CHAPTEE XXI. 

 EELAXING DRY SKINS OF BIRDS. 



As usual with most processes in taxidermy, there are several 

 ways in which a dry bird skin may be softened, and made ready 

 to mount or make over. I will first describe the one I consider 

 the best in all respects. 



TREATMENT OF SMALL SKINS. Open the skin and remove the 

 filling 1 from the body, neck, and head. Tear some old cotton 

 cloth into strips from one to two inches wide, wet them in warm 

 water and wrap one around each leg and foot until it is com- 

 pletely covered with several thicknesses of the wet cloth. Lift 

 up the wing 1 and put two or three thicknesses of wet cloth, or 

 else thoroughly wet cotton batting 1 , around the carpal joints, and 

 also between the wing 1 and the body. Put some more wet cot- 

 ton, or rags, inside the skin, in the body and neck, wrap the 

 whole specimen completely in several thicknesses of wet cloth, 

 so as to exclude the air, and lay it aside. If the skin is no larger 

 than a robin, in about twelve to fourteen hours it will be soft 

 enough to mount. The scraping- and cleaning 1 will be considered 

 later. 



TREATMENT OF LARGE SKINS. Under this heading- it is neces- 

 sary to place nearly all birds above the size of a robin, for the 

 reason that the legs and feet, being large and thick in com- 

 parison with the skin of the body, require special treatment in 

 advance. The legs and wings of some birds require several 

 days' soaking, and were the thin skin of the body to be relaxed 

 for the same length of time, it would macerate, and the feathers 

 would fall off. The legs and wings of large birds must, there- 

 fore, be started first in the relaxing process. 



Let us take, for example, the skin of a ruffed grouse ( Htmu^i. 

 If the skin is an old one, rover the toe-nai^ and 



