Guide to Taxidermy 169 



the snake in the position that you intend to place 

 it in. The other wire is twisted about this above 

 the vent and continues on down to the end of the 

 tail. 



Wind this wire form with tow so as to be slight- 

 ly smoother than the specimen; wind it firmly and 

 smoothly with the cops and bear in mind that the 

 smoother you get the body the better the finished 

 work will be. It must now be bent to approximate- 

 ly the shape that you wish the snake to occupy. If 

 it is to be coiled^ have the coils separated so that 

 you can get at it to sew the skin on ; they can then 

 easily be closed together without destroying the 

 shape of the specimen. This tow body must be 

 smoothly covered with either papier-mache or clay. 



The snake is then skinned as described above x . . • \ \ v 



and the skin very carefully put upon the manikin. y^g^J^e, o% Wvvt 



Of course the excellency of vour work will depend >Mo>^>^«^ \»4V^Vv^o>r»^ 



.-•1 .1 1. J 1 J 4-1 ] • CMftVfe^ \»\\V tv<^V 



entirely upon the body you nave made; the skin 



should just meet the whole length. It must now be 

 sewed up the whole length, a tedious job and one 

 requiring skill and a delicate touch to avoid de- 

 stroying the contour of the body. You can now 

 fasten the specimen on a temporary board by 



