HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 
27 
neck. Smooth the feathers upon the various parts of the skin, 
and the specimen is ready for mounting. 
The method of mounting a bird .— Having furnished yourself 
with tow, cotton, needle and thread, annealed iron wire of a size 
proportionate to that of the bird to be mounted, and the neces¬ 
sary instruments, including a large and small forceps, file, pincers, 
wire cutters, scissors, etc., proceed to cut fine a quantity of tow 
sufficient to fill the neck. With the long forceps seize a small 
bunch of this and insert it up through the neck and deposit it un¬ 
der the bill: in this manner fill from beneath the lower mandible 
down to the breast taking care not to insert too much stuffing or 
to place it unevenly. Next cut three pieces of wire ; one a third 
longer than the total length of the body, for the main support, the 
the other two or three inches longer than the united length of the 
tarsus and fibula, for the leg supports ; also four smaller ones five 
inches in length, for setting the wings and winding purposes. 
Sharpen each of these with the file to a fine point. Take the 
longest piece and bend it .in three small rings, the distance be¬ 
tween the outer ones representing the length of the carcass of the 
bird, leaving one long and one short end, in the same manner as 
reccommended in stuffing small quadrupeds. Tow should be 
wound about the end containing the rings, and moulded into the 
natural form of the body. This being completed, place the long¬ 
est projecting end within the skin at the base of the neck stuffing, 
and holding the head of the bird in the left hand, letting the skin 
hang down, with the right, insert it up through the cut tow within 
the neck, and thence through the top of the skull. Care must be 
taken not to push too hard, for by so doing you may displace the 
stuffing, but rather twirl the wire between the thumb and forefinger, 
when it will be found to penetrate easily. The skin must then be 
drawn over the artificial body, and the leg wires placed in posi¬ 
tion. The latter is done by placing the pointed end upon the 
sole the foot, and foiling it up through the tarsus, between the 
skin and the bone, until it has reached the first joint. The leg 
bones should then be turned out again, when the wire will appear. 
It should then be forced up a little above the top of the fibula, 
and cotton wound about both. This should be made to resemble 
the form of the flesh, which has been removed, and bound about 
with thread to prevent it from slipping. The whole may then be 
turned back into its proper place. Now hold the protruding point 
