460 
WIRING SKINS. 
with tow (not cotton), and stuff the neck. If you use a stick for the neck, take a 
straight piece of dry and light wood, a little longer than the neck, but only about 
one-fourth the thickness of the neck cavity, sharpen it at both ends and wrap it with 
tow or cotton to a proper size for tilling the neck, but leave both pointed ends un¬ 
wrapped. Insert this covered stick into the neck, and push the small end or point 
into the cavity of the skull previously tilled with tow. Now you have the other 
pointed extremity of the artificial neck projecting into the body cavity. The next 
step is to make an artificial body,* which is done by rolling some tow, excelsior, moss 
or dried grass into a firm, flattened egg-shaped mass, not over two-thirds as large as 
the bird’s body, though very similar to it in shape, and wrapping it with strong 
string to keep it in the desired shape. Put the false body into the skin, and push 
the pointed end of neck stick into it until its covered part and the body meet. If 
any parts of the specimen are sunken, fill them out with tow to the proper size, sew 
up abdominal opening, cross the legs, tie on label and lay the specimen in'a cotton 
bed to dry. This method will answer for skins which are set with the necks straight, \ 
but you can of course turn the head fiat on the side with the bill pointing obliquely 
to the right or left. Ducks, hawks, owls, large woodpeckers, quail, grouse and snipo 
can be made up in the way last given, but always use a piece of wire rather than 
wood for the neck. 
Wiring Large Skins. 
Eagles, large hawks and owls, geese, swans, loons, cormorants, turkeys, large 
herons or other birds of- similar size, should have the necks, legs, wings and tails 
wired, as a guard against having any or all of these members accidentally torn from 
the body. This is done with five wires,f to wit: One for neck, sharp at one end ; 
another for wings, both ends pointed ; two for legs, each of these have one end sharp¬ 
ened, and the last, a short one, pointed at extremity for the tail. To make a skin up 
in this way the eyes and skull are first filled with tow. 
Then take the neck wire and wind tow around it until you have made a firm false 
neck and body of the required size, and put it inside of the skin, the point of the 
neck wire you can leave unwrapped and push it into the skull or even if it goes out 
of the top of the head no harm is done. Now take the leg wires, which should be 
long enough to extend the whole length of the legs when the pointed end is fastened 
in the body, and push them up the legs, enter each leg by pushing the wire, point 
first, in at the sole of its foot and as the wire is worked up, be careful to not break 
through the tarsal covering ; run each leg wire through the false body and fasten it 
by bending the end as shown in illustration (Fig. VI). Run wire in through base 
of tail and fasten in same way, and sew belly up. Fasten the wings by running wire 
through the body under the wing on each side and fasten the ends into wings at the 
wrists. 
The method of wiring last given should be followed when making skins of birds 
that have long necks or legs, like swans, geese, herons,cranes and loons. The legs 
of herons and cranes should be bent at heel so that the feet (toes being laid flat to 
prevent them from being broken oft') will lie upon the sides or belly. By wiring 
the legs they stay where placed, and are not likely to be broken off in handling. 
Always use annealed wire in the necks of herons, cranes, geese, swans or other 
birds having long necks. Do this so that by bending both the head and neck can be 
made to lie close to the side, breast or back as you may prefer. Skins may be made 
*The neck and body may be made in one mass by taking a piece of wire or a stick and wrapping it to 
proper size for filling neck and body. 
t The thickness of which must be governed by the size of the specimen you have in hand. Galvanized 
wire is the best as it does not rust ; use wire only about half as large as -would be employed if mounting 
the bird. 
