Taxidermy and Zoological Collecting Part 10

Eggs are always blown through a small, round hole in the middle of one side, preferably in each instance on the poorest side of the egg, if it has one. Of course, the smaller the egg, the smaller the drill must be, and the greater the care in handling. It is often a good plan to pierce the sh.e.l.l with a needle in order to furnish the drill a point of attack. If an egg is cracked, or happens to be of such value that it must be saved at all hazards, reinforce it by pasting narrow strips of goldbeater's skin or court-plaster across the line of fracture.

Having drilled the hole, insert the end of a small wire, having a small portion of the end bent at a right angle, and if the embryo has not begun to develop, or happens to be quite small and soft, twirl the wire rapidly between your thumb and finger, to thoroughly break up the contents of the egg. Having accomplished this, insert the tip of your blow-pipe (the best in the world consists of a tube of gla.s.s bent at a right angle and terminating in a fine point, with the large end set in the end of a rubber bulb, which saves the mouth and lungs all trouble) and with gentle and gradual pressure blow in air. Hold the egg with the hole downward, of course, so that the contents will run out freely. Go slowly and carefully, even coaxingly, for too great pressure will burst any ordinary egg in two parts very neatly. If the embryo is small and disposed to be accommodating, help it out by inserting the point of your smallest scissors, snipping it to pieces, and then drawing out the parts, one by one, with your smallest forceps.

Having emptied the egg of its contents, introduce some clear water by way of the blow-pipe, wash out the inside thoroughly, and in case the egg is in a clean, healthy condition, it can now be laid away on cotton or cornmeal, with the hole downward, to drain and get dry. Observe this point, however.

The thin, membranous lining of an egg, which the point of the drill pierces but cannot cut away, often closes together inside the hole so closely as to retain, for some time, whatever water might chance to remain. For this reason it was my custom to cut away this membrane around the edges of the hole. Captain Bendire remarks that "eggs that have been thoroughly cleaned will retain their original color much better, and insects or mice are not so apt to trouble them."

REMOVING LARGE EMBRYOS.--It often happens that eggs are taken quite near the hatching point, containing embryos so l.u.s.ty in size, and so "very fillin'" that their successful ejectment seems impossible. _Nil desperandum._ The way out of the difficulty is through a very small hole.

On this point I appealed to the highest authority, Captain Bendire, and he kindly gave me, in general substance, the following directions:

In the first place, make up your mind to go slow, and take plenty of time.

If the egg is valuable and the embryo is large, reinforce the egg all over with strips of goldbeater's skin or court-plaster. Having drilled a fairly large hole, then insert the head of a needle in a small stick for a handle, and with the point pierce the embryo in twenty or thirty places. The egg sac, which is always present, should be taken out, if possible with the forceps, to give room for water.

Having cleared out the egg as far as possible, fill it up with water to a.s.sist in the decomposition of the embryo. Cover the bottom of a box with a layer of cornmeal or sawdust; lay the egg on this, with the hole upward (still full of water), cover the box, and place it under a stove or in any other place warm enough to hasten the process of decomposition. Work at the egg a little about every alternate day, but without hurrying matters, and keep this process in operation until the embryo softens, falls to pieces, and is ready to be drawn out piecemeal. In removing a large embryo, try to get hold of the tip of the mandible with the small forceps, so that it can be drawn out, point foremost, without splitting the sh.e.l.l.

Eggs that emit an offensive odor after they have been blown need to be rinsed out with carbolic acid and water, or some equally good disinfectant.

It is, of course, to be understood that eggs must be clean on the outside before they are fit for the cabinet. Usually soap and warm water is sufficient to remove dirt and stains, but occasionally a particularly hard case calls for the addition of a little was.h.i.+ng soda in the water. The last was.h.i.+ng, however, should always be in clear water.

Inasmuch as a label cannot be attached to an egg, the data necessary to give the egg a respectable position in the oological world must be written on the under side of the egg itself, either in lead pencil or India ink, which is capable of being erased, at will.

The following are the data that should be recorded on every egg collected and kept:

1. Name of species, or number in A.O.U. check list, if North American.

2. Collector's number, which belongs to _every egg_ of a given set, and refers to his catalogue and field notes.

3. Number of eggs in the set, or "clutch."

4. Date in full.

In packing eggs for s.h.i.+pment, a great many small boxes of wood or tin are absolutely essential, and in these the eggs must be carefully packed in cotton, each one separated from the rest of the world by a layer of cotton.

It is an excellent plan to wrap every large egg separately in cotton, as oranges are wrapped in papers. Captain Bendire recommends the making of divisions, one for each egg, with strips of pasteboard, like the crates in which egg producers pack eggs for s.h.i.+pment to market. This gives each egg a compartment by itself, with a bit of soft cotton cloth at top and bottom.

