COMMERCIAL RABBIT RAISIN<3 



63 



FiGUBE 32. — Homemade shipping crates for transporting rabbits 



BN 26083 



RABBITSKINS 



Curing 



While still warm, place skins to 

 be cured flesh side out on wire or 

 board formers or shapers (with the 

 fore part over the narrow end). 

 Take care to remove all wrinkles. 

 You can make a satisfactory skin 

 shaper from 5 feet of No. 9 gal- 

 vanized wire. This equipment has 

 been called a "stretcher," but th& 

 term may give a wrong impression. 

 It is not desirable to stretch the 

 skin unduly. Mount a skin on the 

 shaper, making sure both front 

 feet casings are on the same side, 

 and fasten it with clothespins (fig. 

 33). This arrangement lessens in- 



jury to the fur of the back, which 

 is the most valuable. On the day 

 after skinning, examine the pelts 

 to see that the edges are drying 

 flat, that the skin of the front legs 

 is straightened out, and that any 

 patches of fat are removed. 



All skins must be thoroughly 

 dried before you pack them, but do 

 not dry them in the sun or by arti- 

 ficial heat. Han^ them up so the 

 air can circulate ireely about them. 

 If you will not ship the dried skins 

 for some time, hang them in loose 

 bundles of 50 in a cool, dry place 

 away from rats and mice. In the 

 summer or in a warm climate, 

 sprinkle the stored skins with 



