e apparently undergone less change than
if in spirits for the same length of time. Whether they are likely to
be permanently preserved by this method I cannot, of course, yet
determine, but if so, it would be a great gain, owing to the
brilliancy of the liquid, its cheapness, and its advantages over all
alcoholic spirit in its less powerful action on the sealing wax or
coating used over the corks or stoppers of the glass preparation jars.

There is no doubt that pure spirits of wine will preserve objects for
a great length of time, but the cost is very serious to most persons,
or even to institutions of less importance than the British
Museum--added to which the strong spirit unquestionably shrivels and
distorts such objects as fishes and reptiles, whilst, diluted to any
appreciable extent, spirit will not preserve anything for any great
period. To obviate these inconveniences chemists have invented more or
less perfect preservative fluids, the oldest perhaps of which is

No. 24.--Goadby's Solution, No. 1.

Bay salt, 4 oz.

Corrosive sublimate, 4 grs.

Alum, 2 oz.

Boiling water, 2 quarts.

Keep in stoppered bottle labelled "Poison."

[Footnote: "Bay salt" is salt formed by evaporation of sea-water in
shallow lagoons or "salt-pans" exposed to the rays of the sun.]

No. 25.--Goadby's Solution, No. 2.

Bay salt, 0.5 lb.

Corrosive sublimate, 2 grs.

Arsenious acid, 20 grs.

Boiling rain water, 1 quart.

Keep in stoppered bottle labelled "Poison."

Note that, corrosive sublimate being a remarkably difficult thing to
dissolve, even in pure spirits of wine, it may not be generally known
that the addition of a saturated solution of sal ammoniac, in weight
about half an ounce, is sufficient to dissolve many ounces of
corrosive sublimate. Thus a solution useful for some purposes is
easily made as follows:

No. 26.--Browne's Preservative Solution.

Saltpetre, 4 oz.

Corrosive sublimate, 0.25 oz.

Alum, 2 oz.

Sal ammoniac, 0.125 oz.

Boiling water, half gallon.

Keep in stoppered bottle labelled "Poison."

This, it will be seen, is a modification of Goadby's Solution.

In the three preceding formulae the corrosive sublimate must be
dissolved in a small quantity of spirits of