MOUNTING LARGE MAMMALS. 137 



ness of the body board. For our mountain ram, the bolts 

 should be of an inch in diameter, and about 2| inches long 1 . 



It is useless and unnecessary for me to attempt to describe 

 the different sizes of squares necessary for animals of various 

 sizes, for circumstances must be the instructor in that. I will 

 remark, however, that for a large bison or moose, where the 

 finished specimen w r ill weigh perhaps GOO or 700 pounds, and 

 the strain on the irons is very considerable, I have found it nec- 

 essary to make squares of flat iron f or ^ of an inch thick by 

 If inch wide. 



Caution. Do not make the short, or outer arm, too long. If too 

 long 1 , and the hole once drilled, you will hardly be able to make 

 it shorter ; but if too short, it can easily be made longer by 

 putting a piece of board between the long 1 arm of the square 

 and the body board. The length of the outer arm of the square 

 for the hind legs is gauged by the width of the pelvis. Tho 

 measurement to be taken is the distance between the centres of 

 the two femora when both are in their natural positions in the 

 skeleton, and with this distance once ascertained it is easy t< > 

 deduct the thickness of the centre board, and calculate how long- 

 each outer arm shall be. The distance between the heads of 

 the two humeri is practically the same as the distance between 

 the femora. 



In making the hind leg, the iron should be no longer at the 

 upper end than the end of the femur, and once this is deter- 

 mined the upper end of the femur must be cut off with a saw, 

 to give room for the squares and two nuts. The end of the 

 iron for the front leg may project three inches or so above the 

 head of the humerus, and be bent slightly backward; to point 

 upward in the same direction as the scapula. 



liemember that at first the squares of the two pairs are set on 

 exactly opposite each other, by means of the single bolt for 

 each pair. Insert the upper end of each leg iron, screw the 

 upper nut down firmly, then lift the half-made animal and 

 stand it on its legs. Being free to move, the legs are very 

 shaky, and you proceed at once to put them in position. You 

 now adjust the legs according to your original design, bore 

 holes in the rough pedestal for the lower ends of the rods to 

 pass through, and shift and change the different members, now 



