Home Taxidermy for Pleasure and Profit / A Guide for Those Who Wish to Prepare and Mount Animals, Birds, Fish, Reptiles, etc., for Home, Den, or Office Decoration

by Albert Burton Farnham

The first three items are often combined, in the case of a bluebird for instance, 7-12-4, the order being understood.

Unless the plumage plainly indicates the sex this should be assured by examination of the skinned body. By making an opening in the side of this near the back bone the inside surface of the small of the back is exposed. In the case of the male there will be visible two rounded bodies, varying in size with the season and species, and in the female a flattened mass of spheres.

After labeling and fastening the bill together with a pin or thread the skin should be slipped inside a paper tube to dry. Water birds with long slender necks should have the head bent around beside the body and the long legs of waders are bent at the ankle and left resting on the body; this to prevent breakage.

Duck, geese and any fat birds need the inside of the skins well scraped, sponged with gasoline, partly filled with plaster paris and left for several hours so all grease may be absorbed. This grease should be removed prior to applying the preservative as it will prevent any effectual penetration by the latter.

After cleaning either the inside or out of a skin with plaster it will be necessary to gently beat it with a whisk broom or something similar to dislodge the particles of plaster. A current of air (from a bicycle pump, for instance) will remove the dust from the feathers when dry.

Fewest dry scientific skins are made up from the quadrupeds, but in case the matter of transportation prevents wet preservation or they are wanted dry the all around taxidermist must practice at making them up also. Like the bird skin they should be thoroughly rid of flesh and fat after skinning but do not require such finical handling. Rinsing in water with a little washing powder or soda added will remove blood stains and some grease but the benzine bath with the drying after, as recommended in the chapter on tanning, etc., will be needed in case of very fat specimens.

All small animals are made up about the same as birds, wrapping the leg bones in tow, oakum or cotton and filling out the body with the same material. The skull cleaned and poisoned had best be put in the centre of the body with the filling, when it can be found at any time by ripping a few of the stitches.

The skin of the head is filled out with the same material and the tail may either be bent up under the body or drawn together by a few stitches around a wrapped wire extending into the body half its length. Of course the operator will see that the entire inner surface of the skin is treated liberally with some preservative, arsenical paste preferably, before the filling process.

After stitching up the opening cut the skin is laid on a board, back up and the legs neatly disposed, the front feet beside the head and the hind ones drawn back beside the tail. The feet are fastened with a pin each and after smoothing down the fur with a small metal fur comb the skin is laid aside in an airy, shady place until fully dry.