HARD 1 VI CKE ' S S CIE NCE -GOS SIP. 



55 



doing which the preservative is well rubbed over the 

 interior of the pouch formed by the skin of the legs 

 and wings. Before returning the ends of the bones 

 into the sheath, a shred of tow is wrapped round 

 the end of the bone, and then formed into a pad as 

 nearly as possible the size of the removed portion 

 which still remains attached to the body, and the limbs 

 will require no further treatment. 



The whole of the skull, inside and out, is now 

 treated with preservative, and the orbits filled with 

 tow to as nearly as possible the natural amount of 

 fulness given by the eyes when in their place — and 

 the back of the skull is replaced by a ball of tow 

 rolled up tightly, so as to fit the interior and give the 

 requisite roundness lost by the removal of the hinder 

 third in cleaning. The head is then gently returned 

 through the "glove finger " formed by the neck, and 

 any sinking about the eyes rectified by inserting more 

 scraps of tow through the eyelids. The neck is then 

 filled by gently passing up shreds of tow by means of 

 a stick, taking care not to overfill it, or leave lumps 

 of tow evident by their undue protrusion. 



It is better, at this stage, to bring together any 

 small gaps in the skin caused by shot or accident 

 during skinning, by means of the needle and cotton, 

 avoiding the rumpling of plumage which would be 

 caused by including the root-ends of feathers in a 

 stitch. 



There only remains now to pad the body to prevent 

 undue shrinking during the drying stage. This may 

 be done either by merely filling up with loose tow, 

 folding the skin over and allowing it to dry in 

 position, or by making a fresh body of tow to replace 

 the natural one as nearly as possible ; and this latter 

 method is, I think, the better. 



Taking the body, which has been kept as the 

 model, a lump of tow is rolled into a compact ball, 

 rather larger than the required size, and of the same 

 proportions. The strong thread is then wound 

 around it tightly, reducing it to the right size, and 

 with a little management, giving a pretty correct 

 model of the contour of the breast, &c. If anything, 

 when completed, the tow body should be smaller than 

 the natural one, to allow for the unavoidable shrinking 

 of the drying skin. It is then placed in position, and 

 the skin of the breast brought together evenly across 

 it by a few stitches in the edges of the bare streak 

 along which the first cut was made. Holding the 

 skin by the beak, the feathers are carefully smoothed 

 down, and returned to their natural positions. There 

 will be no difficulty in the pose of the wings, 

 which, unless stretched, will fall perfectly naturally 

 into their places. The skin should be laid carefully on 

 its back on a flat surface, in the same position as when 

 held by the beak, securing the wings, if necessary, by 

 a thread passing round the body, and left untouched 

 till dry, which will take a longer or shorter period, 

 according to the size of the specimen, and the state 

 of the weather. Occasionally during drying there 



will be a tendency of some few feathers to become 

 prominent, owing to contraction ; if they are few, they 

 may be removed when the skin is dry ; but, in the 

 case of a tuft of plumage, they must be kept down, 

 either by a weight, or by a strip of paper crossing 

 them and pinned through the skin to the tow body ; 

 but, unless the body is overstuffed, there should be 

 no difficulty as to smoothness of feathers. Perhaps 

 the thick tuft covering the shoulders is most prone to 

 rebel, and I have often found it useful to surround 

 the wings with a broad strip of paper, secured by one 

 pin through the breast, instead of the thread. 



Quadrupeds are prepared, when small, in pre- 

 cisely the same way ; but, owing to the shrinking of 

 lips, &c, they are never satisfactory ; and if re- 

 quired for stuffing, had better be packed off at once, 

 unless they can be finished on the spot. Still, skins 

 are ornamental, and I may conclude by one or two 

 remarks as to preparing them for other purposes, 

 than stuffing, e.g., mats. 



For this purpose I have found nothing better than 

 the alum and salt already mentioned. Taking the 

 animal, the body is laid on its back, a cut made 

 through the skin from chin to tail, and two transverse 

 cuts across the first to a short distance along the 

 inner side of the legs, as far down towards the feet as 

 the length of skin to be removed from the limb 

 requires. In case the head is not to be retained, a 

 cut is made from the bridge of the nose, past the 

 angles of the jaws, to the first cut below the chin on 

 each side, so that when the whole skin is removed, 

 the included portion remains attached to the jaws, 

 while the eyelids and ears are removed with the rest 

 of the skin, the bone is drawn from the tail. The 

 next step is to tack the skin, with the hair down- 

 wards to a board ; stretching it only just sufficiently 

 to render it quite ilat, and putting the tacks as near 

 the edge as possible. Any adherent fat is then 

 removed with a blunt knife, and the whole surface 

 slightly scraped. It is then thoroughly rubbed with 

 equal parts of alum and salt, and set aside for two 

 clays to dry. A second curing, and in two more 

 days, a third are required, and the skin should be 

 by the end of a week, nearly dry ; but it will be 

 perfectly stiff and hard. 



Taking the blunt knife, the best form of which 

 is the ordinary round pointed table knife, the skin is 

 thoroughly scraped, and the scraping continued till 

 the hard surface is removed, and the skin is as 

 pliant as washleather. In a day or two more a 

 second, very rarely a third, scraping may be neces- 

 sary, and the skin is then fit for use, and perfectly 

 sweet. 



There is one beautiful skin which deserves special 

 mention in connection with this method of curing 

 — the mole's. The best way to preserve it is by 

 making a circular incision round the chest, as close 

 to the "hands" as possible, and then turning the 

 skin inside out over the body ; so that as much as 



