METHODS IN THE ART OF TAXIDERMY. 28 1 



be let alone until it is dry, when the final touches around the lips, 

 nose and eyes must be done with papier-mache, and then colored. 

 For this portion of the work, and for modeling of open mouths, I refer 

 the reader to page 207. 



The very best way to preserve the skin of a head while collecting 

 in the field is in the salt and alum bath, which keeps the skin as soft 

 and pliable as when it was taken from the animal. The next is by 

 rubbing on equal parts of salt and alum and hanging the skin up to 

 dry in the shade. If the head be that of a moose or an elk, space may 

 be saved in shipping by sawing the skull through in the middle — 

 through the middle line of the cranium — separating the skull in 

 halves. Each half of the skull, with the horns and the lower jaw, can 

 be bundled together in one package for shipment. In mounting a 

 head whose skull has been cut in half, the center-board for the neck 

 can be placed between the two halves and securely fastened with bolts. 

 Enough of the skull should be taken from both halves of the skull to 

 allow for the thickness of the board. On each side of this center-board 

 there should be fastened with screws a piece of 2x8 pine, all the way to 

 the base. This is necessary to give strength, and to provide sufficient 

 anchorage for the heavy screws which must pass through the neck- 

 board to support the weight of the head. The neck-board for a moose 

 is somewhat more oval than that for a deer (Fig. 2, Plate LXIX), and 

 should be made of inch and a half pine. 



Never mount your mammal heads on anything but elegant, mas- 

 sive shields, and have them highly polished. Oak, red-wood, walnut, 

 mahogany and cherry are among the best woods for this purpose. 

 Various shapes of panels and shields may be made on which to mount 

 heads, and a number of designs are shown in Plates LXXI to LXXVII, 

 inclusive. Bird and fish heads may be mounted in the same manner 

 with fine effect, as shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, Plate LXIX. 



