File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17971705598).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo03amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL THE COLLECTION OF FISHES.
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IHE first instalment oi a much needed addition to our collection of fishes has been received recently at the Museum. It consists of five specimens of Bahama fishes which have been specially pre- pared. The work has been done by Sherman F. Denton, who has given many years' study to fish preparation, and the results are most satisfactory. The chief reason that attractive collections of fishes are so seldom seen in museums is that no fluid has been discovered which will presers^e their natu- ral colors with any degree of permanency. The usual method of placing fish in round jars of alcohol is unsightly and unsatisfac- tory, while casts in plaster or wax arc only casts, not specimens. The ideal method of exhibition would be to have the fishes, in their natural colors, mounted in fluid, and in a lifelike position. At present, however, this is impossible, and these specimens, pre- pared according to Mr. Denton's method, serve as fair substi- tutes. The process of preparation requires considerable skill and artistic ability. The skin of the fish is removed by cutting down one side of the body. It is then treated with preservatives and fitted over a papier-mache model. The side to be exposed to view is painted in oil, to give a lifelike color, and the completed sjiecimcn is mounted in a natural position on a suitable back- A NEW COLLECTION OF FOSSIL SPONGES. HE sponges which are so familiar to the )3ublic are the homy skeletons of colonies of animals of low development. The living animals inhabit tropical oceans and seas, and, although so often seen in shops and homes, are perhaps the least common of the scores of species of sponges which occur so plentifully in the warm parts of the ocean, to say nothing of the many other and very abundant forms found in the colder seas. When li\-ing, the commercial sponges are very unattractive, the animal being

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