146 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY. 



second system, also removing tlie skull, and treating it and 

 the skin of the head as before. Procure now a piece of deal 

 2in. square, and of the length which you wish your animal 

 to assume when finished, calculating from the centre of the 

 chest to the tail. In this wood fix a strong iron rod, or wire, 

 at one end, by boring two holes through it at some distance 

 apart, and pushing the end of the wire in at one hole, then 

 beating it down and clenching it through the other. The 

 bar of wood now represents the backbone, and tlie wire the 

 neck of the animal. Point the wire and push it up into the 

 skull, which model up as before, binding tow round the wire 

 underneath to roughly form a neck somewhat smaller than 

 you intend it to be when finished. Pull the skin over this, 

 and adjust it so that you may see the places on the wooden 

 backbone where the fore and hind limbs will come. Having 

 marked the position of these, pull back the skin up to the 

 neck, and bore holes through the wood, at right angles to the 

 other holes made for the neck wire. 



Taking now four rods or wires for the legs, point each at 

 one end, and screw the other with "nuts" to fit the screws, 

 bend each rod for Tin. or more, at a sharp angle, at its screwed 

 end, and push the pointed end down the fore legs from the 

 inside, so that the points come through the ball of each foot, 

 and having stuffed and bent the fore-legs into shape, push 

 the screwed part into, and through, the corresponding holes 

 in the artificial backbone ; screwing on the " nuts " on the 

 opposite sides, which will of course prevent the rods from 

 pulling through again. Finish the stuffing of the neck and 

 chest, and coming along the body repeat the same process 

 with the hind limbs as with the fore. Greater steadiness can 

 be attained if required, by using two "nuts" instead of one 

 to each rod, that is to say, one on each side of the wood, 

 No. 1 being screwed on first, the arm of the rod then pushed 

 through the hole, and " nut " No. 2 screwed up to its bearing. 



For a nearly tail-less animal, such as the bear, it will be 

 sufficient to drive a strong wire through the stump of the 

 tail from the outside, to hold in the end of the " backbone," 

 but a long-tailed animal will require to have the tail-bearer 

 inserted in the wood, in the same manner as the neck wire. 



