 
 about three-quarters open, and convex above ; 
 the tail should form a fan, almost perpendicu- 
 lar, and the body be inclined towards the prey. 
 
 ' If the bird be flying, the tail should be hori- 
 zontal and open, the neck forward and a little on 
 one side, the claws shut and pressed against the 
 breast. Suspend it to the ceiling by a wire or 
 string. 
 
 ( In the transition from fear to anger, the body 
 inclines still farther forward; the beak opens; 
 the pupils of the eyes draw toward each other, 
 and give the bird a squinting look ; the feathers 
 of the neck ruffle up, those of the lower 
 parts lie flat ; the tail rises, and spreads in an 
 arch ; the legs bend ; and the wings are thrust 
 
148 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 off from the body or half open, and rise upon 
 the back.' 
 
 The operator cannot l>e ignorant of various 
 materials necessary for composing his groups ; 
 still there are many things in so general use, that 
 we shall present them to notice here. 
 
 The branches upon which birds are generally 
 placed in cabinets, are gathered upon the skirts 
 of woody spots ; they are commonly the limbs of 
 plum-trees, which have been stunted by the bite 
 of cattle, and become covered with white and 
 yellow lichens ; the branch, fixed in the cabinet, 
 is adorned with artificial flowers and leaves, fast- 
 ened on with wire. To imitate the various sorts 
 of mosses, lichens, and short grasses, it is custom- 
 ary to use the fine shavings of horn made by turn- 
 ers ; these are coloured according to fancy, and 
 sifted over the- branch which has previously 
 been coated with glue or paste. An imitation of 
 rock is effected by brown pasteboard, wetted in 
 thin paste, moulded into a proper shape, and cov- 
 ered with fine sand. Earth is imitated with sand, 
 gravel, coffee-grounds, &c. 
 
 Beyond these general ideas, the operator must 
 be left to the guidance of his own taste and inge- 
 nuity ; groups of the above description* possess 
 value both for use and ornament; when arranged 
 with skill and effect, they constitute alike objects 
 of scientific study and elegant taste. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 149 
 
 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF INSECTS. 
 
 Insects are distinguished from other animals by 
 the wonderful changes that all, except those of 
 the seventh class (aptera), pass throdgh. 
 
 Ancient writers were not acquainted with the 
 transformations of insects, as appears very plainly 
 by the erroneous suppositions generally enter- 
 tained; neither was the mystery entirely explain- 
 ed till the latter end of the last century, when 
 Malpighi and Swammerdam made observations 
 and experiments on insects, under every appear- 
 ance, and by dissecting them just preceding 
 their changes, were enabled to prove, that the 
 moth and butterfly grow and strengthen them- 
 selves, and that their members are formed and 
 unfolded, under the figure of the insect we call 
 caterpillar. 
 
 The succession of its transformations are, 
 the larva or caterpillar is hatched from the egg ; 
 from the larva, it passes into the pupa or chrysa- 
 lis state ; from the pupa or chrysalis, into the 
 imago or fly state. 
 
 The Egg. The eggs of an insect are always 
 small, compared with the size of the insect itself; 
 they vary in number and figure in different spe- 
 13* 
 
150 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 cies ; some are round, others oval; some are cy- 
 lindrical, and others nearly square; the shells of 
 some are hard and smooth, while others are soft 
 and flexible. It is a rule, but is not invariable, 
 that the eggs never increase in size after they 
 are laid. * 
 
 They are found of almost every shade of co- 
 lour, and are always disposed in those situations 
 where the young brood may find a convenient 
 supply of proper food ; some insects deposit their 
 eggs in the oak-leaf, producing there the red- 
 gall ; others cause a similar appearance on the 
 poplar-leaf; and the red protuberances on the 
 willow-leaf, and the termination of the juniper 
 branches, are produced by like means ; the leaves 
 of some plants are drawn into a globular head by 
 the eggs of an insect lodged therein; and many 
 curious circumstances relative to this economy 
 might be noticed, if the nature of our plan would 
 permit. 
 
 The phryganea, libellula, gnat, ephemera, &c, 
 hover all day over the water to deposit their 
 eggs, which are hatched in the water, and re- 
 main there all the time they are in the larva 
 form. Many moths cover their eggs with a thick 
 bed of hair which they gather from their bodies, 
 and others cover them with a glutinous composi- 
 tion, which, when dry, protects them from moist- 
 ure, rain, and cold; and the wolf-spider carefully 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 151 
 x 
 
 preserves its eggs in a silk bag, which it carries 
 on its back ; by some moths they are glued with 
 great symmetry round the smaller branches of 
 trees, or are secreted beneath the bark, and fre- 
 quently in the crevices of walls, in hollow stalks, 
 
 The Caterpillar. All caterpillars are hatched 
 from the egg, and when they first proceed from 
 it are small and feeble, but their strength increases 
 in proportion with their size ; a distinguishing 
 character of the caterpillar of a lepidopterous in- 
 sect is, not having less than eight nor more than 
 sixteen feet. ' 
 
 The caterpillar, whose life is one continued 
 succession of changes, moults its skin several 
 times before it attains its full growth ; those 
 changes are the more singular, as it is not simply 
 the skin which is cast off; but with the exuviae 
 we find the skull, the jaws, and all the exterior 
 parts, both scaly and membranaceous, which com- 
 pose the lips, antennae, palpi, and even those 
 crustaceous pieces within the head, which serve 
 as a fixed basis to a number of muscles, &c. 
 
 The new organs are under the old ones, as in 
 a sheath ; so that the caterpillar effects its change 
 ty withdrawing from the old skin, when he finds 
 it inadequate to its bulk. 
 
 Those caterpillars who live in society, and 
 
152 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 have a nest, retire there to cast their exuviae, 
 fixing the hooks of their feet firmly in the web 
 during the operation. Some of the solitary spe- 
 cies spin at this time a slender web, to which 
 they affix themselves. A day or two before the 
 critical moment for its moulting, the insect ceases 
 to eat, and loses its usual activity ; the colours 
 gradually become weaker, and the caterpillar more 
 feeble, the skin hardens and withers, the crea- 
 ture lifts up its back, stretches itself to the ut- 
 most extent, sometimes elevates its head, moving 
 it a little from one side to another, and suddenly 
 letting it fall again ; near the change, the second 
 and third rings are seen to swell considerably, 
 and by repeated exertions a slit is made on the 
 back, generally beginning on the second or third 
 ring ; through this division the new skin may be 
 just perceived by the brightness of its colours ; 
 the creature presses through like a wedge, and 
 thereby separates the skin from the first to the 
 fourth ring, which sufficiently enlarges the aper 
 ture to admit the caterpillar through. 
 
 The caterpillar commonly fasts a whole day 
 each time after repeating this operation ; some 
 caterpillars in changing their skins, from smooth, 
 become covered with hair ; while others, that 
 were covered with hair, have their last skin", 
 smooth. 
 
 The food of caterpillars is chiefly or entirely 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 153 
 
 of the vegetable kind. The larvae* of beetles 
 live under the surface of the earth, and prey 
 upon smaller insects, on the roots and tender 
 fibrils of plants, or on filthy matter in general ; 
 indeed, in the last state, bettles are most com- 
 monly found in putrid flesh, or in the excre- 
 ments of animals. 
 
 When the caterpillar has attained its full size, 
 and all the parts of the future moth, or butterfly, 
 are sufficiently formed beneath the skin, it pre- 
 pares to change into the chrysalis or pupa state ; 
 some spin webs, or cones, in which they enclose 
 themselves ; others descend into the earth, and 
 conceal themselves in little cells, which they form 
 in the light loose mould ; some are suspended 
 by a girdle, which passes round the body, and is 
 fastened to the small twigs of trees ; and cater- 
 pillars of butterflies connect themselves by their 
 posterior extremity to the stalks or leaves of 
 plants, with their head downwards. 
 
 The length of time insects live in the state of 
 caterpillars, is always the same in each individual 
 species, yet very few species precisely agree 
 to the same period for their changes ; some live 
 two or three years, others only a few months, or 
 
 * Larva is a term usually applied to the second state of all 
 insects, except those of moths and butterflies, which are called 
 caterpillars. 
 
154 PRACTICAL XATTRALJST. 
 
 even weeks, before they pass to the pupa or 
 chrysalis state. 
 
 Preparatory to the chance, the caterpillar 
 ceases to take any of its food, empties itself of 
 all the excrementitious matter that is contained 
 in the intestines, raiding at the same time the 
 membrane which served as a lining to these, and 
 the stomach; and perseveres in a state of inac- 
 tivity for several days. At length, by a process 
 similar to its former moulting, the outer skin, or 
 slough, is cast off; and the creature thus divested 
 of its last skin, is what we call the chrysalis. 
 
 PWJME. Chrysalis. orAurdia. The words aure- 
 lia or chrysalis are equally used, to express that 
 inactive state which ensues after the caterpillar 
 has changed, for the great purpose of preparing 
 for the imago, OT transformation to the fly. Au- 
 relia is derived from the Latin aurum. and chry- 
 salis from the Greek, and are both intended to 
 signify a creature formed of gold ; this however 
 is giving a general title from a very partial cir- 
 cumstance, as the colour of a considerable num- 
 ber are black, or dark brown, while the resplen- 
 dence of gold is only seen on the chrysalides of 
 a few species of the papflio or butterfly. The 
 term chrysalis should therefore be used to signify 
 only those of the butterfly kind, and pupa for 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 155 
 
 the phalaenae, or moths, as well as those of 
 sphinxes, or hawk moths. 
 
