METHODS IN THE ART OF TAXIDERMY. II 



will support the specimens when thoroughly dry, and they are, in fact, 

 the sizes most commonly used, but the object is to make every structure 

 so strong that there will not be the slightest doubt as to its firmness 

 when finished. 



What is more aggravating than to discover, after your specimen is 

 standing, that the supports are not quite strong enough ; that your speci- 

 men wabbles, and that, in order to remedy the defect, it must be taken 

 down and taken apart and heavier supports inserted ! One or two ex- 

 periences like this, especially with mammals, will teach the novice that 

 to adopt heroic sizes of wire in the first place, when possible, is the best 

 course to pursue, even if it does involve a little more physical labor all 

 around. 



Let me recommend to my readers the use of copper wire in the 

 mounting of birds and the smaller mammals ; for more than one reason 

 it is far superior to the annealed iron wire which is so generally used. It 

 is more easily worked, because it is more pliable, and, best of all, it will 

 last forever. For my first knowledge of the use of copper wire in 

 mounting specimens, I am indebted to Dr. Jasper, my artist, and the 

 inventor of so many of the devices in the art which his own hands have 

 so faithfully delineated in this work. 



The sizes of wires which I have used in some of the full-grown 

 mammals are as follows : 



No. 7 — Wolveriue. 



No. 7 or S— Wild Cat, Lrpxx rxfus (Guldenstadt). 



No. 8 or 9— Reel Fox, Gray Fox. 



No. 10 — American Badger, Otter, Raccoon, Ground Hog, Beaver. 



No. 11 or 12— Civet Cat, Martin, Skuuk. 



No. 12 or 13— Muskrat, Gray Rabbit, Opossum. 



No. 14 or 15 — American Mink, Gray Squirrel, Fox .Squirrel. 



No. 17 or 18 — Weasel, Red Squirrel, Chipmunk, Gopher 



A full-sized Bullfrog, Raiia catesbiana (Shaw), mounted in a quiet, 

 natural position, requires No. 19 wire for its support; and in an up- 

 right or human-like attitude. No. 17, 



Some of the tailed Amphibians, the size of the Mud Puppy or Water 

 Dog, Necturtis macidaiiis (Rafinesque), or the species known as the Hell- 

 bender or Mud Devil, take a No. 14 wire. Most of these however, are 

 preserved in clear spirits. The African Ostrich requires ^-inch iron rod. 



The common domestic cat usually needs a No. 12 or 13 wire; 

 Pointer, Setter Dog, Coyote, \ inch Norway round iron rod ; Gray Wolf, 

 ^ inch ; Giant Kangaroo, f inch ; Cougar or American Panther,f5^ inch ; 

 American Tapir, f inch; Caribou and large Mountain Sheep, J inch ; 