If produce dealers can afford to take such care of eggs worth only thirty cents per dozen, surely oologists can do the same when they are within the pale of civilization, and can get the materials.

At the National Museum the duplicate eggs are stored in small, rectangular, shallow pasteboard trays, or half boxes, each of which has its bottom covered very neatly and exactly with a section of cotton wadding, which gives a soft, springy cus.h.i.+on for the eggs to lie on without the undesirable fluffy looseness of ordinary cotton batting.

PART II.--TAXIDERMY.

_Keeping everlastingly at it brings success._

CHAPTER XII.

THE LABORATORY AND ITS APPOINTMENTS.

It would be impossible for me to dwell too strongly upon the importance, nay, even the vital necessity to the taxidermist, of a commodious and suitable workroom, and a good supply of proper tools and materials. Anyone setting up a store of any kind meets the expenditures for fixtures and furniture as a matter of course; but the average taxidermist would consider it a killing thing to invest from $100 to $200 in good tools and materials. First-cla.s.s tools, and a good a.s.sortment of them, are indispensable allies in the production of the finest kind of work in the shortest possible time.

In taxidermy let us have no making of bricks without straw. As well might an artist attempt to paint a grand picture with a sash tool as a taxidermist attempt to mount fine specimens with a dull knife, an old file, and a pair of rusty pliers.

Let us suppose we are fitting up a taxidermic laboratory in which to mount all kinds of vertebrate animals, great and small. To begin with, we must have a good room, if possible 15 X 25 feet, or even larger, with _good light_, a high ceiling, and an abundant supply of water. There must be somewhere a storeroom for bulky materials, and a drying-room for freshly mounted specimens. There must be provided somewhere, for the wet mammal skins, a big, box-like tank lined with sheet lead, for very large objects, and some alcohol barrels for smaller ones. These must be provided with tight covers, or the salt-and-alum bath will evaporate with great rapidity.

After the above, our laboratory will require the following

FURNITURE AND FIXTURES.--A heavy work-table, 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 2 feet 6 inches high; top 1-1/2 inch thick.

A tool case and chest of drawers.

A stove, a chopping-block, a heavy bench vise.

A grindstone, a blacksmith's anvil, and portable forge.

A water-tight platform on castors, on which to stand large mammals that are wet and dripping.

TOOLS.

2 killing-knives. 1 machinist's hammer.

2 cartilage-knives. 1 hatchet, to lend.

1 pair shears, and 1 pair fine scissors. 1 sharp hatchet, to use.

1 draw-shave, adjustable handles. 1 cold chisel.

2 skin-sc.r.a.pers, of sizes. 1 set stone-cutter's chisels.

3 gouges, of sizes. 1 punch.

3 chisels, of sizes. 1 tap wrench.

1 screw-driver. 1 pair calipers.

1 2-foot rule. 1 set of hack saws, for iron and bra.s.s.

1 tape-measure, 12 feet. 1 set iron fillers, of sizes.

1 thread-cutter, for iron. 1 set wooden fillers, of sizes.

1 thread-cutter, for bra.s.s. 1 set modelling tools.

3 pair pliers, of sizes. 1 set of files.

3 pair cutting nippers. 1 set of paint brushes.

4 pair forceps, of sizes. 1 set of brushes for hair and teeth.

1 hand vise. 1 gluepot.

1 hand drill. 1 set of awls.

2 monkey wrenches, of sizes. 1 set of glover's needles, 3 sizes.

1 ratchet brace, with bits and drills. Best linen sewing twine, or 4 gimlet bits, of sizes. "gilling thread," of two or three sizes.

1 hand-saw. 1 iron thimble.

1 key-hole saw. 1 spirit-lamp, or gas-stove.

1 claw hammer. Pails, kettles, cups, bowls, etc.

1 tack hammer. 12 spools of Barbour's linen thread.

MATERIALS.--Excelsior; hemp tow of two qualities, coa.r.s.e and fine, both of long fibre; flax tow, such as upholsterers use; cotton batting; oat straw; potter's clay; good glue; plaster Paris; a.r.s.enical soap; spirits of turpentine; benzine; salt by the barrel; ground alum by the hundredweight; pine and hemlock lumber, one to two inches thick; 24 pine scantling; an a.s.sortment of annealed wire; rods of Norway iron, from 3/16 inch to 1 inch; nails, tacks, wrought-iron staples, screws, nuts, bolts, wrapping twine; rosettes for iron standards; washers, all sizes; alcohol, sh.e.l.lac, white hard oil finish (varnish); muriatic acid, sheet wax, sperm oil; gla.s.s eyes, all sizes, kinds and colors; unlimited pluck, patience, and perseverance.