 That very intelligent naturalist, M. de Reau- 
 mur, explains the cause of this brilliant appear- 
 ance ; it proceeds from two skins, the upper one. 
 a beautiful brown, which covers a highly-polished 
 smooth white skin ; the light reflected from the 
 last, in passing through the uppermost, commu- 
 nicates this bright golden yellow, in the same 
 manner as this colour is often given to leather, 
 so that the whole appears gilded, although no 
 gold enters into that tincture. 
 
 The exterior part of the pupa is at first exceed- 
 ingly tender, soft, and partly transparent, being 
 covered with a thick viscous fluid, but which dry- 
 ing forms a new covering for the animal. 
 
 The tune each insect remains in this state is 
 very easily ascertained by those who once breed 
 them, as they always remain the same space of 
 tune, unless forwarded or retarded by heat or 
 cold, but in different species they vary consider- 
 ably ; for example, the Papilio Atalanta (Red 
 Admirable) remained only twenty -one days in 
 chrysalis, from the 12th of July to the 3d of 
 August, but the Phakena Oo. (Heart Moth) 
 remained from the beginning of October till May 
 following ; and many species remain a very con- 
 siderable time longer than this. 
 
 When the insect has acquired a suitable 
 
156 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 degree of solidity and strength, it endeavours to 
 free itself from the case in which it is confined ; 
 and as it adheres to a very few parts of the body, 
 it does not require any great exertion to split the 
 membrane which covers it ; a small degree of 
 motion, or a little inflation of the body, is suffi- 
 cient for the purpose ; these motions reiterated a 
 few times, enlarge. the opening, and afford more 
 convenience for the insect's escape; this open- 
 ing is always formed a little above the trunk, be- 
 tween the wings and a small piece which covers 
 the head. Those species which spin a cone, gnaw 
 or pierce an aperture large enough for their eman- 
 cipation.- 
 
 The moth immediately after emerging from its 
 case is moist, with the wings very small, thick, and 
 crumpled; but they rapidly expand under the 
 eye of the observer, and in a few minutes have 
 attained their full size ; the moisture evaporates, 
 the spots on the wings, which at first appeared 
 confused, become distinct, and the fibres, which 
 were before flexible, become stiff and hard as 
 bones. 
 
 When the wings are unfolded, the antennae in 
 motion, the tongue coiled up, the moth suffi- 
 ciently dried, and its different members strength- 
 ened, it is prepared for flight. The excrementi- 
 tious discharge which is voided by most insects 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 157 
 
 at this time, M. de Reaumur thinks is^the last 
 they eject during their lives. 
 
 Insects are collected in every state, though in 
 the caterpillar, or chrysalis, they are preferred, 
 not only as the time of their appearance in the 
 winged state may be then carefully attended to, 
 but they will not be so liable to disfigure and 
 damage their tender markings, as those which 
 have been in the wind or rain ; and if they are 
 taken with care from the breeding-cage immedi- 
 ately after their wings have attained a proper 
 size, they may be preserved free from any injury 
 to those beautiful feathers, which are generally 
 much discomposed in such insects as are taken in 
 flight. 
 
 There are some which cannot be found in the 
 caterpillar state ; or if found, cannot be provided 
 with food ; those are generally of that kind which 
 collectors term internal, or underground feeders, 
 and either subsist on some substance unknown to 
 us, or which we cannot readily supply. The larvae 
 of beetles and many other kind of insects, are of 
 this description; numbers of the moth tribe have 
 hitherto only been taken in the fly. state, and are 
 supposed to feed in the night; they live in cells 
 which they form in the earth, and come up in 
 
 14 
 
158 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 the evening to feed, but descend again into their 
 cells before daybreak ; it is therefore that some 
 Aurelians have sought for caterpillars by the light 
 of a candle or lantern, and have been very suc- 
 cessful ; the most valuable insects have been dis- 
 covered by this means. 
 
 Insects are found in almost every situation ; 
 the summits of the loftiest trees, and the lowest 
 herbage equally abound, and the gradations be- 
 tween swarm with an infinity of species ; the 
 collector must be therefore supplied with a dif- 
 ferent apparatus, according to the state in which 
 the insects* may be found. 
 
 To collect caterpillars, it is only necessary to 
 expand the fowling-net, or a large sheet, under 
 the branches ; then beat them with a stick or 
 pole, and the caterpillars will be shaken down 
 with the fragments of the foliage and broken 
 twigs. 
 
 When you have procured the caterpillars, be 
 particularly attentive to note the plant on which 
 you found each species, and supply them plenti- 
 fully with fresh food every day of that kind ; 
 only observe if they are moulting they must not 
 be disturbed, nor the stale food be removed, but 
 give a fresh supply when the creature has re-^ 
 covered its strength. 
 
 Insects in this state are rarely found on plants 
 which do not afford nourishment to their species ; 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 159 
 
 but it sometimes unfortunately happens that 
 stragglers are taken on -some particular herbage, 
 altogether of a different nature to its proper 
 food ; and indeed in some oases the most skilful 
 practical entomologists are deceived ; the cater- 
 pillar refuses to eat of the proffered plant, and 
 dies. Some* will devour indiscriminately the 
 leaves of almost every species of plants, and are 
 therefore called general feeders; some f are more 
 limited in this particular, but feed on several 
 kinds; others J are designed to eat the leaves of 
 two or more plants, and a few subsist on one spe- 
 cies only. || 
 
 Neither can any certain criterion be formed as 
 to the part of the plant, for though most cater- 
 pillars devour the leaf, some subsist on the 
 roots ; others on the buds,** flowers, fruit,ff 
 and indeed on every other partJJ of the plant, 
 shrub, or tree. 
 
 * As the Phaleena antiqua, vapour moth; and all the tigers. 
 
 t Phalaena pavonia, emperor moth; on the rose, bramble, 
 fruit-trees, &c. 
 
 t Phalaena verbasci, water betony moth; on the mullein 
 and water-betony. 
 
 II Papilio vurtica, tortoise-shell butterfly; on the nettle. 
 
 Phal&na pronuba, large yellow underwing; on the roots 
 of grass. Phal&na humuli, ghost; on the roots of burdock. 
 
 ** Phalcsnasalicella, rose moth; on the rose-buds. 
 
 tt Phalasna pomonella, codling moth; on the apple. 
 
 %$ Phaleena psi, gray dagger ; bark of fruit and willow 
 
160 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 It is not always possible, if one kind of food 
 cannot be procured with convenience, to deter- 
 mine from the quality of that food, what other 
 kind will best suit the creature ; sometimes plants 
 of the most opposite nature have nourished the 
 same caterpillar. The phalcena antiqua has de- 
 voured leaves of the thorn, and of the rose; and 
 has throve well when fed on the poisonous laurel 
 and the deadly nightshade. 
 
 They should always have an abundance of 
 food, for some kinds devour a very considerable 
 quantity in a few days; the papilio brassictz, 
 cabbage butterfly, eats in one day twice its own 
 weight of food. 
 
 Doctor Lodovico Bellardi, a learned and inge- 
 nious botanist of Turin, discovered some years 
 ago, after a number of experiments, a new me- 
 thod of feeding silk-worms, when they are hatched 
 before the mulberry trees have produced leaves, 
 or when it happens that the frost destroys the 
 tender branches. Whether this discovery may 
 be applied with equal propriety in other instances 
 seems at present undetermined, though from some 
 recent experiments we are inclined to believe the 
 possibility of feeding caterpillars in backward 
 
 trees. Sphinx apiformis; on the internal part of the wood 
 poplar. Phalcena Cossus, Goat; on the internal part of the 
 wood of most trees. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 161 
 
 seasons in this manner; we have tried several 
 caterpillars which were nearly full fed on the 
 leaves of thorns and oak so prepared, and have 
 observed them to eat it when no other food was 
 given, but cannot say how they may thrive if 
 fed on that aliment alone. This new method 
 consists in giving the caterpillars the dried leaves 
 of their usual food, powdered and moistened; and 
 repeated experiments, says our author, prove that 
 they (the caterpillars of silk-w T orms) prefer it to 
 any other, and eat it with the greatest avidity. 
 The leaves must be gathered about the end of 
 autumn, before the frost commences, in dry 
 weather, and at times when the heat is greatest. 
 They must be dried afterwards in the sun, by 
 spreading them upon large cloths, and laid up in 
 a dry place after they have been reduced to pow- 
 der. When it is necessary to give this powder 
 to the caterpillars, it should be gently moistened 
 with a little water, and a thin coat must be 
 placed round the young worms, who will imme- 
 diately begin to feed upon it. 
 
 THE BREEDING CAGES 
 
 May be made of deal, with a frame door cov- 
 ered with gauze or crape, to admit fresh air; and 
 a hole in the bottom through which the stalks 
 14* 
 
162 PRACTICAL NATURALIST, 
 
 of the plants may be put into a phial of water 
 to preserve them fresh. 
 
 Those cages should never contain more than 
 one kind of caterpillar, as some species devour 
 others; and indeed, if left without food, will de- 
 vour those of their own kind also. 
 
 Let not the boxes which are taken in the pocket 
 for caterpillars, nor the cages made for breeding 
 insects, be made of deal or fir, except they be 
 well lined with paper ; for the effluvia of the tur- 
 pentine, raised by the heat of the pocket, or that 
 of the sun, is extremely prejudicial to them, and 
 seldom fails to destroy the greatest part of the 
 caterpillars contained therein for any length of 
 time. The cause of the deaths of the caterpil- 
 lars found at the bottoms of cages or pocket 
 boxes, is generally attributed to bruises' got in 
 beating the trees for them at the time of collect- 
 ing them, which is a great mistake, as those 
 which happen to be injured in beating, seldom die 
 till the time of changing their skins, or of their 
 transformations, and will .nevertheless eat heartily 
 till either of these times approach. If the inside 
 of the cages or boxes be well lined with paper, 
 as aforesaid, and air-holes made in the sides and 
 tops, covered with crape, canvas, &tc, to admit 
 air, it will in a very great measure prevent the 
 above ill effects. 
 
