240 Wild Life in Central Africa. 



base of the neck and the neck just behind the ears. The 

 cut should be made right over the shoulders, for, if the 

 skin is short, the trophy will be an ugly one when mounted. 

 Cut up the edge of the mane hair to behind the horns, and 

 then make two cross cuts to the base of the horns, and go 

 round them as close as possible without injuring the horn 

 substance. 



The most difficult parts to skin are the ears, eyes, and 

 nose; and this is purely a matter of practice if a good job 

 is to result. 



Natives cannot skin properly without being taught, and 

 it takes some time to make them proficient. Nothing is 

 better for skinning than a sharp pocket-knife with two 

 blades, one fairly large and the other small. A small hone 

 is most useful for keeping the knife sharp, and, for larger 

 knives, a piece of emery-stone is better than a hone. I do 

 not recommend expensive cutler's "hunting" knives, for 

 they are too thick, and the steel is too hard to sharpen on 

 anything except a grindstone. The various implements 

 sold for skinning usually turn out practically useless. For 

 animals a strong pocket-knife and two or three soft-steel 

 bladed knives, known as the " Bushman's Friend " or 

 " Green River " pattern, are all that are necessary. For 

 birds, a small pocket knife, a pair of scissors, and a brain- 

 scoop will do the best of work. 



Many good taxidermists sell preservatives of their own 

 mixing, but, for the sportsman, the principal chemicals 

 required will be alum, saltpetre, salt, and turpentine. For 

 birds, arsenical soap is probably best, as it does not harden 

 the thin skins and make them crack as alum will do ; 

 but it should be kept under lock and key, as it is 

 dangerous stuff to leave lying about for native boys to 

 tamper with. 



The best way to clean skulls is by boiling them in a big 

 pot, although some antelope horns will not come off the 

 cores readily such as hartebeest and eland so care has 

 to be taken, when boiling, to keep the horn substance 

 above the water-line. 



