120 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



pack. They should be specially wrapped in burlap and, because of their 

 odour, it may be advisable to box the skunk skins separately. 



The flesh and fat are removed from skins by a dull knife or hatchet. 

 The skin is slipped on a fleshing board with dulled corners, having one 

 end in a grease pan and the other against the skinner's chest. The fat 

 is pushed off the skin towards the tail. Much scraping of the skin 

 is injurious, it being necessary to remove only the fat and loose flesh. 

 The tail may give trouble if it is not split and scraped. Sometimes 

 salt is dropped into it to prevent decomposition; but in no case is salt 

 nor any other preservative, applied to any other part of the skin. Often 

 the tip of the tail is cut off to allow circulation of air inside and to 

 drain out the fat. 



Open skinning presents no difficulty. The legs are cut off at 

 the first joint and split up the inside to the slit which is cut along the 

 belly from the lower jaw to the vent. The tail is cut open to extract 

 the bone. 



The cased skins are stretched on a wedge-shaped board, fur 

 Stretching gije inwards. The edges of the stretching board are along 



the sides of the pelt, the dorsal surface of the pelt being 

 wholly on one side of the board and the ventral on the other side. All 

 skins except fox are marketed fur side inwards, fox being turned fur out 

 after one day's drying, when the front legs are still pliable. Skins 

 should be dried without artificial heat. A cool, dry place away from 

 the sun's rays is best. Beaver skins are stretched within an elliptical 

 hoop made of saplings. They are tied to the hoop with twine laced into 

 the skin at intervals of two inches. Bear skins are usually laced simi- 

 larly into a rectangular frame made from small sticks. Raccoon are 

 nailed on a wall or board and stretched into a rectangular shape. The 

 best nails are brass tacks or wire nails and they should be driven not 

 more than two inches apart. 



Otter tails are always split and stretched by nailing to the stretch- 

 ing board. 



St t h" Boards should be made of soft wood, like white pine, which 

 Boards permits easy driving and withdrawal of nails. For smaller 

 animals, the stretching board should be about three-eighths 

 of an inch thick, and for the larger — otter and fox — about five-eighths or 

 three-quarters of an inch. It should be nicely rounded on the edges. 

 Wedges are sometimes inserted down the sides of the board with advan- 

 tage. They permit the circulation of air on the inside. A steel wire 

 has served well in stretching muskrat on many occasions. 



