204 Guide to Taxidermy 



more than you wish to use for it only keeps a day 

 or two before becoming too hard to work. You can 

 apply it wherever wanted with a putty knife or 

 wooden paddle and shape it with the fingers. It is 

 used for covering skulls for open mouth heads 

 for rug work; covering the skull and neck for 

 mounting deer heads, etc. ; repairing broken bills 

 or legs of birds; for rock and stump work. As it 

 dries exceedingly hard it should be left in just the 

 shape and degree of smoothness that you wish be- 

 fore setting the work away to dry. 



Pinking Iron 



An iron instrument having a sharp-toothed edge 

 for cutting through felt or cloth to make a scalloped 

 edge. Hardware dealers keep them in stock. 



Pliers 



You can get any size pliers or pinchers that you 

 wish at your hardware dealers. See under Wire 

 Cutters for the best kind. 



Pins 



While sharpened wires will answer for pinning 

 tlie wings of any birds, pins are more convenient, 

 for small birds numbers 2 and 6 Insect Pins are 

 the best. (These are longer and more slender than 

 common pins) ; for large birds Taxidermists Pins 

 can be used. (These are about 2 1-2 inches in 

 length). Either kind can be obtained from yotir 

 dealer in supplies. 