 Put a small quantity of moist earth, about an 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 163 
 
 inch deep, at the bottom of every cage, but if 
 the caterpillars are large, more in proportion ; 
 always allowing a sufficient quantity for them to 
 bury in. 
 
 The cages must never be exposed to the 
 scorching rays of the sun; on the contrary, place 
 them in some cool, shady situation. 
 
 The chrysalides should be preserved in some 
 cold or moist place in the winter; for by be- 
 ing kept too dry, the earth about them will 
 absorb the nutritive moisture from the animal, 
 thereby not only weakening it, but hardening the 
 shell, so that its strength will be insufficient to 
 burst open the case when it should come forth ; 
 and thus enclosed it must perish miserably. 
 
 The larvae of many insects that feed beneath 
 the surface of the earth, may be bred by the Au- 
 relian in the following manner: let any box that 
 is about three or four feet square, and two or 
 three feet deep, be lined or covered externally 
 with tin, and bore through the sides and bottom 
 a number of very minute holes : put into this box 
 a quantity of earth that is replete with such vege- 
 tables as you are certain the caterpillars subsist 
 on, and sink it into a bed of earth, s0 that the 
 surface may be exposed to the different changes 
 of the weather, unless the sun is very hot, or the 
 rain heavy; you may then put the caterpillars 
 
164 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 into the box, and to prevent their escape, cover 
 the opening with brass or iron net-work. 
 
 PUPA. 
 
 We have before observed, that insects taken in 
 this state are most likely to be perfect and vigor- 
 ous ; and are therefore more generally sought for 
 by Aurelians, than even when in the caterpillar 
 state. Some chrysalides are buried in the earth ; 
 some penetrate into rotten wood ; and some lie 
 concealed underneath the bark of trees. 
 
 An instrument after the form of a hoe or trowel 
 is used w r hen you search for those of the first 
 kind ; and the only places worthy attention are 
 at the roots of trees, as oaks, elms, &c, or be- 
 neath the underwood: open the earth close to 
 the tree, and search to the depth of several 
 inches. 
 
 Such as penetrate into w r ood, require more care 
 lest they be destroyed when the attempt is made 
 to extricate them; sound on the bark with a stick, 
 and you will discover hollows where no external 
 signs are visible ; tear off the bark, and with a 
 knife cut away the wood that surrounds the ori- 
 fice of the cavity to enlarge it, and take out the 
 chrysalis as carefully as possible. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 165 
 
 Whether found in the wood, or adhering to 
 the inside of the bark, it should be preserved in 
 the same substance in the breeding-boxes ; and 
 if found spun up on the branches of trees, or in 
 the mould, manage to adjust them in a similar 
 manner in the boxes. They must be handled 
 as little as possible, and be very careful not to 
 press on any part ; as the least rough treatment 
 will either kill or cripple the insect within. 
 
 Swammerdam used to hatch the eggs, feed the 
 larva?, and preserve the pupa of aquatic insects, 
 in a shallow dish, which he covered with white 
 paper, occasionally moistened, and pierced in 
 several parts for the admission of air. 
 
 SETTING AND PRESERVING OF INSECTS. 
 
 Collectors are generally satisfied, if they can 
 obtain the insect in its last, or fly state ; but as 
 a few instructions for the preservation of the egg, 
 caterpillar, and chrysalis, may induce some fu- 
 ture naturalists to enrich their cabinets with 
 such specimens, in addition to the insect itself, 
 we have selected a few particulars for their pur- 
 pose. 
 
 The Egg. The eggs of most insects retain 
 their form and colour well, if preserved in the 
 
166 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 cabinet, but those which do not promise fairly, 
 may be prepared after the method practised by 
 Swammerdam; he used to pierce the eggs with 
 a very fine needle, and press all the contained 
 juices through the aperture ; then inflated them 
 until they regained their proper form by means 
 of a small glass tube, and lastly filled them with 
 oil of spike, in which some resin had been dis- 
 solved. 
 
 The Caterpillar. The preservation of insects 
 in this state, is not only one of the most curious 
 but useful discoveries that have been made in 
 this department of science. They may be pre- 
 served by being plunged into phials filled with 
 well rectified spirit of wine ; this method should 
 ever be preferred by those who collect in a dis- 
 tant country, if their subjects are not likely to be 
 injured by such a process; the most delicate 
 caterpillars will retain their exact size, but the 
 spirit will generally extract the colour, and 
 from those especially which have very tender 
 skins. 
 
 But the manner in which Swammerdam pre- 
 served his caterpillars, completely obviates this 
 defect; and if carefully managed, it not only pre- 
 serves the exact size, but generally retains the 
 colours as perfectly as in the living creature. 
 
 He used to make a small incision or puncture 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 167 
 
 in the tail, and having very gently and with 
 much patience pressed out all the contained 
 humours, injected wax into them, so as to give 
 them all the appearance of healthy living insects. 
 In this mariner he has preserved many very small 
 specimens. 
 
 There is another method, which is more gener- 
 ally known to collectors; it consists in taking out 
 all the inside of the caterpillar, and inflating the 
 skin by means of a glass tube. 
 
 The entrails, with whatever of the fleshy sub- 
 stance can be removed, are drawn through the 
 anus by means of fine wire curved at the end ; 
 when the inside is emptied, the glass tube is in- 
 serted into the opening, through which the opera- 
 tor continues to blow while he turns the skin at 
 the end slowly round over a charcoal fire ; this 
 hardens the skin equally, and dries up all the 
 moisture within ; a pin is then put through it to 
 fix it in a standing position : if the skin is tender, 
 it may be filled with white paper or cotton. 
 
 But this is a most cruel operation on the little 
 victim, and such as must shock the feelings of 
 the human soul ; if therefore any other method 
 can be introduced which will effect the purpose 
 in a short time, the practice should be exploded 
 as wanton barbarity. 
 
 Various attempts have been made, and among 
 these some have tried to drown the caterpillar; 
 
168 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 but you will never be able to accomplish its 
 death in this manner, unless it remains for a 
 considerable time under water, and though it 
 may appear dead, the principle of life' will not 
 be destroyed. Mr Bonnet, making experiments 
 on the respiration of insects, had one caterpillar 
 which lived eight days with only two of its ante- 
 rior spiracula in the air. 
 
 The method we wish to recommend is to ob- 
 serve when the caterpillar is on the point of cast- 
 ing its last skin ; drop it by the threads into 
 scalding water, and quickly withdraw it ; the 
 creature will be killed instantly ; then put it 
 into some distilled vinegar mixed with spirit of 
 wine, which will give a proper firmness to all 
 the parts, and accelerate the separation of the 
 skin from the body ; the flesh may be carefully 
 extracted, and the exuvia or skin be blown up 
 by means of a glass tube while suspended over 
 a charcoal fire, as before described. 
 
 Anoint it with oil of spike in which some resin 
 has been dissolved, unless it is a hairy cater- 
 pillar. 
 
 The Pupa or Chrysalis. When insects have 
 quitted the pupa state, the case will require only 
 to be put into the drawers or boxes with some 
 camphor, but those which have the insects within 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 169 
 
 must be either dropped into scalding water, or 
 inclosed in a small chip box, and exposed to the 
 heat of a fire, which will shortly kill the insect 
 within. 
 
 If those chrysalides which have the appearance 
 of gold are put into spirit of wine, they will al- 
 ways retain that colour, but if the insect within is 
 killed first, or if the fly has quitted it, such ap- 
 pearance is entirely lost. 
 
 THE LAST OR PERFECT STATE. 
 
 Coleopterous Insects, or Beetles. The pre* 
 seryation of this order of insects, is attended with 
 very little difficulty. 
 
 If you drop them into scalding water they die 
 in an instant, but the moisture they imbibe can 
 never be sufficiently exhaled to prevent mouldi- 
 ness, after they have been a short time in the 
 cabinet. 
 
 The best method is to enclose them in a small 
 chip box, and kill them by exposing the box to 
 the heat of a fire ; this treatment will rather 
 absorb, than add to the superfluous juices of the 
 insect, and greatly contribute to its preservation. 
 
 Those of the meloe genus have soft, tender 
 bodies, which shrivel after death ; to preserve 
 15 
 
170 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 those, make an incision at the extremity of the 
 abdomen, probe out the entrails, and fill the cavity 
 with fine tow. 
 
 Several foreign species of cassida, and many 
 other coleopterous insects, are beautifully varie- 
 gated with a golden colour that dies with the 
 creature ; if you plunge them into well rectified 
 spirit of wine, when alive, they soon expire and 
 retain their golden appearance ; but if taken out 
 and dried, that brilliance will be irretrievably 
 lost. 
 
 The Chinese seldom take care to display the 
 parts of their insects after the European manner ; 
 those we receive from China are stuck on long 
 needles ; if beetles, often through one elytra, so 
 that the membranaceous wings are entirely con- 
 cealed. 
 
 If the insects require only a little relaxation to 
 extend the parts, use a camel's-hair pencil moist- 
 ened with spirit of wine ; but if this should prove 
 insufficient, fix them on a piece of cork and float 
 them in an earthen pan half filled with water; it 
 is better to cover the pan with a damp cloth, and 
 the insects will be so limber, after a few hours, 
 that they may be reset in any position. 
 
 Large beetles are usually stuck through one of 
 the shells, but smaller insects are better if dis- 
 played o^ a small piece of card (they must be 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 171 
 
 fixed to the card with strong gum) ; or they may 
 be pierced through the head. 
 
