METHODS IN THE ART OF TAXIDERMY. 45 



rels, rabbits, etc., should never be put into the bath. It is better to 

 mount these without wetting the hair, for it is very difficult to comb 

 out and dress the matted hair to look perfectly natural. It is next to 

 impossible to take the skin of a rabbit from the salt and alum 

 bath and comb and brush it out so as to give to the fur that fluffy ap- 

 pearance, which it should have. 



Never put a skin into the bath without first thoroughly cleaning 

 it; take off all the fat and particles of flesh and wash from the hair all 

 blood stains. 



Alcohol. — Used as a preservative of fle.shy objects entire when col- 

 lecting in the field, or when it is not practical to skin and mount them 

 by the usual processes in taxidermy, such, in particular, as the small 

 and medium sized reptiles and fishes, entire and in the form of skins. 

 Uo not take any risks on the quality of spirits which you purchase for 

 the preservation of alcoholic specimens. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia 

 recognizes alcohol, containing 94 per cent, of absolute alcohol, or 

 alcohol having the specific gravity of 0.<S20. Its quality, however, 

 will frequently range all the way from 75 to 94 per cent. Use your 

 alcoholometer and see that it is 94 per cent, alcohol before you dilute 

 it for the preservation of your specimens. The proper strength for 

 the preservation of fishes is one-third of its bulk of water ; for reptiles^ 

 one-half water. Just as much as the quality of the alcohol varies from 

 94 per cent., the amount of water added to its bulk must be measured 

 proportionately. For this reason it is of importance to always have 

 at hand an alcoholometer with which to test the strength of the spirits. 



In all specimens preserved in this manner be sure to make an ab- 

 dominal incision so that the fluid may have free action. 



Potter's Clay. — This is one of the most valuable substances that 

 the taxidermist can employ in his art. In many cases it is absolutely 

 impossible to reproduce the forms and features of various animals with 

 any degree of accuracy without the aid of this pliable and plastic mate- 

 rial. The German veterans in our art have used it for coating the man- 

 ikins of quadrupeds for a half century. Dr. Jasper has employed it in 

 building out the structures of mammals for forty years. Phillipp 

 Leopold Martin, the German taxidermist, advocates its use in his work, 

 published in 1876. Its general adoption, however, by American taxi- 

 dermists is of recent date. 



In a paper read at a meeting of the Society of American Taxider- 

 mists in 1881, Mr. William T. Hornaday sets forth the advantages, in 

 many cases, of clay as a filling over fibrous materials. My experience 

 with it extends over a period of twenty years. The muscles on the 



