METHODS IN THE ART OF TAXIDERMY. ly 



tablespoon, flatten the bowl, cut it off square in the juiddle, bend it, 

 and file teeth in it, similar to Fig. 7, Plate II. This makes a first-class 

 instrument for scraping dr)- bird skins and also those of the small 

 mammals. 



The dissecting saw (Fig. I, Plate II) should be 4i inches long, with 

 movable back. It costs $2.75, but it can be substituted much cheaper 

 by cutting the same length off a hack saw, and fitting it to a wooden 

 handle. This instrument is indispensable in sawing through the shells 

 of turtles and through the bones of mammals, as the case may demand. 



The long scissor-handled forceps ( Plate II, Fig. 3) are used for plac- 

 ing filling in the necks of ducks, herons, and other long-necked birds. 

 The most desirable length of these forceps is 1 2 inches. For placing the 

 filling in the necks of the smaller birds, the spring forceps, 5 inches long 

 (Fig. 4, Plate HI), are the most commonly used. Several sizes and 

 shapes, however, should be at hand, such as are represented by Fig. 5 

 and 6, Plate II ; light and delicate ones for arranging the plumage of 

 birds, and doing many other little things which you will soon acquire 

 by habit and experience. 



The chain and hooks (Fig. 1, Plate II), are used for hanging up the 

 body of a bird after you have reached the point of skinning over the tail, 

 as shown in the plate illustrating the skinning of the robin. A good- 

 sized fish-hook with the barb filed off and suspended on a strong cord 

 will answer the purpose very well. 



The drill (Fig. 2, Plate II), made of a sharpened steel wire with a 

 wooden handle, is a very handy tool for making holes in the legs of birds, 

 especially in the legs of dry skins where, in many cases, it is almost im- 

 possible to force a soft annealed wire without first making a hole with 

 the drill. Several sizes are necessary. 



By far the best cutting pliers for the general use of the taxidermist 

 is Hall's compound lever nippers (Fig. 1, Plate III). These, together 

 with those represented by Figs. 2 and 3 of the same plate, are manufac- 

 tured by the Interchangeable Tool Co., Boonton, New Jersey, who also 

 make a side-cutting pliers on the same mechanical principle. The side- 

 cutters are used where the end-cutters fail to reach, which is seldom 

 the case with the latter in our work. 



Besides having a most powerful leverage, one of the beauties of Hall's 

 double-lever nippers is, that when the jaws break new ones can be re- 

 placed at a trifling cost. These pliers can be procured at hardware stores, 

 and the best sizes are 5 and 7 inches, respectively. Any wire which the 

 7-inch nippers will not cut, it is best to resort to the bolt-clipper, com- 

 monly used by the blacksmith to cut iron rods and bolts. 



