SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS. 145 



sions and ridges. Turning the nose up, fill the nostrils and 

 bag of the lips with putty or clay, being careful to show up 

 all the wrinkles (the division in the chin, if one exists), and, in 

 fine, generally modelling and filling out with putty or clay, of 

 which you will use several pounds if you are working on a large 

 head. 



Sew up the lips, or perhaps a better plan is to enter a skin 

 needle, charged with strong string, in at the lower lip, and 

 bring the string around wires driven in at the front and sides 

 of the nose inside, pulling your string over from side to side, 

 and making a final stitch in the most convenient situation. 

 Nicely insert the eyes, bringing the upper lids over, so as not 

 to give too staring an appearance to the animal, and hang the 

 head up to dry by firmly attaching a very strong hook of wire 

 to the oval block, or by a small rope tied round the horns at 

 their base. Note that the horns of goats, antelopes, &c., and 

 bulls and cows are set on a bony core, and must come off to 

 prevent an offensive effiuvium. Placing the skull in a hot bed 

 has been recommended, boiling will sometimes fetch the horns 

 off, but it very often happens that nothing but time will loosen 

 them. When this occurs wash the cores and horns with carbolic 

 wash (No. 15, page 77). 



The student may, if he likes, fill in the eyelids, bags of the 

 upper and lower lips, and nostrils with putty or clay before 

 drawing the skin on the head ; but in this case he will have to 

 sew the inner to the upper skins, in addition to which he will 

 find many things occui' in drawing on and shaping the skin to- 

 render 'most of his labour useless if these parts are modelled 

 first instead of last. 



The following system, the fourth, differs from all the preceding- 

 in there being erected a sort of framework on which to mount 

 the skin, and hence is in use only for large animals. As an 

 illustration let us take the bear (which was the last large animal 

 I caused to be set up by this method). 



Skin as before, subsequently removing the leg bones and 

 head, and modelling as in the second system, or working by^' 

 the first method, according to your degree of proficiency. To 

 do such an animal as a bear, however, you should remove all 

 the bones of the legs, and skin to the toes, as directed in the- 



