60 
cotton inward to the centre with forceps, push the ends inward until the 
exact body length is secured, using the skinned body as a guide (Figure 17). 
The anterior end of the tail wire may be bent up a little and slipped inside 
the cut along the abdomen. 
Grasping the cotton head-filler firmly at each side with the forceps 
(Figure 18), insert it through the opening cut and make it go to the extreme 
tip of nose. Follow this with the cotton body, shoving one end firmly into 
the hollow at the base of the cotton head and tucking the rear end of body 
neatly around the hips. Arrange the legs in natural position, the loosely 
wrapped ends lying fiat against the body filler (Figure 18). 
a pit . ce of ob/ong cotton 
fo the circumference of the body 
'at\ 
V*' '''• 
V -: V ^ 
Turn bo/A ends of the co/Axn inward to /be 
centre svi/A forceps 
Clu 1 '~" ' ■' ' 
- ... 
TUsA ends inward until exact body length is 
secured 
using the 
body as a 
guide 
Figure 17. Making artificial body for a small mammal skin. 
Before sewing up the skin, see that the ends of leg cotton lie parallel 
along the body, adjust a thin layer of cotton over the end of the tail wire, 
and put a little extra padding where necessary around the base of the tail, 
sides of the shoulders, etc. A common fault is to have the hips break off 
abruptly and leave a shrunken space around the base of the tail. Tie the 
end of the thread into the skin at the first stitch, as a knot often pulls 
through. A common practice is to catch a little lump of loose cotton in a 
slip knot at the end of the thread to make a stop knot, but care should be 
taken that this does not form a lump under the skin. Sew up the opening, 
beginning at either end of the slit, using the baseball stitch (Figure 19) 
from one side to the other, putting the needle from inside of skin to outside, 
and taking care not to catch any tufts of hair in the stitches. When all 
the stitches are in place, gradually draw the edges of the opening together, 
carefully take up the slack in the thread, and make the end fast by an 
extra stitch and knot. It is generally more unhandy to draw each stitch 
tight as it is made, as the overlapping feathers or hairs get in the way of 
the next stitch. 
