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pad of cotton is put under the stick to form the back, and a fair-sized roll 
of cotton along each side, as described in the method for owls (Figure 42). 
The legs are wrapped and wings stitched in place as with other birds. The 
skin of body and neck is considerably flattened dorso-ventrally, and the 
skin wrapped with cheesecloth to dry. Small herons are made up in the 
same general manner (Figure 41). 
Dill’s Method with Waterfowl Skins 
Professor Homer R. Dill, Director of Museum of Natural History, 
University of Iowa, Iowa City, who has had long experience in the field 
as well as in mounting specimens from old skins, does not approve of 
bending the necks of duck, goose, or swan skins. He states that bent 
necks of waterfowl are apt to cause trouble if the skin has to be mounted 
later, as the bend will show as a crease and the short neck feathers 
become loose when the taxidermist relaxes a skin that has been dried in 
bends and tries to work it over. Relaxing bird skins does not work the 
same as with mammal skins, and some of the feathers may be lost. The 
waterfowl skins put up in recent years by Professor Dill and some of his 
pupils are exceptionally fine. He prefers to salt the skin for a few weeks, 
degrease it thoroughly in the laboratory, and make up the skin with the 
neck straight in line with the body, with as little stretching as possible, 
and the head slightly turned to right side and the beak turned a little 
upwards and forwards. 
Treatment of Owl Skins 
It is well known that the eyes of owls are abnormally large and for- 
ward-looking. The eyeballs are stiffened with bony plates, and project in 
such a way that it is impossible to regain the natural facial expression if 
the eyeballs are removed from the skull. After the head is skinned, cut 
away the transparent cornea in front of pupil and iris, and with small 
forceps and a wad of cotton force all the liquid contents from the eyeball. 
The inside may be dried out with sawdust or cornmeal, and preservative 
should not be omitted. Instead of stuffing out the eyes from the inside, 
the head skin should be turned back and smooth round lumps of cotton 
wedged into the front of the emptied eyeballs, through the eyelids. The 
external ear openings of owls are extremely large and if they have been cut 
off too close to the surface on the inside may need a stitch or two to 
close them. 
Because the owl looks forward instead of to the side as most birds do, 
the face of the skin should be arranged to look upward, and Mr. H. M. 
Laing has kindly demonstrated the superiority of his method. A square 
cut is made in the base of the skull, somewhat larger than with ordinary 
birds. The supporting stick of the false neck is thrust into the lower 
posterior part of the skull instead of into the throat, and the stick is 
retained in place by a large button of cotton tied over the end. A bunch 
of cotton or excelsior is laid under the stick along the median line and a 
larger roll on each side. The bunches of filling are held in place by thread 
wrapped around them, crossing the body (Figure 42). The elbow joints 
are tied together at the proper distance, or the “Chapin stitch” taken 
through the scapular tracts. The owl is an awkward, angular bird, with 
