128 PEACTICAL TAXIDERMY. 



hooks with chains or wire, which i3reYent the teeth from 

 cutting the lines. 



Dog-fish are harmless, but sharks, though quite small, 

 should be handled with care, as they quickly snap at the 

 hand or leg, when struggling on deck. 



The porpoise is one of the most difficult fish to capture. 

 With its great strength and sharj^ nose it makes his way 

 through the strongest nets and can only be taken with a 

 harpoon or gun. A heavy charge of No. 1 shot will kill 

 one quickly as it rolls, but if not secured at once, it 

 will sink and be mutilated by the rest of the school. 

 Wounded porpoises are inyariably hunted to death by 

 others of their kind. They make long leaps and plow 

 the water with tremendous sj^eed. If a chance offers, the 

 wounded, victim wdll often run itself high and dry on 

 the beach to escape the sharp teeth of pursuers, or escape 

 over a bar into shallow water where it is easily secured. 



When fish are to be mounted, they should be kept wet, 

 so that the scales will not rise up and become loose in pro- 

 cess of stuffing. Those taken with hooks or purse nets, 

 are usually, if carefully handled, in the finest condition, 

 and make the best specimens when mounted. Fish se- 

 cured in trammels or gill-nets are often so disfigured as 

 to be useless for the taxidermist's purposes. 



Small fish are best prepared as specimens when pre- 

 served in alcoholic pickle, as they are too tender to be 

 skinned and mounted. Some of the larger ones it is al- 

 most impossible to mount successfully, so delicate is their 

 skin, and so small and thin their scales. 



Pike, large trout, salmon, and the thick-skinned fish- 

 es, are the most easily handled. All species lose color 

 when dried, and it is necessary to re-produce the natural 

 effects by skillful painting. 



In skinning, work with the fish on a piece of wet oil- 

 cloth. The smooth surface will not injure the scales, 

 and the moisture keeps them pliable. 



