CHAPTER XV. 



MOUNTING SMALL MAMMALS. 



IN attempting 1 to give the beginner a fair start in the general 

 work of mounting small mammals of all sorts, from mice up to 

 small foxes, I will describe in detail the entire process of mount- 

 ing a typical specimen, which in this instance will be a squirrel. 

 This will embody all the general principles involved, and after 

 having laid this foundation we will proceed to consider excep- 

 tional cases, and describe the manner in which they must be met. 

 The exceptional cases are bats, rabbits, young animals of the 

 smaller species, and a few others. 



We will assume that the subject before us is either a " dry 

 skin " which has been fully relaxed, scraped, and rendered per- 

 fectly pliable and elastic, or else " a fresh skin," i.e., one which 

 has been preserved in our antiseptic solution (the salt-and-aluni 

 bath) or possibly in alcohol, and has therefore never been dried. 

 For the sake of the beginner's courage, which should never be 

 taken out of him at the very first onset by putting him on a dry 

 skin of doubtful quality, we will take the skin of a fine, old, 

 gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) which lies in the bath wait- 

 ing to be immortalized or something else. 



It may easily happen that for good and sufficient reasons the 

 beginner has no salt-and-alum bath, and can not prepare one. 

 In that event the skin can be mounted immediately after it is 

 taken off the animal, only it is necessary to apply to it after the 

 arsenical soap, as directed hereafter, a copious quantity of pow- 

 dered alum. If you have no arsenical soap, then as you proceed 

 with the mounting moisten the inside of the skin with water, 

 and rub on powdered alum and arsenic, mixed in equal parts, 

 and be sure that the skin is everywhere coated with it eventu- 

 ally. This leaves the fur dry and clean, and will save you the 

 trouble of drying and dressing it. 



