Oct. 1885.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



153 



Practical Taxidermy. 



BY FllANK B. WEBSTER. 

 Cll.i PTER II.— WORK ROOM AXD TOOLS. 



The work room should be as fur away as possi- 

 ble from the general living rooms of the house, 

 for three reasons: First, the necessary use of 

 [joison. Second, on account of the unpleasant 

 odors which follow the dissecting of specimens. 

 [Those who work over them soon become so ac- 

 customed that they are entirely unnoticed]. And 

 tliirdly, that the room may lie locked, to keep in- 

 truders out, especially when no one is present to 

 attend to "hands off." 



It will l)e impossible for the majority of ama- 

 teurs to have a regular workshop, and the next 

 best thing is a room, perhaps on the second floor, 

 opening into the back hall. The most simple 

 work bench is made by taking an ordinary stand 

 or small table and having a heavy top made for it 

 of, say two-inch pine plank. A table two feet by 

 four feet is convenient for ordinary work. In 

 addition take a piece of .joist, says two by four 

 inclies, four feet long, make an X of same stock 

 the two pieces being about eighteen inches, 

 fiisten this to one end of the joist, and a cross 

 piece to the other. You will now have a stand 

 the shape of a letter T, with the bottom like the 

 letter X. This will be found a very useful 

 stand to use temporarily while mounting large 

 birds like Eagles, Peacocks, &c. A large case, 

 say seven feet high, six feet long, eighteen inches 

 deep, made of pine, painted white inside, made 

 so as to be readily taken to pieces, will serve to 

 holds specimens when drying and keep them 

 from dust, &c. A cabinet or set of drawers for 

 holding tools, can generally be obtained at a low 

 price from any retail store. Empty thread 

 cabinets do very well. 



I am now supposed to invite you into a room 

 filled out as above. We open the cabinet drawer, 

 in which are a number of tools, many perhaps, of 

 a similar appearance. I believe in good tools 

 and plenty of them. If I hear of anything new 

 I get it. There are yet to be many improvements 

 made, and if I can gain by them I shall do so 

 with as much enthusiasm as the surgeon, dentist, 

 and machinist. A well-known Taxidermist re- 

 cently remarked to me, "I can stuff birds with 

 nothing but wire, tow and cutters." With due 

 respect to liira, I remarked that I supposed he 

 could discard knives and forks from his table, 

 and many other modern conveniences. Nickel 

 plated tools for me, if you please. I will only 

 describe the tools that I consider necessary, and 



leave it to you to decide how many sizes of each 

 you wish. 



After the following description I shall only 

 mention them by name in order to make the por- 

 tion devoted to actual work as simple as possible. 



Fig. 1. Scissor-handled Stuff ers. Commonly 

 called Stuflfers ; for placing tow or other stufling 

 in head and neck of all birds larger than a Blue- 

 bird. Also smaller ones if you desire. Length, 

 9 to 12 inches. 



Fig. 2. Spring Stuffing Forctp^. Cnmiiionly 

 called Spring Stuffers. Better adapted for smaller 

 birds; same purpose as t:ie scissor-handled. 

 Length, Q)4 inches. 



Fig. 3. Ebony-handled Scalpel, for skinning; 

 suitable for small work. 



Fig. 4. Cartilage Knife. A heavy steel scalpel, 

 handle and blade all one piece. Much stronger 

 than the ebony-handled ; for heavy work. [In 

 using any .scalpel avoid prying, as this will break 

 the best made instrument]. 



Fig. .'5. Brain Spoon. For cleaning out the 

 brain cavity. The latest improvement at this 

 writing is a short curved-wire point at the end of 

 handle, designed to use in removing eyes; also 

 to use in putting in artificial eyes. 



Fig. 0. Surgeon's Scissors. Short blade, extra 

 strong. 



Fig. 7. Shears. 



Fig. 8. Curved Scissors. 



Fig. 9. Elbowed Scissors. 



Fig. 10. Fine Scissors. 



These all have their special use, which will be 

 readily found when once at work. There is one 

 use to which they should not be put, viz., bone 

 cutting, which will spoil the best scissors ever 

 made, not only by spoiling the edge, but by bend- 

 ing them at the shank so that the blades will not 

 shut. 



Fig. 11. Hand or Pin Vise, lor holding long 

 needle when making hole in legs of birds, for 

 holding wire when spreading tail, and a tempora- 

 ry handle, useful in many ways. 



Fig. 12. Leg Drill. A steel wire sharpened, 

 with a wood handle, to use in making a hole in 

 the legs of large birds, especially in dried skins. 

 Annealed wire, when right for use, will be found 

 to bend so easily that it is almost impossible in 

 some cases to force it through the legs. .Much 

 time and vexation is saved by using the drill first. 

 In very small birds this is not necessary. 



Fig. 13. Bone Cutters, for cutting bones. 

 They are made in two ways, straight edge and 

 curved edge. The last to meet the demands of 

 Icthy-Taxidermists. The curved blade being 

 used in cleaning the fins and other small bones 



