Practical taxidermy

by Montagu Browne

Leaving this, go now to the head of the fish, and, holding down the skin of the back, which is now flat on the table, run the fingers of the right hand, especially the thumb, right down the whole length of the fish to the tail, in order to loosen all from the underneath to the front of the fish, when the whole will be free up to the two ventral fins, which you may cut away, as it were, with your finger nails, leaving the attached flesh to be trimmed away afterwards. The only part which now holds to the skin is that near the head, as also the under one of the pectoral fins; this latter must be carefully cut away, as the skin is very thin about here, and is rather awkward to get at.

Now let the fingers of both hands come into requisition, and let them meet under the head. Regaining the large knife, with it sever the bone of the head cutting toward you. If this is properly performed, the cutting edge of the knife will touch the gills; be careful in this, that your knife does not slip and go too far into the underneath skin. Various internal organs will now appear, holding fast to the skin; these must be cut through with the knife, and the effect should be that the whole of the body comes out in a piece. [Footnote: The beginner may, however, for greater facility of handling, cut the body of a large fish into sections, and remove them piece by piece as he progresses.] For larger fish, say one of 20 lb. or more, I recommend splitting the flesh longitudinally or vertically, and getting out each section separately.

The skin now being free from the body, scrape away all the small pieces of flesh that are still adhering inside the skin, down the centre, and around the fins and tail. Those fin-bones (inter-spinous bones) which protrude inside may be cut fairly short with the scissors, and the flesh nicely scraped off from each side. What flesh is left on the tail must be carefully cut away with the aid of the knife, scissors, and shears, care being taken also to free the bone to the very end, and yet not to disturb the scales underneath. A considerable amount of scraping, coaxing, and undercutting will have to be done here.

Having well freed the fins of flesh, turn your attention to the head: make a cut along the side of the under jaw, then cut away the gills at their top and bottom attachments and pull them out, if you do not wish them ultimately to show. When this is done you will become aware that there is still remaining a piece of the vertebra leading up into the head; take the large knife and chop it to the underneath; it will then lift up, exposing what little brain the fish has. Cut this piece off before it enters the palate; and then, by clearing away a little flesh, you come to the eye, which take hold of with your finger and pull out. You will now see several small cavities filled with flesh running up to the sides of the face, cheeks, etc..

The scraper or undercutting knife will now come into use, and small pieces of flesh must be laboriously cleared out. After this tool has well loosened and partly cut away the intervening flesh, the fingers may be advantageously used to work with, by being pushed in at the orbits of the eyes, to pull out the loose pieces of flesh. (Note that, in doing this, it is as well to be careful not to cut your fingers with the edges of the small bones of the head, nor with the palatal or lingual teeth.)

The operator must not forget during work to keep the fins well damped, otherwise they rapidly dry and split, as I have before observed.

Running between and from the pectoral fins a thick, fleshy process continues right up underneath the jaw. As the included flesh is contained in a remarkably thin silvery skin, extraordinary care is necessary in freeing this from the flesh, so the knife, the scraper, and the fingers will all have to come into play. It is held at the extreme end under the jaw by a thin bone, which, though skinned to its under part, must not be cut away, but left slightly attached.

A little sand at this stage is useful to rub the fingers in, to prevent them slipping, when pulling out small pieces of flesh. The pectoral fins are, of all, the most awkwardly situated to skin out, coming, as they do, at the bottom of the pectoral process, and they must be left with their bones attached, and the flesh be scraped away from between the two fins, and underneath each one, until nothing remains. Carefully attend to the latter part of these instructions, or the final result will be anything but creditable.

Some flesh now lies between two skins along the sides of the fish's gums, between the tongue and the teeth; a hole must be cut inside at the back part of the head below the eye, the crooked scraper inserted, and all the flesh dragged out bit by bit. Remember, this is merely a thin membrane, and the slightest awkwardness ruptures it; in large fish, however, the finger may be introduced with advantage, to pull out pieces of flesh. Many taxidermists cut the whole of this away, and replace it with plaster; but if the fish's mouth is to be left open it never looks so well as if done by this method.

Cut under the tongue from the outside, and scrape out the flesh, fill up with putty, and sew up neatly.