Chapter XI: Section IV: PRESERVING SKINS.--Taxidermists for many years have made

use of arsenic in some form as a preservative; and in the first edition of my "Naturalists' Guide," I recommended the use of it dry, stating that I did not think it injurious if not actually eaten. I have, however, since had abundant cause to change my opinion in this respect, and now pronounce it a dangerous poison. Not one person in fifty can handle the requisite quantity of arsenic necessary to preserve specimens, for any length of time, without feeling the effects of it. For a long time I was poisoned by it, but attributed it to the noxious gases arising from birds that had been kept too long. It is possible that the poison from arsenic with which my system was filled might have been affected by these gases, causing it to develop itself, but I do not think that the gas itself is especially injurious, as I have never been poisoned since I discontinued the use of arsenic.

When I became convinced that arsenic was injuring my health, and that of others, I began to experiment upon other substances, and after trying a quantity of various things, have succeeded in manufacturing a nearly odorless compound which has the following advantages over arsenic: It thoroughly preserves the skins of birds, mammals, reptiles, and fishes from decay, and also prevents the attacks of dermestes or anthrenus, while the feathers of birds and hair of mammals are not as liable to be attacked by moths as when the skin is preserved with arsenic. This preservative when properly applied abstracts the oil from greasy skins, thus preventing them from becoming decayed through carbonization, as nearly always occurs in ducks' skins after a few years. It is a deodorizer, all disagreeable smells leaving the skin to which it is applied; and above all it is not a poison. I used this dermal preservative, as we have named it, as an absorbent while skinning birds, especially small ones, as then the plumage is dusted with it necessarily, which insures more or less protection to the feathers from the attacks of moths.

To render my preservative, or indeed any other, effective, it must be thoroughly applied to the skin; all the portions, especially those to which any flesh adheres, must be well covered with it, and the fibre of the muscles should be broken up as much as possible. But a small portion, at best, of arsenic is soluble in either water or alcohol, and but a little in the juices of the skin, whereas in my dermal preservative at least three-fourths of that which comes in contact with a moist skin is absorbed, thus thoroughly preserving the specimen. In the case of a greasy skin, remove as much fat as possible by peeling it off or gently scraping until all the little cells which contain the oil are broken up and the skin appears; then coat the skin liberally with the preservative, when it will be found to absorb the oil. Allow this layer to remain a few minutes, then scrape it all off and coat again with a fresh supply. Continue to do this until all the oil that will flow out is absorbed, and then dust with a final coating.

There are two chemical processes carried on in preserving oily skins, one of which converts the oil into soap, and this is in turn absorbed and dried. Thus the preservative which has been scraped from the skin can be after a time used again, as it has lost but a small portion of its efficiency. It might be borne in mind, however, that all the fat cells possible must be broken up, as the skin which surrounds these is, in a measure, impervious to the preservative, which must, in order to absorb oil, come in contact with it.