 Insects of the hemiptera order, as cimices,&c ? 
 may be treated in the same manner. 
 
 LEPIDOPTEROUS INSECTS, AS BUTTERFLIES, 
 
 HAWK-MOTHS, AND MOTHS. 
 
 Sphinxes and moths are generally disposed in 
 pairs to show the male and female, and as their 
 under sides are seldom very beautiful, only their 
 upper sides are shown. 
 
 Except a few species, moths constantly con- 
 ceal their under wings when at rest ; but collect- 
 ors sacrifice the propriety of their remaining in a 
 natural position, in order to display the under 
 wings. It is advisable to have one of every 
 kind in a natural posture, as that will often es- 
 sentially assist to determine the family of the 
 insect. 
 
 Provide a quantity of card-braces, and a board 
 of a convenient size, covered with soft cork ; it 
 must be perfectly even on the surface, and pa- 
 pered ; this is termed the setting-board. 
 
 For small moths it is only necessary to put the 
 pin through the thorax and they die in a very 
 short time ; but for larger kinds, the pin should 
 
172 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 be dipped in strong aqua-fortis before it is put 
 through the insect. 
 
 It is very difficult to kill the largest kinds of 
 moths and sphinxes: select a large pin (com- 
 paratively for the size of the insect) and dip it 
 into aqua-fortis as before, but immediately that 
 the pin is forced through the thorax withdraw it, 
 and put a drop of aqua-fortis into the wound; 
 should this prove insufficient to kill it, put the 
 point of the pin through a card, and hold it in 
 the flame of a candle until it becomes red hot ; 
 this will kill the insect immediately, and the 
 card will protect it from being injured by the 
 flame. 
 
 The moth is then to be fixed on the setting- 
 board. The wings are to be carefully displayed 
 by means of a large pin, and the braces put close 
 down to prevent their return to the natural posi- 
 tion. Note, All insects must be set while they 
 remain limber, for if the parts stiffen they are apt 
 to snap ; they may be relaxed by floating them in 
 a pan of water. 
 
 Insects should remain beneath the braces on 
 the setting-board until all the aqueous moisture 
 be evaporated, or the wings will start from their 
 position, and the bodies turn black, or mouldy ; 
 they should be placed in a dry situation, and be 
 covered with gauze for the admission of air for 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 173 
 
 the space of a month at least, before they are put 
 into the cabinet. 
 
 It is proper in this place to caution the young 
 beginner not to attempt to kill the insects by 
 fumigations of sulphur, &LC, a practice too fre- 
 quent with persons of this description, for should 
 he by this means deprive the creature of its life, 
 he will also deprive it of its beauty. It is even 
 doubtful whether many may not survive the 
 operation. 
 
 M. Lyonet placed several of the large musk 
 beetles, probably the cerambyx moschatus, under 
 a glass where he had been burning sulphur, and 
 which he kept burning while they were there ; 
 and though the vapour was so thick that he 
 could not discern them, and that he kept them 
 therein more than half an hour, they did not 
 seem in the least incommoded.* 
 
 Some moths are very liable to change colour 
 when placed in the cabinet, and particularly those 
 which collectors term full-bodied ; an oily matter 
 is common to all insects, but those are charged 
 with a superabundance. It appears at first in 
 spots on the body, but gradually pervades every 
 part; in some it will even descend into the wings, 
 
 * Lesser, Theologie des Insectes, torn, i, p. 124. Ibid, p. 
 126. 
 
174 PRACTICAL NATURALIST, 
 
 and then an obliteration of all the tender marks 
 and beautiful specklings is the least that may be 
 expected, if a total change of its colours, to an 
 uniform dirty brown, does not ensue. Hence it 
 is that many of the Linnaean descriptions of in- 
 sects appear defective to such as breed them ; we 
 not unfrequently read, body black, though we 
 know that part of the insect is white in every 
 specimen that is not greasy ; the body of the 
 satin moth is perfectly white when fine, but after 
 it has been killed some time, it becomes black in 
 parts ; the body of the burnet sphinx is of a 
 very brilliant blue colour, with yellow bands on 
 every annulation, when alive, but changes to a 
 velvety black SOOH after the insect dies ; the same 
 is observed on the body of the currant sphinx ; 
 and every part of the body of the hornet sphinx 
 changes to a jet black, after being some time in 
 the cabinet; although when alive it is a very 
 bright yellow, with a band of purple. Hence 
 also it is that some specimens of very common 
 insects are valuable, by having preserved their 
 proper colours uninjured. 
 
 Various methods have been tried to extract 
 the grease from the moths, but a preventative 
 should always be preferred. 
 
 If the grease has not spread into the wings, 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 175 
 
 the insect may sometimes be cured, but it will 
 be very difficult, if not impossible, to eradicate 
 the grease which has settled in patches on the 
 wings. 
 
 Large moths are to be opened in a straight line 
 along the under side of the body, the entrails, &c, 
 taken out, and the cavity filled with fine tow or 
 cotton. This should be performed soon after the 
 insect is dead. The most delicate specimens may 
 be preserved entire by this means. 
 
 Sometimes it will be proper to break off the 
 body close at the thorax, and substitute the body 
 of another insect which nearly resembles it, and 
 which is not so liable to change. 
 
 The method which is most successful for re- 
 covering the original appearance after the insect 
 has become greasy, is to powder some fine dry 
 chalk, on a piece of heated iron ; cover the chalk 
 with a very fine linen cloth, and thereto apply 
 the under part of the body of the insect : the 
 heat of the iron dissolves the grease, while the 
 chalk absorbs it, and the linen cloth prevents the 
 chalk from clotting to the insect. This process 
 may be repeated several times if the grease is not 
 entirely eradicated by the first attempt. Always 
 observe to exactly attemperate the heat of the 
 iron. 
 
 They may be baked in a slack oven, with the 
 
176 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 chalk placed to absorb the grease, without any 
 considerable injury to the colours. 
 
 Some collectors open the bodies of large moths, 
 take out the entrails, and fill the cavity with fine 
 dry powdered chalk. 
 
 MINUTE MOTHS. TINEA, TORTRIX, ALUCITA, 
 
 &C. 
 
 Much experience, and considerable care, with 
 a light, but steady hand, are necessary for the 
 management of minute moths on the setting- 
 board ; it will be equally useless and impossible, 
 to enter into a minute detail of every trivial cir- 
 cumstance that must be attended to: we shall 
 therefore give a general sketch, and leave the 
 rest to the ingenuity of the operator. 
 
 First, the fans of the clappers, or forceps, or 
 the fowling-net if you prefer it, must be covered 
 with silk gauze, of a very soft and delicate 
 texture, and as the slightest friction will obliter- 
 ate the beautiful specklings , or raised tufts that 
 are so profusely bestowed by the hand of nature 
 on this most elegant tribe of insects, you must be 
 extremely careful when you press on the thorax 
 not to crush it more than you can possibly 
 avoid : or if you have it between the fans of the 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 177 
 
 forceps, put the pin through the thorax while the 
 creature is confined in that situation. 
 
 The next care will be to procure pins of such 
 a degree of fineness, as not to injure or distort 
 the wings of the insect ; the smallest sort of lace 
 pins will do very well for most kinds, but there 
 are some so extremely minute that even those 
 would be too coarse. If you have pins made 
 purposely for insects of this kind, let them be 
 about an inch in length, and have them drawn 
 as fine as possible. 
 
 When the pin is put through the thorax it 
 must be managed with the greatest dexterity, 
 and be exactly in the centre, as the least varia- 
 tion to either side will break the .nerves of the 
 anterior margin of the upper wings, which will 
 immediately start, and can never be replaced in 
 a proper position; if the pin is placed too high, 
 it will sever the head from the shoulders, and by 
 being too low, the under wings also will break off 
 or start from their true position ; it may be man- 
 aged better with the assistance of a magnifying 
 eye-glass. 
 
 The braces are to be made of the same form 
 as those which are used for larger insects, only 
 smaller in proportion ; and instead of making 
 them of stiff card, or pasteboard, they may be 
 small slips of vellum, or stout paper that has been 
 hot -pressed. You must brace them immediately 
 
178 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 after you have put the pin through the thorax, 
 for if they are permitted to stiffen, they cannot 
 be relaxed so well as larger insects. 
 
 Minute moths are to be found in winter as well 
 as summer ; it would be scarcely imagined, nay 
 reason would deny, did not experience prove, that 
 when the frost is so severe as to entirely subvert 
 the appearance and almost annihilate the exist- 
 ance of all the vegetable productions, within the 
 verge of its influence, myriads of those delicately 
 formed creatures brave the inclement season, and 
 exist securely within those habitations they have 
 the address to construct. 
 
 A very skilful entomologist informs us, that 
 having occasion to go into the country when the 
 cold was intensely severe and the snow deep, he 
 collected in a few hours a vast number of minute, 
 insects of the cohoptera, hemiptera, and lepidop- 
 tera orders ; and though his collection was then 
 very considerable, he selected thirteen new spe- 
 cies, and among them several which he has never 
 found, but when the weather has been very cold, 
 as at that time. 
 
 It is proper to observe, that those insects usu- 
 ally shelter among the moss, and other extrane- 
 ous matter that grow on the trunks or branches 
 of trees, or beneath the rotten bark. Gather the 
 moss, &c, into a box, or tin canister, and shut it 
 close to prevent the escape of those insects, that 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 179 
 
 may revive by the warmth ; when you have an 
 opportunity to examine them, spread a sheet of 
 writing-paper on the table, and place a lamp, or 
 candle, with a shade of transparent or oiled paper 
 before you, so as to weaken the glare ; then sepa- 
 rate the moss, and shake it loosely in your hand, 
 and you will perceive many insects fall down on 
 the paper; if they are so minute that by thrust- 
 ing the pin through the thorax they would be 
 damaged, fasten them with gum-water, or some 
 glutinous varnish, to small slips or pieces of 
 paper. 
 
