Fig. 40.

Wire the leg bones same as in a small mammal, using soft iron rod of sufficient size to support the specimen firmly. In our coyote a quarter-inch rod will be required. In a bobcat a three-sixteenths-inch rod will be large enough to support sturdily.

Bend the leg rods to fit the joints in position desired. Cut the rods of a length so that six or eight inches will protrude from the feet and eight or ten inches will remain free above to anchor to the body core. Bind the rods to the leg-bones with strong, light cord, doing the firmest wrapping near the joints.

Working over the body outline, cut a one-inch-thick board core that will set well within the outline. (See [Fig. 41].)

Fig. 41.

Cut a neck-rod of same size as for legs, having it twice as long as neck and head. Near one end of the neck-rod bend a jog to hold well when set with plaster of paris and chopped fiber into the brain cavity of the cleaned skull.