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THE DOLPHIN, PORPOISE, ETC. 



The structure of these animals, as well as of the other species 

 of the first family of this order, differs but little in general struc- 

 ture. 



In skinning these, an incision is made under the chin, and con- 

 tinued to the extremity of the tail ; the skin is then detached 

 right and left with the scalpel, or a sharp knife. When the skin 

 has been cut back as far as possible, disengage the vertebrae at the 

 tail, and this will enable the operator to detach the skin from the 

 back ; the vertebrae are now cut close to the head, and the whole 

 carcase removed. / 



All this tribe have a thick layer of fat under their skin. In the 

 operation of skinning it requires considerable dexterity to leave 

 this fat, or blabber, adhering to the carcase. Practice alone will 

 obviate this, When this has not been properly managed in the 

 skinning, %h® only thing to be done afterwards is to scrape it 

 thorough'/ with a knife. The oil which flows from it, during 

 its operation, must be soaked up with bran, or plaster of Paris. 



There being no muscular projections in the skin of the Porpoise, 

 there is no use for wires in mounting it. A narrow piece of wood 

 the length of the body is quite sufficient to keep the skin stretched, 

 and stuffed either with tow or hay. Some months are necessary 

 to render it perfectly dry and stiff, from its greasy nature. The 

 grease almost always leaves some disagreeable looking spots on 

 the skin. To remove these, and prevent a recurrence of them, 

 powdered pumice-stone steeped in olive oil, is rubbed thickly on 

 the skin with a hand-brush. It is then gone over a second time 

 with emery and oil. It is rubbed in this way till the skin has a 

 glossy appearance, when it may be rubbed dry with a woolen 

 cloth ; and to complete the polish, a clean woolerf cloth may b$ 

 applied with some force to complete the gloss, which is natural 

 to the skin in a living state. 



Where a very glossy appearance is wished, varnishes beconu 

 necessary, but some difficulty has been experienced in getting 

 these to remain attached to the skin in all weathers, because the 

 humidity of rainy seasons melts gum-arabic when it is used as a 

 varnish, and when white varnish is applied, both it and the gum- 

 arabic fall off in pieces. To prevent the gum from falling off in 