 NEUROPTEROUS, HYMENOPTEROTJS, AND DIPTE- 
 ROUS INSECTS. 
 
 Among those of the neuropterous order are 
 included the libellulae, a most elegant tribe of 
 insects, but very difficult to preserve. The co- 
 lours on the body are exceedingly brilliant in 
 some species, but inevitably change black within 
 a few days after death, unless the collector is 
 particularly attentive to their preparation. 
 
 They are extremely tenacious of life ; we have 
 seen one of the larger kinds live two days on the 
 pin, and even show symptoms of life twenty-four 
 hours after being deprived of its head. 
 
180 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 The most expeditious method of killing those 
 creatures, is to run a red hot wire up the body 
 and thorax, for they will live a considerable time 
 in agony, if you attempt to kill them with aqua- 
 fortis as before directed for the moth tribe. 
 
 After they are dead, clean their bodies on the 
 inside with a little cotton twisted to the end of a 
 wire, and put a roll of white paper into the ca- 
 vity, or fill it with cotton ; in most species this 
 will not only admirably relieve the colours, but 
 preserve them from changing black. 
 
 Note. Those kinds only with transparent skins 
 will require this preparation, as the L. 4, macu- 
 lata, &c. 
 
 Some of the foreign insects of those orders ap- 
 pear to the greatest advantage in spirit of wine, 
 but whenever the usual method will suffice, it 
 should be preferred. They are all to be stuck 
 through the thorax, and observe always to put 
 the pin so far through, that when it is stuck near 
 a quarter of an inch into the cork the feet of the 
 insect may only touch the surface. 
 
 The wings are to be displayed with cramps as 
 usual. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 181 
 
 APTEROUS INSECTS. 
 
 Many kinds may be preserved in spirits, or in 
 the same manner as coleopterous and other in- 
 sects ; but among those we can include very few, 
 if any, of that extensive genus aranea (spiders), 
 no method having been hitherto discovered where- 
 by they may be preserved in their natural colours, 
 for however beautiful they may be when alive, 
 their bodies shrivel and their tints become an 
 obscure brown, soon after death ; and as the moist- 
 ure exhales, the size of the body diminishes, very 
 little more than the skin of it remaining when the 
 creature is sufficiently dry to be placed in the 
 cabinet. 
 
 Spiders cast their skins several times in the 
 course of their lives ; the exuvia would be very 
 acceptable to the collector, if they retained any 
 of the beautiful colours of the living spiders. 
 
 To determine whether some species of spiders 
 could be preserved with their natural colours, we 
 put several into spirit of wine ; those with gib- 
 bous bodies soon after discharged a very consid- 
 erable quantity of viscid matter, and therewith 
 all their most beautiful colours; the smallest re- 
 tained their form, and only appeared rather paler 
 in the colours than when they were living. 
 
 From other observations it appears, that if you 
 
 16 
 
182 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 kill the spider, and immediately after extract the 
 entrails, then inflate them by means of a blow- 
 pipe, you may preserve them tolerably well ; you 
 must cleanse them on the inside no more than is 
 sufficient to prevent mouldiness, lest you injure 
 the colours, which certainly in many kinds de- 
 pend on some substance that lies beneath the 
 skin. 
 
 After inflating them, you may either inject 
 them with fine virgin wax, or anoint the skin 
 with oil of spike in which resin has been dis- 
 solved, and dry them in some shady place. 
 
 Of the largest kinds of foreign spiders, the 
 bodies are the only parts which are liable to 
 shrivel ; if they were prepared in this manner, 
 their proper form would be preserved. 
 
 In 1792, Dr Withering presented a paper to 
 the Linnaean society, in which he relates the 
 particulars of a new method of preserving fungi, 
 &c; as we have given an account of this im- 
 provement with the instructions for the preserva- 
 tion of plants, we shall only observe in this 
 place, that the composition which he has applied 
 with so much success as a preservative of the 
 most perishable tribes of vegetables, may here 
 after prove also an excellent preservative for spi- 
 ders, and other apterous insects. - 
 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST, 183 
 
 THE CABINET. 
 
 It is immaterial whether the cabinet is made of 
 mahogany or wainscot; sometimes they are made 
 of cedar wood, but very seldom of deal or any 
 other wood that is soft; the drawers may be from 
 fifteen to thirty inches in length, the same, or 
 nearly the same in breadth, and about two or 
 three inches in depth ; the cork with which the 
 bottoms are to be lined, must be chosen as free 
 from cracks as possible, it must be glued into the 
 drawers to prevent its warping, and be filed, or 
 cut very level ; the irregularities should be rub- 
 bed even with pumice-stone, and the whole sur- 
 face be perfectly smooth, before the paper is 
 pasted over it ; the paper should be of the finest 
 quality, but neither very stout, nor highly sized ; 
 the former being liable to turn the points of the 
 pins, and the latter to injure the insects by not 
 readily absorbing the grease, which may flow from 
 them : the top of every drawer must be glazed, 
 to prevent the admission of dust or air; the glass 
 is usually fitted into a frame of the same size as 
 the drawer, and is made either to slide in a 
 groove, or let in on a rabbet. Some collectors 
 wash the cork several times with spirit of wine 
 and corrosive sublimate, to destroy the mites ; 
 
184 
 
 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 and moisten the paper after it is pasted on the 
 cork with alum-water. 
 
 Observe that every crevice in the drawers or 
 boxes must be stopped to prevent the admission 
 of external air, and always appropriate a quan- 
 tity of camphor for each drawer, or the mites 
 will destroy the insects. 
 
 If your cabinets or boxes stand in a damp 
 situation, the insect will become mouldy on the 
 antennae, legs, &c ; this must be cleaned off with 
 a camePs-hair pencil, and the cabinets in future 
 be put into some place where they will be less 
 exposed to damp. 
 
 If you perceive notwithstanding the camphor, 
 a dusty appearance on the insects, add also a 
 quantity of musk, and clean the dust off with a 
 soft pencil ; if after this you find more dust, 
 either bake the insects, or dissolve corrosive sub- 
 limate in spirit of wine, and touch the parts that 
 appear dusty with a fine pencil moistened in the 
 liquor, which will destroy the mites that occasion 
 such appearance. 
 
 The method which Harris advises promises 
 only to materially injure the insects, or at least 
 change their colours if brilliant, as we have found 
 by experience. 
 
 c If at any time the insects in a cabinet or box, 
 where they are placed for preservation, should 
 appear as if growing mouldy, or be infested with 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 185 
 
 small animalcules, which is known by a kind of 
 dust seen beneath the abdomen ; in this case the 
 smoke of tobacco is the only effectual remedy, 
 which must be blown through the small end of a 
 pipe admitted through a hole made for that pur- 
 pose in the back of the drawer or box ; this not only 
 corrects the putrid and stagnant air, but destroys 
 those formidable enemies which often destroy 
 whole cabinets of insects: this will preserve them 
 for twelve months, when it will be necessary to 
 act the same part over again. It may be feared 
 and objected that the smoke may in some mea- 
 sure damage the insects, but a little experience 
 will plainly evince the contrary. 5 
 
186 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL 
 HISTORY AT PARIS. 
 
 Vallee Suisse and Menagerie. The menage- 
 rie of Versailles was transported hither in 1794. 
 It comprises a length of 229 toises, and a breadth 
 of 110. The animals of peaceable habits occupy 
 fourteen divisions, each subdivided into as many 
 compartments as there are different species. No- 
 thing can be more picturesque than what is here 
 exhibited; a perpetual variation of surface, an 
 unceasing diversity in the apartments which con- 
 tain the different animals each one lodged ac- 
 cording to his peculiar character, variety even 
 in the lattices of the chestnut trees which form 
 the enclosure. On entering the Vallee Suisse 
 on the side of the amphitheatre, and taking the 
 alley which winds between the rotunda and avi- 
 ary, you are struck with the camel Alpaca, re- 
 markable for the length and fineness of his hair. 
 In the first enclosure, you see the long-tailed 
 African sheep, the sheep of Morvan with his 
 abundant fleece, the goats of Tartary and India 
 whose hair is manufactured into shawls, a he- 
 goat from Upper Egypt, and others of different 
 parts of Europe. The next enclosure has five 
 divisions, and contains in the middle a circular 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 187 
 
 cabin. The first division is an immense basin, in 
 which are swimming a multitude of aquatic fowl 
 and tortoises. The four others contain the galli- 
 naceous tribes and shore-birds ; the last of all is 
 tenanted by ostriches. 
 
 The neighbouring park, which in structure re- 
 sembles a ruin, contains several species of ani- 
 mals, and a basin for water-fowl. A ruin pre- 
 senting the appearance of a painted house, offers 
 a retreat to the deer and wild goats that inhabit 
 the next enclosure. Close to this is a rotunda 
 surrounded by pillars, containing a mule of the 
 breed of the zebra. Other divisions are inhabited 
 by divers species of sheep and fallow deer. Be- 
 tween the menagerje of peaceable animals and 
 the garden, are pits which contain three bears 
 and two wild boars. The rotunda in the centre 
 of the menagerie is tenanted by a young elephant, 
 a male and female bison, five dromedaries, a ze- 
 bra, and other tropical animals. Opposite is a 
 magnificent enclosure, containing pheasants of all 
 countries, even of China. Near these are the 
 birds of prey ; among which are the vulture papa, 
 given to the Museum by the Duke of Orleans, 
 now Louis Philippe, King of the French, the 
 condor, the vulture without a tail from Senegal, 
 then the noisy tribe of parrots, and the mimick- 
 ing race of apes. 
 
