146 TAXIDERMY AND MODELLING 



means of a scrubbing-brush. At the same time, scrub the 

 horns to cleanse them also from dirt and blood. This having 

 been done, a bucket or two of fresh water thrown over the 

 whole will remove all that has been left. 



The head being now ready for skinning, lay it, throat down- 

 wards, upon the operating-table ; with the pointed knife No. 4 

 (Plate II.) pierce the skin of the head exactly in the centre and 

 in a line with the back of the burr of the horns, and extend the 

 cut along the back of the neck until the skin is split through- 

 out its entire length. When this is accomplished, turn the 

 head back to front and relieve the cut edges a little where they 

 are retained at the back of the head, and then, inserting the 

 point of the knife close to the burr of one horn, and rather 

 more to the back than the centre, make a diagonal cut there- 

 from extending to the anterior end of the median cut. Do 

 the same upon the other side, and the appearance presented by 

 the cuts will be in the form of a Yi the lowest or posterior 

 limb being, of course, the longest. Holding the head in the most 

 convenient position for work, which is ordinarily resting on the 

 brow-antlers, take the right or left diagonal cut, and, holding 

 that part of the skin firmly in the left hand, first dipping the 

 fingers in sand or coarse salt to ensure a firm grip, commence 

 to release the skin around the burr by digging with the 

 point of the knife close to the under side of the burr and 

 cutting upwards. When this has been done almost to the 

 front of the burr, the base of the ear and its attachments, 

 showing as a cartilaginous bag, will be found to hold the 

 skin some distance below, and the whole of these must be 

 detached from the skull by carefully skinning around, and 

 by cutting the last attachment at the little orifice of the ear 

 {meatus auditorius externus), entering the skull. 



Do not trouble at this point if there should be a little too 

 much flesh adhering to the base of the ear, as this is a matter 



