Cut the neck off. Clean out jaw meat, tongue, and brain. Turn head right side out and with a stiff wire hook pull out the eyeballs.
Skin legs clear to toes and remove flesh cleanly from bones.
Skin tail out carefully. In many species this has to be split on under side to remove bone. Dry the shell out with a bit of rag.
Poison well with arsenic water and let stand over one night, covered with a damp cloth.
A simple method of mounting turtles, that will be found satisfactory for decorative work, is clearly shown in Figs. [27] and [28].
Fig. 27.
A light tow neck is wrapped upon the neck-wire, which is cut about twice the length of the head and neck-skin, and has a small loop bent into it near its outer end, to set into the brain cavity and a loop by front and one by back end of belly opening to hold leg-wires. The front end is run out through the nose. Legs are wired as in a mammal with wires bound firmly to bones with thread or cord. Bones are then covered with a light wrapping of tow, placed lightly and smoothly. This serves only as a core to the filling. Tail is wrapped upon wire to natural size.