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most mammals, particularly the glossy, dark-haired species, fresh blood on 
the hair is not such a serious matter, as blood stains are usually removable 
by washing in cold water. Grease should be removed, as it will ooze out by 
capillary attraction, colour the hair or feathers a dirty yellow, gather dust, 
and ultimately “burn" the skin, causing it to disintegrate. The removal of 
grease is expedited by the addition of a pinch of washing soda (sal soda, 
sodium carbonate, Na 2 C0 3 ) or a little soap to the basin of water. The hair 
may be sponged clean with a wet rag, using several waters if necessary, 
and the fur dried by application of a little dry sawdust, or by rolling the 
skin in sawdust, which may be shaken or beaten out. An excess of grease 
in the skin, hair, or feathers of a small specimen that is to be made up at 
once may be washed or sponged out with high-grade white gasoline, ben- 
zene, or carbon tetrachloride (CHC1 4 ). Carbon tetrachloride has the 
advantage of being non-inflammable. Acetone (C 2 H 6 0) alone or in com- 
bination with either of the above is an even better agent for sponging off 
blood or grease, but it is very volatile and both the liquid and the gas 
are very inflammable. Huber (1930) recommends a mixture of gasoline, 
alcohol, and turpentine (See page 104), 1 
Tight-coloured or white animals, with soft, tubular hair, such as 
antelope, bighorn, and white sheep, should be kept free from blood if pos- 
sible, as the hairs soak up the blood and in spite of repeated washings 
enough blood will remain to mark the spot. The white fox can be cleaned, 
but hares are more difficult. The ptarmigan in winter plumage is very 
difficult to clean perfectly, but white gulls and other water birds are, on 
the other hand, rather easy to renovate. Collectors for the Royal Ontario 
Museum of Zoology have recently been using powdered borax for absorbing 
blood on feathers of recently killed birds. When the borax has dried it may 
be brushed out with a toothbrush, usually leaving the feathers clean and 
fluffy. 
Pins , Needles , and Thread 
A paper or two of ordinary white pins (nickled brass) should be on 
hand for wrapping up bird skins, and may be used for pinning out mammal 
skins to dry, but for the latter purpose, sharp, black-headed steel pins or 
black steel (japanned) insect pins (No. 3 or larger) are much more satis- 
factory, as they are more slender, leave smaller holes in the skin, and do 
not spread the toes so much. They are, also, sharper and the fingers may 
become sore sticking many dull pins into a drying board. At least five 
hundred steel pins will be needed for active collecting, and they can be 
used again and again. A large sheet of flat cork, such as entomologists use, 
will be found very useful to pin out small mammals for drying. For field 
use, it is convenient to keep pins in small desk pin-holders. 
A paper of assorted sewing needles, or lots of sizes 2 to 8, should be 
kept on hand, as needles are easily lost and are often broken in sewing 
skins. A few glover’s needles (three-cornered) often are useful in sewing 
heavy skins. Two or three heavy sail needles and a curved bagging needle 
are handy for baling up heavy skins for shipment, and a ball or two of 
heavy cotton twine, coarse bagging twine, and a quantity of heavier 
manila cord should also be kept on hand for various purposes. A sail- 
maker’s sewing palm will be found useful in sewing heavy skins, bags, 
repairing tents, pack saddles, and dog harness, etc. 
1 Liquid or powdered detergents give excellent results provided all clotted blood has been 
removed from the feathers or hair. Rinse well in dear water, blot skin on dry cloth or paper 
towels, and dry it in an air-stream from an electric fan or a vacuum cleaner with blower attachment. 
Shake the skin while drying to make the feathers or fur fluffy. 
