Years of misuse have dulled the tools.

“Oh, poh, poh!—her purse, if she likes it better; the little receptacle which my wife and daughters find it convenient for me to keep—well filled—in my pocket.

Four of them can now be dyed without increase, French green, gingerline, deer colour, orange colour.

The work is part of a growing field called comparative thanatology — the study of how different animals react to death.