478 



RECREA TION. 



hides his sins under the odor of a dead 

 animal. 



Has any reader ever observed this habit? 

 If so will he kindly report, through REC- 

 REATION as to when, where, how often, etc. 

 Give full particulars. 



Ernest Seton Thompson. 



TAXIDERMY WITHOUT A 

 TEACHER ? 



Will you please tell me, in Recreation, 

 if I could learn, the art of taxidermy from 

 reading the various books on the subject, 

 or would I have to study with some one? 

 If so, how long? 



F. H. T., Haverhill, Mass. 



While it is entirely possible for a bright 

 young man to learn the art of taxidermy 

 from books alone, it is far better to study 

 with a living teacher, and learn by practical 

 demonstration as well as by precept. The 

 latter course will — if the teacher knows his 

 business, and teaches its principles fully 

 and frankly — save both time and money. 

 The best course for a beginner is to enter 

 the service of some competent taxidermist, 

 begin with the preparation of skins, watch 

 everything that goes on around him, and 

 study nature. But, in addition to that, he 

 should get Hornaday's " Taxidermy and 

 Zoological Collecting," and learn it by 

 heart. It has taught many a man to mount 

 birds, quadrupeds and heads of big game 

 when living teachers were entirely beyond 

 reach. 



Glenwood Springs, Colo. 



Editor Recreation: There is a most 

 wonderful cave about 6 miles above Glen- 

 wood Springs, overlooking the Grand 

 river. Many people visit it every year, yet 

 it has never been fully explored. Several 

 men have put in a whole day wandering 

 from chamber to chamber; and it is 

 thought there are fully 5 miles of under- 

 ground passages. 



The entrance is about 10 x 18 feet and is 

 about 2,000 feet above the Grand river. The 

 view from the entrance is wonderful. 

 Trains passing up and down the valley look 

 like mere toy cars. 



The walls of the chambers of the cave 

 look like polished marble. One of these 

 chambers, nearest the entrance, the bears 

 use for winter quarters. Others are used by 

 mountain sheep. It is evident they were 

 once also the hiding places of the dusky 

 Ute, for many arrow and spear heads have 

 been found in them. 



Two years ago I found the skeleton of a 

 large ram that had been killed by lions, the 

 winter before. There are many bear, lions, 

 mountain sheep, deer and grouse about 



there, but not many elk on the South side 

 of the river. When there was a bounty on 

 bear I used to get as many as 7 in a week, 

 with the aid of my dogs. I discovered this 

 cave in 1892, while prospecting, and have 

 located it as a mineral property. I have 

 never been able to get to it in the winter, 

 on account of the deep snow and the narrow 

 trail around the cliffs. 



W. H. Hubbard. 



A reader asks how to prepare skins to 

 keep the moth out of them. 



A pelt that is to be used must first be 

 tanned, by a professional tanner. After that 

 has been done, the skin should be stretched 

 on a board, skin side uppermost, sponged 

 with lukewarm water until it is quite soft, 

 and then it should have a coat of arsenical 

 soap, such as taxidermists use, mixed to 

 about the consistency of thin cream, so that 

 it can penetrate the skin to the roots of the 

 hair. This can be facilitated by rubbing the 

 skin vigorously, with a bit of smooth wood 

 to save the fingers from the soap. The soap 

 must penetrate the skin to the roots of the 

 hair, for it is there that insects work. It 

 is impossible to poison the hair itself with- 

 out making the fur dangerous to the users. 



Arsenical soap is the best thing in the 

 world to protect any skin from insects, for 

 when dry it gives off no powder. All tax- 

 idermists, doing custom work, keep it for 

 sale, and a pound goes a long way. Apply # 

 it with a common paint brush, the kind 

 called a "sash tool " being the best. A skin 

 should always be treated while fresh and 

 soft, unless it is to be used as a fur garment, 

 rug or robe. 



Seeing your invitation to coon hunters 

 to send in actual weights of coons, I gladly 

 respond, as I have been hunting them 6 

 years, in which time I have caught 157 

 coons. I keep a record of the weight of 

 every one caught. The largest one I ever 

 took weighed 21^ pounds, though I saw 

 one caught, by a friend, which weighed 24 

 pounds. 



I have often heard of coons weighing 35 

 and 40 pounds, " guess weight," but when 

 laid on the scales they seldom go 20 pounds. 

 They are very deceiving as to weight and 

 I may safely say the average weight of 

 coons, in this section, is 10 to 15 pounds. 

 G. V. B., Hackensack, N. J. 



As one of the court of inquiry to report 

 on the weight of the biggest coon, I beg to 

 report that among the many coons I have 

 secured, while trapping and buying furs in 

 this vicinity, the largest was one which I 

 bought of a local hunter and which weighed 

 29 pounds. E. L. R., Westville, Ind. 



