TAXIDERMY 97 



part of the skin does not curl or crease sufficiently 

 for two surfaces to come in actual contact, otherwise 

 it will not dry quickly and decomposition may 

 set in. 



So much for the head skin ; to return to the skull, 

 cut this off at the base and rough off all the flesh, 

 scrape or wash out the brain, and put it in the sun 

 to dry up quickly. 



Do not damage the base of the skull, as, should the 

 head skin be accidentally destroyed, the horns and 

 skull can still be utilized. 



The author saw a pathetic instance of waste 

 caused by neglect of these principles when he visited 

 Mr. Harwood's Natural History Studios at Hammer- 

 smith. Skulls hopelessly broken, horns damaged 

 almost beyond repair, were lying around awaiting 

 the skill of Mr. Harwood to make the best of a 

 bad job. 



Metal Labels. — With quantities of trophies the 

 heads and head skins are liable to become mixed, so 

 a good plan is to have a series of metal tabs in pairs, 

 numbered in running order, and attach one to the 

 head and the other to the skin to facilitate sorting 

 afterwards. 



The Whole Animal. — In preserving the whole 

 skin of an animal proceed as follows, for all ordinary 

 animals without horns : — 



Lay the animal on its back and make a cut down 

 the centre from the chin to the tip of the tail, and 



8 