 Toward the Seine, there was constructed in 
 
188 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 1821 a menagerie for ferocious animals ; at pre- 
 sent its twenty-one apartments contain a Sene- 
 gal lion with a faithful dog for his companion, a 
 lioness accompanied by a bitch, a bear with a 
 mane, a male and female wolf, a jackal of Sene- 
 gal, and an Asturian bear. 
 
 Cabinet of Natural History. This occupies 
 the whole of the building of two stories, extend- 
 ing upon a facade of 290Teet beyond the court 
 at the extremity of the garden opposite the 
 Seine. Upon the first floor, are exhibited in a 
 large hall samples or models of all instruments 
 used in agriculture ; the remainder of this story 
 serves as a magazine for those objects of Natural 
 History, which are too large to be placed in cabi- 
 nets. The interior is divided into six rooms on 
 the first floor, and five on the second. The first 
 contain geological and mineralogical collections, 
 reptiles, and fishes ; the second are devoted to 
 quadrupeds, insects, and shells. 
 
 Geological Collection. The entrance to this 
 temple consecrated to the productions of nature, 
 is indicated by a magnificent column of the basalt 
 of La Tour in the department of Puy de Dome ; 
 this column is surmounted by a superb pyramid 
 of rock crystal, 2i feet in diameter at the base ; 
 near this are two other basaltic columns from the 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST, 189 
 
 Giant's Causeway in Ireland, and a column of 
 irregular structure from St Sandoux in Puy de 
 Dome. In the first room are to be seen a multi- 
 tude of stones, bearing the impression of plants 
 and invertebrated animals. Here also is a com- 
 plete collection of the stones natural to the soil of 
 France. Fossil vegetables are arranged in cabi- 
 nets on the left, and fossil animals on the right. 
 The second hall has a rich collection of vertebrated 
 animals, illustrating the process of their petrifac- 
 tion ; these occupy two immense glass cases, in 
 the centre of the hall. Fossil fishes are on the 
 right of the entrance, fossil bones of quadru- 
 peds, birds, and reptiles in cases opposite the 
 windows. Here we are particularly struck with 
 the view of those found in digging the canal de 
 1'Ourcq ; we remark also the teeth of the ele- 
 phants found at Rome, and the skin of the enor- 
 mous animal discovered in Siberia on the banks 
 of the Lena. 
 
 The next hall is devoted to a systematic col- 
 lection of stones, classed according to the nature 
 of their composition and contexture ; next are the 
 elements of a geographical collection of stones, 
 both rough and polished. At the left on enter- 
 ing are four superb vases, manufactured from the 
 lava of Vesuvius ; a cup of rock-crystal, a large 
 table of green serpentine, and a mirror of talc 
 such as used by the ancient Peruvians ; next are 
 
190 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 cups of chalcedony, agate, and jasper of different 
 colours, one of rock-crystal, another coloured 
 violet by fluate of lime, two of greenish jade, 
 a vase of the same, and a small one of lapis 
 lazuli. In the adjoining cases are small slabs of 
 jasper, agate, and chalcedony; a row of small 
 columns of amethyst; cups of amethyst, chalce- 
 dony, and chrysopasus; precious cut stones, dia- 
 monds, oriental rubies, sapphires, chrysolites, &c. 
 There is also another collection of precious stones 
 polished, and rock-crystal variously coloured 
 according as the light is reflected by its facets. 
 To these are added a collection of precious stones 
 of artificial construction. Next are seen a mis- 
 cellany of divers substances, among which are 
 an elegant specimen of amber, an immense slab 
 of Florence marble, savage tomahawks, a cup of 
 red marble, and a large spoon of green jade. 
 These last articles are splendid beyond denial, 
 but they must yield in value to the vestiges be- 
 fore mentioned of plants and animals found in 
 regions far distant from their native abode, and 
 thereby constituting natural and irrefragable proofs 
 of the general deluge in which they were re- 
 moved. 
 
 Mineralogical Collection. Every thing is sci- 
 entific in- the 4 arrangement of this collection, 
 where the mineral substances are disposed accord- 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 191 
 
 ing to their constituent elements, after the sys- 
 tem of the celebrated Hauy. The numerous spe- 
 cimens here assembled, form by no means the 
 least ornament of the museum even to the eyes 
 of the uninstructed, to whom their scientific de- 
 nominations offer for the most part an inexplica- 
 ble enigma. Some objects are particularly strik- 
 ing ; such as a superb vase of porphyry from 
 Vosges, and large groups of crystals coloured by 
 quartz. A second hall contains inflammable sub- 
 stances and metals ; here is a superb group of 
 transparent crystal diamonds in every state 
 bitumens liquid and solid portions of amber 
 containing insects platina -a mass of native 
 gold from Peru, weighing 64 ounces a magni- 
 ficent specimen of native silver from Mexico 
 various combinations of silver with sulphur, anti- 
 mony, muriatic and carbonic acid; here is to 
 be remarked the great diversity of colours as- 
 sumed by mercury in its combinations with dif- 
 ferent metals ; here is also a large collection of 
 aerolites, or meteoric stones. Six cabinets con- 
 tain magnificent specimens of iron. Other me- 
 tals are in great abundance, but the spectator is 
 now attracted to the adjoining hall by those pro- 
 ductions of nature which make a nearer approxi- 
 mation to life. 
 
 This apartment is embellished with a collec- 
 tion of rare fruits dried ; here are the productions 
 
192 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 of the baobab, the cocoa, the bread-fruit, the cin- 
 namon-tree, the bamboo, the banana, &c. One 
 of the most remarkable among these collections, 
 is that of a series of small sheets of wood of every 
 species sawed horizontally and vertically, exhibit- 
 ing an endless variety of shades and veins. Here 
 finishes the chain of beings deprived of sponta- 
 neous movement ; and here begins that immense 
 series of beings endowed with the faculty of loco- 
 motion, in which man, gifted with reason, and not 
 subjected to a blind instinct, occupies the highest 
 rank. 
 
 Collection of Fishes. This comprises 5000 
 individuals, and 2500 different species, all pre- 
 served with an art which exhibits every exterior 
 form. In the midst of these w r onders appears the 
 statue of the celebrated BufTon, whose genius has 
 painted them to us with so much truth ; the pe- 
 destal bears this inscription, Majestati nature 
 par ingenium. The most brilliant part of this 
 division is upon the second floor ; this consists 
 first of the 
 
 Mammalia, to the number of 15,000, forming 
 5000 species. The features of these animals de- 
 signate their instincts ; their various faculties are 
 denoted in their mien and bearing ; the intelligent 
 spectator remarks how their forms are adapted to 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 their climate and soil, and to their peaceable or 
 ferocious dispositions. The mockery of the ape, 
 the simplicity of the lamb, the fury of the en- 
 raged lion, the agility of the deer and the goat, 
 these form the most striking contrasts. The visiter 
 is struck with the vast variety exhibited by the ox 
 of different countries, the vast disproportion be- 
 tween such immense masses of animation as the 
 elephant, and such insignificance of size as the 
 shrewmouse. The mind is overpowered and 
 humbled, to witness the action of creative power 
 in the formation of so many wonders. 
 
 Birds. These offer a variety of configuration 
 and colour, no less astonishing than the quadru- 
 peds. Here are 6000 individuals, and 2300 spe- 
 cies, exhibiting every shade and variety of co- 
 lour, attitude, habit, and manner. 
 / 
 
 Invertebrated Animals. These amount to 
 25,000; their beauty and magnificence are truly 
 astonishing. A class of beings almost unshaped, 
 and whose flesh is almost devoid of consistence, 
 yet splendid of hue, and constructing with their 
 own peculiar substances commodious and elegant 
 habitations. The lepidopterce also occupy the 
 same apartment ; among these are to be remark- 
 ed, the beautiful shapes and dazzling colours of 
 the Surinam butterflies, which the splendour of 
 17 
 
194 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 no diamond can equal. These apartments are 
 embellished with a statue of Venus Urania by 
 Dupaty, and busts in bronze of Linn?, Four- 
 croy, Antoine Petit, Winslow, Tournefort, and 
 Daubenton, placed amidst the objects which 
 formed the theme of their meditations, and the 
 elements of their renown. 
 
 Cabinet of Comparative Anatomy, situated 
 between the Rue de Seine and the Valtie Suisse. 
 It was begun under the direction of BufFon in 
 1775, and was perfected by Cuvier, whose pro- 
 found and observing genius is equally great in 
 the conception and expression of thought. Ske- 
 letons of every species of animals are here brought 
 together ; in their arrangement, not only is the 
 order of their bony structure observed, but they 
 are compared in relation to the shape and dispo- 
 sition of their various organs, which are preserved 
 by injecting with infinite art all the soft parts. 
 Here is not only a comparison of the human form 
 with animals, but comparisons of the different 
 human races, as the European with the Tartar, 
 Chinese, Hottentot, negro, native of New Ireland, 
 American savage, Egyptian mummy. Here are 
 to be seen the Hottentot Venus, and Bebe the 
 famous dwarf of King Stanislas. The six halls 
 which compose this cabinet contained in January 
 1823, 11,486 anatomical preparations. 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 195 
 
 The library of the Museum contains 10,000 
 volumes, upon every portion of Natural History; 
 the herbals of Tournefort and Le Vaillant, and 
 magnificent designs upon vellum by Van Spaen- 
 donck and other celebrated artists. 
 
