For those who require coloured figures of eggs I must refer them to Hewitson's "Eggs of British Birds," or Atkinson's "British Birds' Eggs and Nests," a much cheaper, but very good little work; also to a new work by Mr. H. Seebohm (the celebrated traveller in Siberia, etc..), entitled, "A History of British Birds," with coloured illustrations of their eggs.
PREPARATION OF MICROSCOPIC OBJECTS. — The same remark applies to this as to aquaria (see Chapter XIII.). The treatment is so varied, the objects so numerous, that books upon books have been written on it. Every naturalist and curator, however, has to work sometimes with the microscope; but taking into consideration the vastness of the subject, I must refer them to text-books, such as Beale's "How to Work with the Microscope;" Lankester's "Half-hours with the Microscope;" Hon. Mrs. Ward's "The Microscope;" Davies' "On the Preparation and Mounting of Microscopic Objects;" G. E. Davis' "Practical Microscopy;" Gosse's "Half-hours with the Microscope;" Wood's "Common Objects of the Microscope;" any of Quekett's works, and to late numbers of the Monthly Microscopical Journal, Nature, Science Gossip (the latter teeming with practical hints on all matters connected with natural history), and hosts of other works.
This chapter, dealing as it does with details and hints upon many subjects, may fittingly be closed with scraps forgotten in the body of this work, but which now occur to me as being useful knowledge.
STARCH AS PASTE: (see chapter IV). — Procure some common starch (that which is white looking is perhaps the best), mix it up with a little cold water, just sufficient to dissolve it, stirring it thoroughly to prevent lumps. Pour upon this sufficient boiling water to make it into a stiff paste. This will be found most useful for clean paper or photographic work, as it enables paper to be pasted on cardboard, etc.., without creasing. The paper should be first wetted on the face side, the back pasted with the starch-paste, fixed on the cardboard, and the whole dried off by blotting paper. For common taxidermic work, paste containing resin (sold at leather merchants') is strong and cheap.
BEST GLUE, made in the ordinary manner, but rather thicker than usual, then poured into a bottle containing enough methylated spirit to thin it, is recommended as being a strong medium to stick paper on wood or cardboard, with the advantage claimed for it that it does not cause the thin wood or cardboard to "cast" or "buckle."
MARINE GLUE dissolved in diluted acetic acid makes a strong cement for certain things, such as mending shells. This, as also the preparation of Formula No. 33, should be kept in bottles, or small stoppered jars, and melted for use by surrounding with hot water.
LEATHER is (so says a bookbinder) to be pasted, after it is damped on the outside. Cloth is to be glued. This is useful to know if making up cloth-covered boxes with leather backs, to imitate books (see Chapter XV., on Entomology).
ANTI-INSECT NOSTRUMS (see chapter IV). — Russian tallow in saucers, oil of birch, flowers of sulphur, hellebore, pepper, tobacco, are said to be "bogies," the last especially, to the Dermestes beetles and their cousin, Anthrenus museorum. Try them, but don't rely too much upon them, is my advice; nor, indeed, upon anything — not excepting even corrosive sublimate. Trust only to exposure to light and constant supervision, zinc or wire drying cases, and to "casing up" as soon as possible.
If sending specimens long distances, it is well to pepper the shot parts, enclosing also in the parcel some pieces of charcoal wrapped in paper. Of course, if the specimens are not for the table, dilute glacial carbolic acid, poured on the wounds and down the throat, is the best thing to do, but it should always be noted in an accompanying letter, for fear of accidents. Smearing the hands and face with paraffin is said to keep forest flies and midges from biting.
PRESERVATION OF ANIMAL TISSUE (see chapter IV).