84 



Guide to Taxidermy 



directly into the plaster; bear in mind that plaster 

 hardens very rapidly upon getting wet or moist, so 

 you must work quickly, keeping your bird moving 

 and continually shaking and brushing the plaster 

 out of the feathers; if it is allowed to stand on the 

 feathers in any one place more than a second or two 

 it is apt to stick and be very difficult to remove. 

 Plaster is one of the best friends of the taxidermist 

 but it has to be handled with skill and speed. 



If you have thoroughly worked and scraped the 

 skin and dried it well, it will now be in as good a 

 condition as when first taken off the bird. 



Fill the skull with cotton, soap the skin well and 

 it is already to mount the same as a fresh bird. 

 Aery greasy birds such as ducks or gannets we 

 usually soften up in warm soapy water. A skin 

 that is so dirty as to be apparently worthless can 

 usually be brought out in good condition. 