 Garden of Plants. This is in three parts ; 
 the lower garden, extending from the Seine to 
 the galleries, laid out symmetrically ; the upper 
 garden, planted with trees in an irregular manner, 
 appropriate to the surface ; and the Vallee Suisse, 
 with its sinuous passages, forming the spaces al- 
 lotted to the habitations of the peaceable animals 
 and the enclosures in which they feed. Upon 
 entering this part of the Museum, you behold the 
 garden divided lengthways into three parts, by 
 long covered alleys running from the. Seine to 
 the galleries, the wide intervals between them, 
 the portion of the garden on the left, by the 
 Rue de Buffon, that on the right, between the 
 main alley and the Vallee Suisse. A coffee-house 
 first meets your view on the left, in a retired shade. 
 Next is a square covered with blooming trees ; 
 those of the spring and autumn being in separate 
 divisions. Apart from these, and separated by 
 a transversal alley of Virginian poplars, is a nurse- 
 ry of foreign trees and shrubs ; among which are 
 distinguished the beautiful clusters of the Ispahan 
 peach , brought from Persia in 1 780. Ornamental 
 
196 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 plants occupy the space adjoining ; here are 
 found vast varieties of the most beautiful 
 flowers. 
 
 Next are the forest trees of different climates, 
 under the shade of which stands a coffee-house ; 
 here is seen the interlacing foliage of trees 
 brought from the most distant quarters of the 
 globe ; the spectator will remark the juniper of 
 the Levant, which has attained upon the soil of 
 Paris to the height of 40 feet, the American 
 acacia, and the sophora of Japan. 
 
 The space on the river side between the main 
 alleys, is devoted to the culture of medicinal 
 plants, for the use of the poor ; next this is a 
 kitchen-garden. Beyond these, and surrounded 
 by a railing, is a nursery of exotic trees, prin- 
 cipally of the resinous species ; within this en- 
 closure is a hexagonal building for bee-hives. In 
 the parterres, which extend to the galleries, are 
 contained such plants as retain the stalk beyond 
 the year; here is also a basin, covered with the 
 foliage of aquatic plants, and surrounded during 
 summer with orange and pomegranate-trees. 
 
 Farther to the left is the following arrange- 
 ment: beginning at the Seine, in the first en- 
 closure is contained all manner of manure ; next, 
 the materials proper for the support of fruit-trees; 
 above these are models of ditches, hedges, natu- 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 197 
 
 ral enclosures, artificial walls for espaliers, grafts 
 of every description exhibiting the most singu- 
 lar phenomena in their configuration and in the 
 union of different species upon the same trunk, 
 models of plantations, specimens of pruning, &c, 
 &c. These objects form the commencement of 
 a school of 600 species or varieties of fruit-trees 
 natural to the French soil, systematically arrang- 
 ed. The most interesting portion for the study 
 of plants is the botanical garden, the contents of 
 which are arranged after the system of Jussieu. 
 Greenhouses, both hot and temperate, contain 
 through the winter the productions of the tropical 
 climates. Here are to be seen the sugar-cane, 
 tea-plant, indigo-tree, coffee-tree, manioc, the 
 cactus on which the cochineal insect is nour- 
 ished, &c. 
 
 Proceeding upward between the two old oran- 
 geries, you reach the upper garden ; on the right 
 a small bank offers an agreeable promenade, and 
 affords an extensive view of the Fauxbourg St 
 Antoine; on the left is a steep hill, covered with 
 firs and other trees ; ascending by a plateau laid 
 out in a labyrinth of alleys, the spectator beholds 
 a cedar of Lebanon, which was brought from 
 England by the celebrated Bernard de Jussieu, 
 and planted here in 1734; on the summit is a 
 kiosk, from which the eye of the spectator may 
 expatiate over a great part of Paris, Vincennes, 
 
198 PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 
 
 the course of the Seine and Marne, and the plain 
 of Ivri; at the summit of this elegant kiosk is 
 an armillary sphere, and a detonating sun-dial 
 with the inscription horas non numero nisi 
 serenas. 
 
 Going down, the view is struck with a granite 
 column, surrounded at the base by mineral spe- 
 cimens ; this is designed as a monument to the 
 celebrated D'Aubenton, who devoted fifty years 
 of his peaceful and laborious life to the study of 
 nature within these precincts Near this is a 
 dairy, the inscription to which invites the passen- 
 ger to a frugal repast; it is alike neat and appro- 
 priate in Latin and French : 
 
 Hie post laborem quies. 
 
 Hfc secura quies, ae'r, victusque salubris; 
 Colle super viridi suut ova recentia nobis, 
 Castaneae molles, pressique copia lactis. 
 
 ' Asylum of repose"; the silent pines spread 
 their shadow over the verdant hill ; this lowly 
 roof furnishes eggs and milk, a rustic meal, but 
 pure as the air of these regions.' If the Swiss 
 dairy of the Jardin des Plantes cannot be called 
 a chalet, we have at least evidence that it is the 
 seat of the muses. 
 
 Adjoining this stands the building which serves 
 for the lodgings of those belonging to the estab- 
 
PRACTICAL NATURALIST. 199 
 
 lishment, magazines, &c ; walking round a pavi- 
 lion inhabited by the professors, the spectator 
 finds himself in the midst of a parterre, in front 
 of the amphitheatre, where are placed in fine 
 weather a multitude of superb trees from New 
 Holland, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Bar- 
 bary coast. The entrance to this elegant amphi- 
 theatre, which is appropriated to the study of 
 chemistry, anatomy, and medicine, is adorned 
 with two elegant Sicilian palm-trees twenty-five 
 feet in height ; eastward is a magnificent green- 
 house, devoted to the results of Captain JBau din's 
 expedition. 
 
 The garden was founded by Louis XIII, in 
 1626; that monarch granted for the purpose a 
 few acres of sterile ground at the extremity of 
 the Fauxbourg St Victor, and an arid bank for- 
 merly surrounded by a sewer; upon these were 
 placed a small garden, three professors, and a 
 demonstrator. In making these scanty prepara- 
 tions, he was far from foreseeing in them the 
 foundation of a magnificent temple of the won- 
 ders of nature, destined to become one of the 
 first ornaments of the capital, and an honour to 
 France. 
 

GLOSSARY. 
 
 As it has never been found possible in works of 
 Natural History however adapted to popular read- 
 ing to divest the language entirely of scientific 
 terms, the following collection of those in general use 
 has been thought necessary. The generical appella- 
 tions of those tribes of the animal creation with which 
 we have any degree of familiarity, have been included. 
 
 Accipitres. The rapacious class of birds. 
 Alauda. (In ornithology) Genus Lark. 
 Alca. Gen. Auk. 
 Jllcedo. Gen. Kingfisher. 
 
 Ambulatory. A tribe of walking-birds, with three dis- 
 tinct toes before, and one behind. 
 Anas. Gen. Duck. 
 Jlnseres. The class of swimming-birds. 
 Antenna. The horn of an insect. 
 Apis. Gen. Bee. 
 
502 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Apodal. An order of fishes with bony gills and no 
 
 ventral fins. 
 
 Jlptenodytes. Gen. Penguin. 
 Apterce. An order of insects, without wings. 
 Jlranea. Gen. Spider. 
 Jlrctomys. Gen. Marmot. 
 Ardea. Gen. Heron. 
 Aslerias. Gen. Starfish. 
 
 Balcena. Gen. Whale. 
 
 Belluce. An order of Mammalia, having obtuse front 
 teeth in each jaw, and undivided hoofs. These are 
 the Horse, Hippopotamus, Tapir, &c. 
 
 Bivalve. A shell consisting of two parts, connected 
 by a hinge. 
 
 Blatta. Gen. Cockroach. 
 
 Bos. Gen. Ox. 
 
 Brady pus. Gen. Sloth. 
 
 Bruta. An order of Mammalia, entirely destitute of 
 front-teeth. These are the Sloth, Ant-Eater, Rhi- 
 noceros, Elephant, and Manati. 
 
 Buceros. Gen. Hornbill. 
 
 Copra. Gen. Goat. 
 
 Caprimulgus. Gen. Goatsucker or Night- Hawk, 
 
 Canis. Gen. Dog. 
 
GLOSSARY. 203 
 
 Cardium. Gen. Cockle. 
 
 Caruncle. A fleshy protuberance. 
 
 Castor. Gen. Beaver. 
 
 Catkins. The imperfect flowers or blossoms of cer- 
 tain trees. 
 
 Cere. (In birds) the membrane covering the root of 
 the bill. 
 
 Certhia. Gen. Creeper. 
 
 Cervus. Gen. Deer. 
 
 Cetacea. An order of Mammalia, comprising the 
 Whale and Dolphin tribes. 
 
 Charadrius. Gen. Plover. 
 
 Chrysalis. The first apparent change of the maggot 
 of any species of insect. 
 
 Cinereous. Ash-coloured. 
 
 Clavicle. The collar-bone. 
 
 Clupea. Gen. Herring. 
 
 Coleopterce. The tribe of Beetles, or such as have 
 crustaceous coverings to their wings. 
 
 Columba. Gen. Pigeon. 
 
 Cohjmbus. Gen. Diver. 
 
 Corvus. Gen. Crow. 
 
 Coverts. The wing coverts are the feathers lying 
 about the base of the wing. 
 
 Crotalus. Gen. Rattlesnake. 
 
204 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Crustacea. An order of animals covered with a cal- 
 careous shell, as the Crab and Lobster. 
 
 Cryptogamia. A class of plants which have the sex- 
 ual organs hidden. 
 
 Culex. Gen. Gnat. 
 
 Cuneiform. Wedge-shaped. 
 
 Dasypus. Gen. Armadillo. 
 
