162 



TAXIDERMY AND ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTING. 



for you will need it presently as a model in making a leaden 

 imitation to take its place. 



9. The skin is now off. To preserve it in the field, first pare 

 away the flesh that may have been left adhering- to it, espe- 



FIQ. 35. Skinning down the Inside. 



FIG. 3G. The Cartilage Out. 



cially at the lips and end of the nose, and wash it clean. If you* 

 have arsenical soap, anoint it thoroughly over the inside, then 

 literally smother it in salt. You need not dry the skin if you 

 have plenty of salt for it. If you have but a limited quantity, 

 attend to the poisoning to keep off insects, then rub on as 

 much salt as you have to spare, hang the skin up in a shady 

 place over a pole, open it out widely so that the air will circu- 

 late freely upon all parts of it, and let it dry. In a dry climate 

 a skin can be dried in this way and successfully preserved (tem- 

 porarily) even when you have neither poison nor preservative 

 of any kind to put on it ; but it must be watched and guarded 

 with jealous care until you get it safely home, or in the hands 

 of a taxidermist, to prevent its being eaten up by insects, rats, 

 or dogs. 



In moist climates, ground alum is to be used in lieu of salt, 

 and all skins must be dried unless you have a salt-and-aluui bath 

 for them. In preserving heads, the sportsman will find that 

 ten pounds of salt, or in the tropics ten pounds of alum, will go 

 a long ways, if care is taken to keep a skin open until it is 



