102 Guide to Taxidermy 



wire through sufficiently far to enable you to stick 

 the pointed end in its proper place in the end of 

 the body; push the wire back through the body 

 so the end will appear on the breast; make a long 

 turn and draw it back, clinching a second time 

 where the point appears again (this should be about 

 on the rump). 



Your specimen is now all wired, but the legs are 

 sticking straight from the body. Bend them to cor- 

 respond to the position you have selected for your 

 animal, and we should advise for your first attempts 

 that you take some of the illustrations that we show, 

 for models, for you can readily see just how to do 

 your work to accomplish a certain result. If your 

 squirrel is to be sitting up, see to it that he sits up- 

 on his heels. Nothing looks so disgusting or un- 

 natural as to have a squirrel sitting practically up- 

 on its tail with his legs sprawled out in front, yet 

 this is the way that, even now, the majority of pro- 

 fessional taxidermists do their work. We want you 

 to aim to do perfect work; to imitate nature. Do 

 not let the dollar behind your work look so large 

 that you can see nothing else; this is a common 

 mistake with taxidermists. 



