Guide to Taxidermy 



117 



'^UP w ' ft. ^' 





Finish up the head by taking the nostrils and lips 

 into place and pinning them; make the eyelids cor- 

 rectly fit the eyes of the manikin, pinning the lids 

 where necessary. Insert clay through the outside 

 opening of the ear to model its junction with the 

 manikin, and bend the ears to their proper shape, 

 those of a pointer of course hanging down as is 

 shown on next page. This figure shows the dog ^«=^A^^^ 

 when finished and on a stand. Your specimen at 

 the present stage should look just the same except 

 for the stand. You can drive common pins into the 

 body in any hollows to hold the skin in contact 

 with them, and it is well to wind narrow strips of 

 cotton cloth around the body at the hip and shoulder 

 joints to keep the skin in the proper position dur- 

 ing drying; of course this does not apply to any 

 long-liaired animals, for the strips would make 

 ridges that could never be effaced. 



The specimen should dry thoroughly before 

 placing it on its permanent stand. Then brush it 

 well, comb the hair out smoothly, wax about the 

 eyes, if necessary. With a small brush paint the 

 eyelids dark brown and the muzzle the color of 

 life, which varies from blackish to gray or pink. 



