142 



Guide to Taxidermy 





tion 3^011 wish ; it is advisable not to have the mouth 

 very wide open. When the skull is well dried you 

 can cover it with j^apier-mache, to replace the flesh 

 and muscles that formerly covered it. We would 

 advise tliat you put the eyes in the head as you mod- 

 el it. Remember the excellence of your completed 

 work depends wholly upon the correctness of form 

 and symmetry that you give to this model. If you 

 wish to make the rug with a half-head the skull 

 would be not only useless but a hindrance. The 

 half-head that your dealer can furnish will be much 

 better for this purpose than any you could make, 

 unless you went to the trouble of making a mould 

 and making the heads of paper^ as he does. 



With the head all made and dry, it is a simple 

 matter to place the skin on it and pin in position. 

 It is best to use short pins around the mouth and to 

 drive them way in, the hair covering the heads. 

 When using a ready-made head, you will usually 

 have to fill in a trifle over the eyes with cotton, and, 

 of course, the glass eyes will have to be set in, in 

 putty, jiffer you have the skin tacked on. 



