148 



THE MUSEUM. 



under side the same as in the fore-legs. 

 Start on either side and leave a mar- 

 gin of skin an inch in width attached 

 to the plastron, divide the skin from 

 one end to the other. The opening 

 cuts are now all made. 



To separate the plastron from the 

 flesh of the body so that it can be 

 lifted up, insert the large knife through 

 the opening in shell and cut boldly 

 along the under side of the plastron. 

 The tissue and ligaments soon give 

 way and the plastron can be lifted up 

 and turned back like the cover of a 

 box, the skin serving as a hinge. Cut 

 out all the vscera and the shoulder 

 girdles and pelvis, which may be 

 thrown away unless wanted for use in 

 some other line. Now comes the 

 most tiresome part of the operation, 

 the skinning of the legs. 



With the cartilage knife separate 

 the skin from the meat as far down 

 the leg as possible. The stiffness of 

 the skin, caused by the thick scales 

 on the legs, makes this very difficult 

 but by continual cutting with knife 

 and scissors it can be separated way 

 to the toes. Clean the bones thor- 

 oughly, but do not disarticulate them, 

 and cut all adhering bits of meat from 

 the skin. Perform this operation on 

 each of the legs. 



The neck bone may now be sepa- 

 rated from where it connects'with the 

 carapax, and the neck skinned down 

 to the base of the skull. The neck 

 turns inside out quite easily, but care 

 must be taken not to cut through the 

 skin, which on the neck is rather thin. 

 On arriving at the base of the skull 

 remove the brain with the point of the 

 knife, and with both scissors and knife 

 dig the meat out of the main orifices 

 of the skull. The neck vertebrae can 

 be left attached to the skull, or if it 

 makes the work any easier they may 

 be detached and afterwards replaced. 

 In either case they must be cleaned as 

 thoroughly as possible. The tongue 

 can also be removed at this stage of 

 the proceedings or it can be taken out 

 later through the mouth cavity. The 



eye should be removed later on from 

 the outside. It can be cut and picked 

 out with the handle of the cartilage 

 knife, care being taken not to injure 

 the eyelid. 



The tail is skinned in much the 

 same manner as the neck. It should 

 be skinned quite down to the tip, 

 leaving the vertebrae in position, but 

 cleaning them thoroughly. The scrap- 

 er may now be found very useful in 

 cleaning the inside of the skull and the 

 fleshy side of the plastron Should 

 there be any fat or meat adhering to 

 the skin it must be cut away. If the 

 surroundings permit, a wash will fa- 

 cilitate this general cleaning up since 

 it carries away the blood and many 

 loose fragments of flesh. If the skin 

 is now practically free from meat and 

 fat it is ready to poison. 



For this purpose use a strong ar- 

 senical soap and also plenty of alum. 

 Paint the inside of the skin, the leg- 

 bones and the vertebrae thoroughly 

 with the soap and give the inside of 

 the shell and the edges of the saw 

 cuts a coat. Sprinkle on the alum, 

 as much as will stick. If you have it 

 to spare, put a little plaster or saw- 

 dust in the body cavity to absorb any 

 moisture that may accumulate there. 

 Do not forget to poison the eye cav- 

 ities. A little of the soap on the out- 

 side of the skin does no harm, and if 

 vermin abound may do a great deal of 

 good. 



In making up the skin use excelsior 

 to wrap the big bones, etc. If you 

 cannot get excelsior, grass or even pa- 

 per will do, but do not use hair or any 

 animal substance. Wind each leg- 

 bone with enough filling to keep the 

 skin from touching it, and also try to 

 imitate the former shape of the leg. 

 Take a few stitches to bring the sides 

 of the cut together. Wind the neck 

 vertebrae and pull the neck right side 

 out. Do the same with the tail and 

 the skin is ready to fold, there being 

 no need* of filling in the body cavity. 



The most convenient way of folding 

 the skin for transportation is to turn 



