Guide to Taxidermy 53 



feather standing upon end, they will stand on end 

 smoothly. 



Tools and Materials Required 



1. Wire cutters; a pair of parallel pliers with 

 cutter attached on the side makes the best "all 

 around" tool of this kind that can be had. You 

 can use them for cutters, pinchers and in place of a 

 leg drill for forcing the wire through the legs of 

 large birds; a hole through the center of the pliers 

 allows the wire to pass between the handles so you 

 can get a perfect grip upon it. 



2. Wire — For practice we should recommend 

 the getting of half a pound each of Nos. 20, 18 

 and l6 annealed iron wire. These will answer for 

 anything up to jays and kingfishers. You can get 

 wire of dealers in taxidermists' supplies or at hard- 

 ware stores. Following these instructions for mount- 

 ing birds we give a table of the size wire required 

 for birds of various kinds, from which you can 

 decide just what you want for anything. 



3. An eight or ten-inch file with which to point 

 3'our wires. 



4. Tweezers, needles, and cotton as before. 



5. A small quantity of excelsior or tow, which 

 can be procured from your dealer or at a mattress 



