Guide to Taxidermy 



129 



the teeth, and that there is no lower jiw. This 

 method saves time, both in cleaning and mounting, 

 for the professional who has many heads to mount 

 but is not necessary or advisable for the amateur. 

 When mounting in this way we have a mould and 

 make a plaster cast to replace the end cut off. The 

 mould is made from a model and casts from the 

 same mould used on all deer heads, shaving them 

 down slightly for very small heads. Unless you are 

 going to mount a great many heads it will be best 

 for you to leave the skull entire and build up the 

 nose on it. The neck is^ formed of excelsior and 

 tightly and smoothly wound with string, keeping 

 the desired form always in mind and being sure 

 that both sides are even (that one does not bulge 

 where the other hollows). The plate shows the form Tvo^vweviOvV. ^W 

 ready to receive its final coating, and this may con- 

 sist of plaster, papier-maclie or even clay, but we 

 do not recommend the latter. 



The one that we illustrate is made with plaster; 

 if you prefer papier-mache, the operations will be 

 the same; directions for making this material are 

 given in Chapter 10. We describe the plaster 

 method because we believe it to be a little more sim- 

 ple for the novice to master. The only advantage 





