Guide to Taxidermy 



127 



the ear should be entirely loosened from the carti- 

 lage even to the tip. Rub the ear thoroughly with 

 salt and turn it back again. 



Curing the Scalp 



When you have the scalp thoroughly cleaned it 

 can be cured in either of two ways: — The salt 

 bath, directions for making which are given in 

 Chap 10. This will keep a skin that is immersed 

 in it, indefinitely and in a soft condition. For our 

 work we prefer thorough salting of the skin, using 

 fine table salt and rubbing it into all parts of the 

 skin ; let the skin lay flat for twenty-four hours, 

 then pour off water that has accumulated and salt 

 again, this time folding it carefully up twice. It 

 can then be put away and mounted at any time, 

 it only requiring to be put in a tub of water over 

 night, which will bring it out as well as when first 

 skinned. Each skin should be tagged, giving the 

 length of nose and girth about ears and back of 



neck. If your skin is to go in pickle, it is best to ^^^^^yp YfeOkAs^^^ 

 write this with pencil on a flat wooden tag. 



>ofe >^ov^O¥\ed», 



Making the Form 



The first piece to get out is the pear-shaped neck 

 board. This is to set in the back of the neck on 

 an angle and should consequently be a couple of 



