THE PREPARATION OF A DEER'S SKULL 151 



Treatment of the Skull 



Lay the head, horns uppermost, upon the table, and, with a 

 tenon saw, make a cut half an inch from the back of the orbits, 

 which is usually about one inch from the base of the burrs. 

 Let the cut go straight across and under the horns, guiding 

 it in such a manner that it is about in a line with the 

 base of the burrs at the back. Another cut, as close to the 

 back of the horns as the saw will go, should be led down into 

 the front cut, and the horns will then fall off with a piece of 

 bone, chevron-shaped in front and round at the back, attached. 

 The whole extent of the piece of bone need not be more than 

 four inches in length by three in breadth for an ordinary buck ; 

 larger, of course, in larger deer. 



Directly the bone is cut off, and whilst it is still soft, two 

 holes should be made with brace and bit, one on either side of 

 the frontal ridge, equi-distant, and not far, from the pedicles of 

 the burrs ; if necessary, a third hole can be bored at the apex of 

 the chevron. These holes should then be countersunk. Now 

 clean and scrape the bone with a knife, then wash it and scrub 

 it with a brush. When dry, paint it with the preservative, 

 Formula 57. 



The head itself is the next thing to be considered, and this 

 now shows the large cavity of the nostrils, and a much larger 

 and rounder cavity whence the horns and brains have been 

 removed (see Fig. 4, Plate VII.) ; these, as also the orbits, 

 must be nearly filled with paper or wool, and this covered with 

 clay. Take note, however, that the brain-cavity must not be 

 filled up to the top, but the filling must follow the line of the 

 cut edges of the bone, so that the horns will fit upon it; 

 neither must the orbits nor the nostrils be quite filled up, but 

 must be a little concave, and all places from which flesh has 

 been cut must be made up with clay. 