 Deciduous. Those trees which shed their leaves in 
 
 autumn, in contradistinction to evergreens. 
 Delphinus. Gen. Dolphin. 
 Didelphis. Gen. Opossum. 
 Digitated. Furnished with fingers or toes. 
 Diomedea. Gen. Albatross. 
 Dipterce. A class of insects with two wings, as the 
 
 Fly and Gnat. 
 Dipus. Gen. Jerboa. 
 Dorsal. On the back. 
 
 Elytra. The crustaceous coverings to the wings of 
 
 the coleopteraB. 
 Emberyza. Gen. Bunting. 
 Entomostracea. A tribe of animals inhabiting the 
 
 water, and which unite the characters of the insect 
 
 and oyster. 
 Equus. Gen. Horse. 
 
 
GLOSSARY. 205 
 
 Erinaceus. Gen. Hedgehog. 
 
 Exuviae. The slough or cast skin of a reptile. 
 
 Felis. Gen. Cat. 
 
 Ferce. A class of Mammalia, with six front-teeth in 
 each jaw, and one canine-tooth on each side in both 
 jaws. They are the Seal, Dog, Cat, Weasel, Otter, 
 Bear, Kanguroo, Mole, Shrew, and Urchin. 
 
 Filiform. Thread-shaped. 
 
 Formica. Gen. Ant. 
 
 Fringilla. Gen. Finch. 
 
 Gadus. Gen. Cod. 
 
 Gallinacea. A class of birds akin to the domestic 
 fowl; as the Pheasant, Turkey, Peacock, Bustard, 
 Pintado, and Grous. 
 
 Glires. A class of Mammalia with two long front- 
 teeth in each jaw, and no canine-teeth. These are 
 the Porcupine, Cavy, Beaver, Rat, Marmot, Squir- 
 rel, Dormouse, Jerboa, Hare, and Hyrax. 
 
 Grallce. The tribe of wading-birds. 
 
 . Gressorial. A term applied to the feet of a tribe of 
 walking-birds which have the fore-toes connected, 
 but without a membrane. 
 
 Gryllus. Gen. Locust. 
 18 
 
 
206 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Helix. Gen. Snail. 
 
 Hemiptcrce. A tribe of insects with wings half crus- 
 
 taceous, half membranaceous; as the Cockroach 
 
 and Locust. 
 
 Hirundo. Gen. Swallow. 
 Histryx. Gen. Porcupine. 
 Hymenopterce. A class of insects with four membra- 
 
 naceous wings; as the Bee and Wasp. 
 
 Invertebrated. Without a back-bone. 
 Irides. The coloured rings of the eyeball. 
 
 Lacerta. Gen. Lizard. 
 
 Lanius. Gen. Shrike. 
 Larus. Gen. Gull. 
 
 Larvae. A term applied to the second state of all in- 
 sects, except those of Moths and Butterflies. 
 
 Lepidopterce. An order of insects with four wings 
 covered with fine scales, apparently like powder or 
 meal ; as the Butterfly and Moth. 
 
 Lepus. Gen. Hare. 
 
 Lichen. Gen. Moss. 
 
 Limax. Gen. Slug. 
 
 Lithophyte. Stone tree, or coral. 
 
 Lobated. (In ornithology) Having the toes furnished 
 with a slitted membrane. 
 
GLOSSARY. 207 
 
 Lore. A bare streak on the head of a bird, from the 
 
 beak to the eye. 
 Loxia. Gen, Grosbeak. 
 Lutea. Gen. Otter. 
 
 Macropus. Gen. Kanguroo. 
 
 Mammalia. That class of animals which suckle their 
 
 young. 
 
 Mandible. The jaw, or bill. 
 Meleagris. Gen. Turkey. 
 Molluscce. A class of fishes comprising nearly all 
 
 the testacea. 
 
 Monodon. Gen. Narwal. 
 Motacilla. Gen. Warbler. This genus comprises 
 
 the Nightingale, Redbreast, Wren, &c. 
 Murcena. Gen. Eel. 
 Mus. Gen. Rat. 
 Musca. Gen. Fly. 
 Muscicapa. Gen. Flycatcher. 
 Myoxus. Gen. Dormouse. 
 Mytilus. Gen. Muscle. 
 
 Neuropterce. A class of insects with four membrana- 
 ceous, transparent, naked wings, in which the mem- 
 branes cross each other so as to appear like net- 
 work ; such as the Dragon-Fly. 
 
208 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Numidia. Geh. Pintado or Guinea-Hen. 
 
 Ocellated. Marked with spots resembling little eyes. 
 Otis. Gen. Bustard. 
 Ovis. Gen. Sheep. 
 
 Papilio. Gen. Butterfly. 
 
 Palpce. The feelers of an insect. 
 
 Passerine. An order of birds comprising those which 
 sing. 
 
 Pavo. Gen. Peacock. 
 
 Pecorn. An order of Mammalia without front-teeth 
 in the upper-jaw, with cloven-hoofs, and ruminant. 
 They are the Camel, Musk, Deer, Giraffe, Ante- 
 lope, Goat, Sheep, and Ox. 
 
 Pectinated. Shaped like a comb. 
 
 Pericarp. The rind of a fruit. 
 
 Phcenicopteru. Gen. Flamingo. 
 
 Phalcena. Gen. Moth. 
 
 Phanerogamia. An order of plants which have the 
 sexual parts distinct. 
 
 Phasianus. Gen. Pheasant. 
 
 Phoca. Gen. Seal. 
 
 Physeter. Gen. Cachalot, or Spermaceti Whale. 
 
 Picus. Gen. Woodpecker. 
 
GLOSSARY. 209 
 
 Pies or Piece. An order of birds containing the Crow, 
 Woodpecker, Parrot, Cuckoo, Kingfisher, &c. 
 
 Pinnated. The feet of a bird are said to be pinnated 
 when the toes are separate, but furnished with lateral 
 membranes. 
 
 Plotus. Gen. Darter. 
 
 Pollen. The fecundating dust of a flower. 
 
 Primary. The primaries, or primary feathers of a 
 bird, are the outer feathers of the wing. 
 
 Primates. The first order of Mammalia, according to 
 Linne ; they have four front-teeth in each jaw, and 
 one canine-tooth on each side in both jaws. The 
 principal animals of this order are the Ape, Lemur, 
 and Bat. 
 
 Procellaria. Gen. Petrel. 
 
 Process. A fleshy or corneous protuberance. 
 
 Psiitacus. Gen. Parrot. 
 
 Psophia. Gen. Trumpeter. 
 
 Pulex. Gen. Flea. 
 
 Pupa. The chrysalis of an insect. 
 
 Rallus. Gen. Rail. 
 Ramphastus. Gen. Toucan. 
 Rana. Gen. Frog. 
 
 Rapacious. An order of land-birds, consisting of 
 Vultures, Eagles, Hawks, and Owls. 
 18* 
 
210 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Rufous. Of a dark reddish colour. 
 
 Scapulars. The shoulder-feathers of a bird, 
 
 Scarab&us. Gen. Beetle. 
 
 Sciurus. Gen. Squirrel. 
 
 Scolopax. Gen. Snipe. 
 
 Scolopendra. Gen. Centipede. 
 
 Scomber. Gen. Mackerel. 
 
 Scoria. The dross of volcanic matter. 
 
 Secondaries, or secondary feathers, are the middle 
 feathers of the wing. 
 
 Semipalmated. Partially webfooted, or with a mem- 
 brane only at the base of the toes. 
 
 Setaceous. Bristly; covered with coarse hairs. 
 
 Simia. Gen. Ape. 
 
 Sitt'a. Gen. Nuthatch. 
 
 Speculum. A coloured, shining spot, upon the back 
 of the wing. 
 
 Squalus. Gen. Shark. 
 
 Strix. Gen. Owl. 
 
 Struthio. Gen. Ostrich. 
 
 Sturnus. Gen. Stare, or Starling. 
 
 Subcaudal. The subcaudal feathers are those which 
 lie under the tail. 
 
 Subulate. Curved in the shape of a shoemaker's awl. 
 
GLOSSARY. 211 
 
 Talpa. Gen. Mole. 
 
 Tarsus. (In a bird) The leg, or the bone between 
 
 the thigh and the claw, in the popular sense. 
 Tentacula. The feelers of an insect. 
 Teriiaries, or tertiary feather s , the interior feathers 
 
 of the wing, or those next the body. 
 Testacea. A class of animals covered with a hard 
 
 shell; as the Tortoise, &c. 
 Tesludo. Gen. Tortoise. 
 Tetrao. Gen. Grous. 
 Thorax. The breast-bone. 
 Trichechus. Gen. Morse. 
 Tringa. Gen. Sandpiper. 
 Trochilus. Gen. Humming-Bird. 
 Turdus. Gen. Thrush. 
 
 Univalve. A shell complete in a single piece. 
 Ursus. Gen. Bear. 
 
 Vent. (In birds) The under part of the rump. 
 Vespa. Gen. Wasp. 
 Vespertilio. Gen. Bat. 
 Viverra. Geri. Weasel. 
 
 Waders. A class of birds comprising the Heron, 
 Plover, Snipe, and Sandpiper. 
 
GLOSSARY. 
 
 Wattles. The loose red flesh hanging about the neck 
 of the Turkey, and some other birds. 
 
 Xiphias. Gen. Swordfish. 
 
 Zoophyte. A substance partaking of the nature of 
 both animal and vegetable. 
 
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 APR 2 9 1957 
 
 
 APR 15 1957 
 
 r, i r. \ / -j 4 rr~f 
 
 
 NUV 1 1957 
 OCT 3 1 1967 1 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 General Library 
 Unive of California