2i6 TAXIDERMY AND MODELLING 



the skin, until this is only held some little distance up the 

 body and at the base of the tail. Now slip the point of the 

 shears or scissors between the skin and the flesh, and sever the 

 bone near the base of the tail ; this part is now free, and the 

 skinning progresses toward the head until stopped by the bone 

 of the ventral fin on the under side ; cut this through. The 

 next thing, on nearing the head, is the bone of the pectoral fin 

 of the under side ; this must be cut through in like manner, 

 and the trunk of the fish will only remain attached to the head 

 by the vertebrae ; with the scissors or shears, cut through the 

 vertebrae as near to the head as possible, and the whole body 

 will thus be removed, leaving merely the head to deal with. 



During these various operations, and especially when cutting 

 away the ventral and pectoral pairs of fins, as much care as 

 possible should be exercised not to cut into the internal 

 organs of the fish, or an effusion of blood and other troubles 

 may ensue ; and therefore it is always wise to be prepared to 

 plug all such accidental openings with wadding, and also to 

 slope the fish and pour water inside to cleanse it if the flow of 

 blood, etc., is serious. 



All the large pieces of flesh having been removed from the 

 skin of the body, nothing remains but the head and the trimming 

 of the fins to be grappled with. It is immaterial which is 

 done first, but, assuming that the bases of the fins are cleared 

 of flesh, the head is managed thus : — 



The first process is to remove the gills with the knife or 

 shears, cutting away their attachments at top and bottom ; this 

 will expose what is left of the vertebrae and flesh ; cut all 

 away with the shears or broad knife until the brain is exposed, 

 which, of course, remove. Remove the eye, and by the side 

 of the face, just behind the orbit, resting upon the pre-opercular 

 bone, is a mass of flesh, in some fishes of considerable volume, 

 which, either through the orbit or from the back of the head. 



