em 



REPORT ON NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1886. 



small skins, which is a good plan if time will permit, as it makes it pos- 

 sible to place the legs in the exact position it is desired thoy should 

 permanently retain. 



This method of shaping small skins (e. g., with the tail extending 

 straight back) should always be followed by American collectors, who 

 can easily command the facilities necessary to render it safe and ad visa 

 ble. But for collectors who visit remote localities, and often have to 



transport their impedimenta for many 

 miles on men's heads, done up in small 

 bundles, and where every pound in 

 weight and every cubic foot of space 

 is carefully counted, another method 

 must be recommended. Under such 

 circumstances, small skins should be 

 made up with the tail bent under the 

 body, as seen in Fig. 7. The posi- 

 tion is not unnatural, the general form 

 is compact, the tail is fully protected 

 by being bent under the body and tied 

 down upon it, and the legs are not 

 thrust out in such a way as to endanger 

 the safety of the feet and claws. Ani- 

 mals with long slender legs, such as 

 monkeys, sloths, etc., should be put up 

 with the fore legs lying close against 

 the sides, in the opposite direction 

 from those of the squirrel shown in 

 the figure. 



B. — For Large Mammals. 



Preservation. — On dry uplands most 

 skins can be cured and dried very suc- 

 cessfully by the use of salt alone. In- 

 deed, on our western plains, the llanos 

 of South America, and the high pla- 

 teaus of Asia, to say nothing of the 

 parched bush-veldt of South Central 

 Africa, mammal skins dry and harden 

 in an incredibly short time without 

 the use of any preservative whatever. In such regions it is only nec- 

 essary to apply a good coat of arsenical soap to keep off the vermin 

 which would otherwise destroy them, and to keep them out of the sun. 

 In a more moist climate salt must be used to cure skins, so that the 

 epidermis will not slip off in the slower process of drying. In the 

 humid heat of the tropics, it is necessary to apply dry alum after the 

 salt lias done the caring, in order to make the skins become perfectly 



