PRESERVATION OF MAMMAL SKINS IN THE FIELD 



Hi/ .J (lines /,. Clarl: 



[^Ir. .Tunics L Clark was at mu- time animal .sculptor in the Aiiicricaii Museum and 

 has recently spent fourteen months on a hunting trip in Africa. His account of the practical 

 field work necessary for the preservation of the skins of lart;e animals will he followed by an 

 account of the task of the animal sculptor in the Musinnn who builds on the work done in 

 the field in Africa to make these animals "live" for the people of another continent in tho 

 American institution's exhibition halls. — Kditor] 



FROM the point of \ icw of tin- iiki- 

 jority of visitors to the Miist'iini, 

 who s(H> iiioiiiitt'd mul often won- 

 tlerfully lifehke aninuils exliihited there, 

 it is iinUkely that the initial hihor, and 

 in a hirp^ nuinlier of eases tlie perils 

 eneountered in securing the material for 

 the finished work, are at all considered. 

 They ])rol)al)ly go no deeper into the 

 matter than that the rhino, for instance, 

 was killed in Africa, transported overseas 

 and set up for public instruction. But 

 the actual work and how it is accom- 

 plished by the collector in the field, the 

 endurance of hardships, tlie skill and 

 perseverance necessary in the pursuit of 

 specimens, is little known. 



In making a collection tlu> work in 

 the field must often be carried on under 

 the mcst unfavorable conditions. In 

 the case of a large animal, for example, 

 this work must be done just where the 

 kill is made, whether in a swamp, on a 



rocky ledge or a .sun -scorched j)lain. rndei' the most trying circumstances 

 the collector's one anxiety and aim must bt; as always for perfect results, 

 and he must gather all data, field notes and measurements, sketches and 

 photographs that will add to a fuller knowledge of the animal and thus 

 assist in its restoration later by the taxidermist. 



Perhaps the Museum has planned a group of aninuds and has decided 

 what j)articular species shall be displayed. The collector is then sent into 



' This photograph and the one on page 9.3 together with the photograph.s of white rhinos 

 and elephants in the January Joi-rn.m. are from Colonel Roosevelt's African Came Trails 

 and are used through the courtesy of the author and publishers of that book. 



J'fiotuijrnpfi by Kermit Roosevelt 

 Copyright by Charles Scribner's Sons 



Native boy carrying in a leopard 

 shot by Kermit Koosevelt ' 



89 



