SKINNING, PRESEEVING, AND MOUNTING BEPTILES. 189 



detacLing the liead from tlie body. Tlie knife or scissors 

 must tlien be run a little way down tlie back, to detacb tlie 

 skin. Tlie neck being now entirely free, lay the knife down, 

 and endeavour to push the broken or cut part of the neck up 

 through the mouth ; seize the end with your right-hand 

 fingers and gradually slide the skin down with your left hand, 

 turning it inside out until the vent is reached, which care- 

 fully cut away; beyond this the skin, instead of coming off 

 easily, holds most tenaciously to the flesh, and the knife again 

 comes into play to free it all around. Near the extreme tip of 

 the tail it will be almost impossible to get the flesh out, you 

 must therefore skin as far as you can, and then make a small 

 incision underneath, lay back the skin on each side, and cut the 

 flesh away. This operation will bring the outside of that part 

 inside. Return it, and neatly sew up the cut from the inside, 

 trim away all flesh from the skull bone, take out the eyes, put a 

 stitch in the vent, and anoint the whole of the skin with the 

 preservative. To return the skin, push a small round stick down 

 and pull the skin back on it ; when nearing the tail, the stick 

 may be removed and the fingers used to gradually work this end 

 through, or tie a small piece of wool to form a knot on the end 

 of a piece of doubled thread, and push it through by a long fine 

 needle from the inside to the out, at the same time allowing the 

 needle to come through, by doubling up the skin. You may 

 reach the needle with your fingers, or by long pliers, or even 

 shake it down by its own weight, then by pulling gently you 

 retui-n the skin effectually. 



To stuff the snake insert a funnel in the mouth, and fill the 

 skin through this with fine dry sand, or dry plaster of Paris, 

 taking great care to shake the sand well down, and fill in every 

 part in a regular and natural manner. On nearing the head, 

 push a piece of wool in the mouth to prevent the sand from 

 running back, and then adjust the snake to the position you 

 require, leaving the head to be modelled last with clay, putty, 

 or plaster, then remove the wool and make up the throat and 

 inside of the mouth. The natural tongue should be left in, and 

 displayed with fine entomological pins pushed in the hollow 

 underneath, and, if shown open-mouthed, the fangs must be 

 dropped, and the head raised, as in the attitude of striking. 



