300 



TAXIDERMY AND ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTING. 



the axis, then take a screw-driver and work between each pail 

 of vertebrae from underneath, beginning with the last lumbar, 

 and prying 1 back toward the sacrum. By the time you have 

 reached the axis a considerable space will have been gained. 

 Shorten the wires by twisting- them, and continue this process 

 until the vertebrae all fit snugly tog-ether, and are tight one 

 against the other. 



The next step is to put on the sternum, which has been 

 soaked in water containing a little w r ashing soda, and thus 

 made flexible. Of course it has been previously cleaned by the 

 scraping process. A hole should be bored through the end of 



each sternal rib. coming out on the inner 

 surface. The sternum is suspended tem- 

 porarily by strings attached to the verte- 

 bral column, and the single wires that 

 have previously been placed through the 

 end of each rib are now run, one by one, 

 through the end of the sternal rib it is to 

 support. 



Now space the ribs temporarily with a 

 string that will hold each one of them 

 exactly in its place. Having done this, 

 two brass wires can now be used to hold 

 the ribs permanently in place, running 

 them on each side from the inferior pro- 

 cess of the last cervical vertebrae to the transverse process of 

 some one of the lumbar vertebra, or to the pelvis. What is much 

 better for a large skeleton, because it is both firmer and more ele- 

 gant, is a long, narrow strip of polished brass on the inside, bent 

 carefully to fit the curve of the ribs, and fastened by a brass 

 pin through each rib, the posterior end of the brass strip being 

 attached to a transverse process of one of the lumbar vertebr* 

 (see Plate XXI.). After this has been done, each rib can then 

 be permanently fastened at top and bottom by making the 

 loop and cutting off the long end of each wire. 



The next step is to put on the tail. A hole should have been 

 bored into the middle of the articular surface of the posterior 

 end of the sacrum, and on each side a little hole coming out be- 

 low (see Fig. 73). The large middle wire (e, e) should be of 



FIG. 75. Middle Joint of the 

 Hind Leg. 



