52 Guide to Taxidermy 



Skinning Game Birds 



Grouse, ducks or sliore birds can be skinned so 

 as also to save the flesh for eating. A sportsman 

 can thus have his dinner and also have the specimen 

 mounted. Clean the tools to be used, well, and use 

 corn meal in place of sawdust. We usually skin up 

 to the neck with meal then cut the body off and 

 finish skinning with sawdust. The meal will readily 

 wash from the flesh, whereas the sawdust sticks 

 very tightly. We have eaten all kinds of game and 

 believe that the taste of a bird is rather improved 

 than impaired by skinning. 



Mounting a Bird 



Before vou commence to mount a bird, conceive 

 in your own mind the exact position that you wish 

 to reproduce, basing your position from memory of 

 that particular bird as you saw it in life, or upon 

 some good picture of that or a similar bird. 



Remember that no live bird is so "ugly" but 

 that he has his graceful lines. All birds whatever 

 their position should have their plumage smooth. 

 Though a bird may be preening itself, with every 



