METHODS IN THE ART OE TAXIDERMY. 



199 



in^ of the nose and the modeling of tongues, open mouths, etc., will 

 be described in the next chapter. 



It sometimes happens that certain parts of aged skins have been 

 stretched too full, and it is necessary to cut out an oblong or thin trian- 

 gular piece of the skin; the shape of the cut depends altogether on 

 the quantity of skin necessary to be worked away and the position of 

 the cut in the skin. The filling can be taken out and the seam sewn 

 up ; if the part needs stretching, a slit can be made and more tow can 

 be introduced and the skin forced out to better proportions. 



The Center Board Method with Iron Squares. — We have already 

 discussed the center board, and we must now consider the iron square. 

 This is a contrivance which looks like a door hinge open at right angle. 

 It has three holes for the reception of the leg irons, and two or three 

 may be made to fasten it to the center board. The iron square has 

 been used in the mounting of the ostrich, Fig. D, Plate XXIII ; in the 

 greyhound, Figs. A, B, Plate LII ; and in the horse, Figs. A, B, Plate 

 L\'I. There are several advantages in using the iron square on center 

 boards of any description, and chief among them may be cited the fact 

 that in case you have the quadruped coupled too long or too short it is 

 an easy matter to change the leg irons from one hole to another in the 

 square until the proper distance has been obtained. Therefore, the 

 reason we make three holes in the square for the reception of the leg 

 irons is obvious. Even after we have the animal very nearly com- 

 pleted, and discover that the legs are coupled too long or too short, it 

 is a matter of only a few minutes' labor to make the change without 

 the extra labor of taking the entire quadruped apart. This iron square 

 is very useful when we are mounting a dry skin which has come to us 

 without measurements, and where we have to make our measurements 

 by analogy. The distance between the joint where the humerus con- 

 nects with the shoulder blade and where the femur joins the pelvis 

 can be adjusted with very little effort. The iron square is fastened to 

 the center board with screws or bolts, the latter being the best in the 

 larger specimens; these can be taken out and the square put forward, 

 backward, raised or lowered, according to the deficiency in either case ; 

 but after a little experience in mounting mammals by this method it 

 seldom occurs that the screws or both have to be removed to make a 

 change ; the holes made for the leg irons generally give us sufficient 

 latitude to correct any error in the coupling. The thickness of the 

 square should vary in strength according to the size of the animal — 

 from one-eighth to three-eighths of an inch. Do not allow the half of 

 the square which receives the leg irons to extend out too far. This 



