Looking Around (1952)

[Music] la a long long time ago this CIS fly was trapped in a sticky resin and with the process of time the resin hardened into Amber but today it is possible to mount a scorpion in a block of synthetic resin within a few hours the method is simple into a glass mold is poured a layer of the liquid plastic and on standing for an hour or so this a gel meantime the Scorpion is pinned in position on a piece of cork and dried it is laid in the mold and more of the resin is poured over it Taking Care not to trap any air bubbles when left overnight the resin polymerizes into a solid and then the glass strips forming the mold can be removed the block is shaped and smooth by grinding and it is finally polished with a buff this method is very suitable for small specimens larger ones are better mounted in liquid inside a plastic box this is made from perspect sheet which can be cut on a circular saw using a special plastic cutting blade with fine teeth and thick enough to prevent overheating a strip of the ppix is then warmed in a small pit flame so that it can be bent into shape to form two sides and the top of the container it is laid on a glass plate while the edges are wetted with ethylene D chloride which dissolves the perspex locally it is then transferred to the piece of perspect which forms the third side and the two are held firmly in contact until the join has set the fourth side is fixed in the same way the edges are then trimmed the corners are ground into shape and finally they are polished the container is completed with the specimen in position and the preserving fluid is added through a hole in the base which is afterwards sealed the back and front plates are sufficiently flexible to allow for the expansion and contraction of the liquid under ordinary changes of temperature these mounts can be adapted to a whole variety of specimens a spider the size of a half crown is mounted in a solid block another contains the whole life story of the wood tick from the eggs on the right to the engor female on the left a python skull is mounted dry in a plastic box and the head of a gaboon viper is displayed to show the fangs and the poison glands another species of scorpion is mounted in liquid with its tail in the striking position and whatever the specimen may be a container can be made to display it to the best advantage [Music] this extraordinary little animal comes from East Africa where he lives in the savannah lands on the edge of the desert most of his life is spent underground but the natives sometimes catch him for he makes a succulent addition to the stew pot like me he has only a few scattered hairs which Sprout out of his body his large protruding teeth are used for knowing through roots and for digging and carrying his lips unlike mine close behind the teeth with the corner stuck tightly in so that no soil can get into his mouth and his nostrils are valved so that they too can be tightly closed his snout is tough enough to withstand a great deal of wear and since his kid is constantly being rubbed away against the side of his burrow it must be continually replaced eyes and ears are both very small he probably can't hear a thing but he's sensitive to the lightest touch on his bristles he probably can't see either though he responds unhappily to light when digging he Scoops up the sand with his front feet then balances on them steadying himself with his tail while he thrusts the sand backwards with his back feet the digits are well fringed with hair and in action they are cup to scoop up the Earth good gracious me just look at that come along come along that's it sometimes there's a side of him from above the ground a few spurts of soil thrown up into the air which gives them Wicked natives a chance to him with a nail on the end of a stick if the send is loose inside his burrow he turns and pecks it down with a curious temping movement it is likely that he does the same thing to block up the entrance to the burrow thus preventing snakes and other undesirable Intruders from coming in all together an odd little animal and he has no near relatives anywhere else in the world take your drug and make your granules then compress with dyes and punches making each to suit its purpose penicillin one throat lozenge equal strength for two offics 10 times stronger hypodermic flat or convex plain or printed fast dispersing effervescent enteric or sugarcoated large one small ones long ones short ones round ones square ones thick ones thin ones all of these and more besides them pouring out each day in [Music] millions [Music] a [Music] la [Music] n [Music] the [Music] he