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2. MAMMALS. 
The mode of preparing mammals is precisely the same as the pro- 
ceeding, in all its general features. Care should be taken not to make 
too large an incision along the abdomen. The principal difficulty will 
be experienced in skinning the tail. To effect this, pass the slip-knot 
of a piece of strong twine over the severed end of the tail, and, fasten- 
ing the vertebras firmly to some support, pull the twine towards the 
tip until the skin is forced off. Should the animal be large, and an 
abundance of preservative not at hand, the skin had better remain 
inverted. In all cases, it should be thoroughly and rapidly dried. 
Skins may also be preserved, for a time, in spirits, in the absence of 
other preservative. This would, at all events, be better than their 
drying, especially in localities abounding in noxious insects. 
For the continued preservation of hair or fur of animals against 
the attacks of moths and other destructive insects, it will be necessary 
to soak the skins in a solution of corrosive sublimate in alcohol or 
whiskey, allowing them to remain from one day to several weeks, 
according to the size. After removal, the hair must be thoroughly 
washed or rinsed in clean water, to remove as much as possible of 
the sublimate; otherwise, exposure to light will bleach all the colors. 
In some instances, large skins may be preserved by being salted 
down in casks. 
With regard to the tails of mammalia, it may be well to remark 
that in some it can never be forced off in the common way of doing 
this operation. This is particularly the case with beavers, opossums, 
and those species which use their tail for prehension or locomotion. 
Here the tail is usually supplied with numerous tendinous muscles, 
which require it to be skinned by making a cut along the lower sur- 
face or right side of that organ, nearly from one end to the other, and 
removing the bone and flesh. It should then be sewed up again, after 
a previous stuffing. 
3. REPTILES. 
The larger lizards, as those exceeding twelve or eighteen inches in 
length, may be skinned according to the principles above presented, 
although preservation in spirit, when possible, is preferable for all 
reptiles. 
Large frogs and salamanders may likewise be skinned, although 
cases where this will be advisable are very rare. 
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