654 



INSTRUCTION IN TAXIDERMY, 



the body away from the skin with a scalpel, holding the latter firmly between the 

 fingers and thumb of the left hand, and avoid cutting as much as possible. When 

 the skin has been removed far enough to expose the shins, unjoint them at the 

 knee, and cut through the fleshy part of the knee until the skin is laid bare. Skin 

 dovifu to the vent and cut off the extremity of the body which holds the tail 

 feathers, and remove the skin to the wings. Unjoint the wings and skin to below 

 the eyes. Cut the neck off close to the skull and remove the under part of the 

 skull, and from the hole thus made takeout the brains. Remove the eyes and 

 all superfluous flesh from the skull, leg, and wing bones, and sever the main bone 

 of the wing from the double bones or fore-arm. In skinning large birds break- 

 ing the wings close to the body before removing it will facilitate the skinning. 

 Roll up a small ball of tow and crowd it tightly into the skull. Point a piece of 

 wire at both ends by filing, and twist the tow around it the length and size of the 

 natural neck, commencing an inch or two inches from one end, according to the 

 size of the bird to be mounted. Pass the short end of the wire up through the 

 tow in the head and occipital bone (hind part of skull), and clinch it firmly by re- 

 passing the end of the wire through the fore part of the skull, and fasten it 

 through the eye hole with a pair of pliers. Fill the eyes out to nearly their natu- 

 ral size with soft putty, and dust the whole fleshy .side of the skin with dry arse- 

 nic, best applied with the hind feet of a rabbit or hare. Between the wings, and 

 on the shoulders of the bird, are two yellowish lines, where the feathers are in- 

 clined to protrude through the skin. These lines should be caught up with a 

 needle and drawn nearly together and tied in position. In a skin of a bird of the 

 size of a red-tailed hawk, they should be (when tied) an inch and a half apart. 

 Other bird skins should be drawn up in proportion to their size. Return the leg 

 bones in position, and also the skin, by passing the head through the neck. Pick 

 out the eye lids in their usual form with a needle or pincers, and arrange the 

 plumage smoothly. Make a body the size of the original one by rolling up a 

 bunch of excelsior, or sea grass, and winding it into form with twine or thread. 

 Pass the neck wire through the body lengthwise, pull th^skin carefully over the 

 body, and clinch the protruding neck wire firmly. Never use soft bodies, as 

 they will not hold wire sufficiently tight to keep a bird in position. Wire the legs 

 by putting pointed wires through them from the centre of the feet. Fasten the 

 leg bones to the wires by wrapping them with tow, making the legs a little 

 smaller than they naturally are, and slip the wire further through the legs and let 

 them pass obliquely through the body from the side to the fore breast. Clinch 

 the leg wires firmly into the body, straighten the legs parallel with the sides ot 

 the body, and sew up the hole in the skin. Smooth down the plumage, bend in 

 any natural position, and mount on a stand. Fill the throat out slightly with 

 cotton or tow, and apply a little mucilage to the inside of the eye lids. Press the 

 eyes tightly in position, and pick out the eye lids over the eyes as required with 

 the point of a needle. Fasten the bill together by passing a needle and thread 

 through the nostrils and base of under mandible and tie in position. To wire the 

 tail is one of the most delicate tasks for the tyro, and should be done as follows : 

 — Pass a long pointed piece of small wire through each tail feather, at the flat part 

 of the quill near the body, and spread the tail as desired. Another large wire 

 should be run through the fleshy part of the skin (at the base of the tail) into the 

 body from the under side of the tail, thus fastening it in any position wanted. 

 Fasten the wings by sticking a sharp piece of wire through the shoulder of the 

 wing into the body. Stick small pieces of wire in different parts of the body, and 



