

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 141 
stout cord, which should be fastened to a hook or other pro- 
jecting object on the wall. A strong piece of wood is then 
prepared, flat, and sharpened upon both edges. This should 
be introduced: between the skin and the vertebre, and by 
working it around the latter, the attachments will be severed 
and the vertebre within can be easily pulled from the envel- 
oping skin. In skinning the tail of the beaver an incision 
should be made upon the under side, running lengthwise 
from the base to the tip. The skin should then be loosened, 
beginning upon either side of the incision, until the flesh is 
entirely free, when it can be removed, the arsenic added, the 
skin restored to position, and the incision sewed up. 
The foregoing method is practiced only upon the smaller 
quadrupeds; with the larger mammalia a different course is 
pursued. An incision is made from beneath the under jaw, 
in a straight line to the anus ; transverse cuts are also made, 
running down the inside of both fore and hind legs. These 
being made upon the inner side will render the seams less 
conspicuous after the specimen has been mounted. To de- 
tach the hoofs, place them upon a stone and strike them 
repeatedly with a mallet; they will soon loosen and can be 
separated from the bone. After the operation of skinning 
has been completed, every part of the skin should be a- 
nointed thoroughly with arsenical soap. Turpentine applied 
to the nostrils and lips will prevent the approach of noxious 
insects. When the skin is too large for the application of 
the soap, it should be thoroughly saturated with a solution 
of "alum and water." The different bones left in the skin 
should all be thoroughly anointed with the preservative, 
and the eye-sockets and cavity of the brain filled with cotton 
or cut tow before replacing the skull in its natural position. 
If the animal be not too large the carcass should be pre- 
Served, as it will greatly aid the operator in his work of 
modelling a body. If immersed in alcohol, it can be kept 
any length of time. : 
To mount the skin; for instance that of a squirrel. — First 

