HOW TO COLLECT MAMMAL SKINS FOR PURPOSES OF STUDY AND 



FOR MOUNTING.* 



By William T. Uornaday, Chief Taxidermist, U. IS. National Mu- 

 seum. 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



It is a simple matter to prepare the skin of an ordinary quadruped, 

 provided the operator is not afraid of getting a little blood on his hands, 

 and is not naturally indisposed to physical exertion. A few minutes' 

 work suffices for the skin of a small mammal, and a few hours for a 

 large one, up to the size of a buffalo. With a sharp knife, detailed in- 

 structions, some cheap preservatives, and a little patient labor, the 

 thing is done. One specimen properly prepared in the field is worth 

 ten that have been slighted. 



The great principle which is the foundation of all valuable field work 

 on mammal skins is this : A skin must be taken off, cleaned of flesh, and 

 'preserved so that the preservative powder or fluid can act directly upon the 

 roots of the hair from the inner side of the skin, dlnd over every portion of 

 its surface. Neither alum, nor salt, nor alcohol (unless it be of great 

 strength) can strike through a thick layer of flesh and penetrate through 

 the skin to the epidermis quickly enough to save it from decomposition. 

 The epidermis of most animals is of such a close and oily nature that 

 preservatives can not strike through it from without, and therefore when 

 a skin is removed, it must be cleaned of flesh and fat, so that the pre- 

 servative liquid or dry powder can come immediately in contact with 

 the cutis. 



SELECTION OF SPECIMENS. 



When specimens are sufficiently numerous to allow of a choice of in- 

 dividuals for preservation, select first the finest, largest, and most per- 

 fect old male and female. Young animals of every kind are very de- 

 sirable, and specimens should be taken whenever possible. Of animals 

 that are known, or even supposed, to be rare, preserve the first speei- 



* A portion of this article — that relating to the preservation of skins for mount- 

 ing—has already been published in the Proceedings of the National Museum for 1883, 

 under the title, il Brief Directions for Removing and Preserving the Skins of Mam- 

 mals." Tho appearance of this circular is in response to a demand for detailed in- 

 structions for the preparation of skins in a dry state for the purposes of study. 



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