Make an extra strong lye, using the granulated lye and hot water, say one tablespoonful of lye to half pint of hot water. Give the whole horn a thorough bath in the mixture, and let it set about one hour; then take a stiff brush and give the horns a thorough washing; this cuts off all the dirt that has accumulated in the rough knotty parts. The horns should now be put in a barrel of water and let soak a day or two, to take off all the lye, then wash well using a stiff brush. Now take an old hand-saw and cut down through the skull, commencing one inch back of the horns and coming out at the eye sockets, being careful to saw straight through, so that when placed on a board they will set level. Take a two-inch pine block as wide as the skull and three inches longer, round off the top and bottom ends to suit the shape ox the skull, place the horns on the block, holding them there with the hands. Put it up against the wall and if the horns pitch too far forward take down and cut off from the front of the board, sloping it backwards until the horns hang at a proper pitch. Now drill about four holes through the skull, and screw the skull fast to the board. Take a dozen or more shingle nails and drive in the front of board an inch or more apart, leaving the heads sticking out. These are to hold the plaster paris, which is put on to level up before putting on the covering. After the nails are all in, mix some plaster paris and pour over the skull and around the edges to round it up in shape for the covering. After the plaster paris is partially hardened, smooth it by scraping down the high places, then let it dry. Take a piece of strong unbleached muslin large enough to stretch over the skull and board, tack the muslin on the back part of the skull board, then draw it down between the horns and tack it to the under side of the board at the lower end, drawing very tight; now commence at the edge of the muslin and cut straight in to the inner side of horns, round out a little for the horn, and proceed to draw it all down tight, and tack it on the under side of the block, being careful not to make any wrinkles in the covering; trim it off to the tacks on the under side. (Some prefer to have the muslin wet while putting it on.) We are now ready for the outer covering, which should be plush or velvet, and is put on in the same way as the first covering. It requires some skill to make a smooth job of the first; yet by going slow, any one should do a fair job. Next make a board to screw on the back of this, which should be made in diamond shape or rounding on both ends, and about six inches longer and one inch wider than the skull board; this should be made of walnut and nicely varnished; after it has thoroughly dried fasten it tight to skull board with screws, counter-sinking their heads. Bore one hole at each end of the base board and counter-sink them; then screw it to the wall. Varnish the rough part of the horns and let them dry; then take some chenille or tinsel cord to trim around the butt of the horns and around the back part or edge of the skull board. Tack it on with upholstering tacks. Cow horns and sheep horns are mounted in the same manner. The sheep horns should be cleaned with the lye, as directed for the deer horns, but no scraping or polishing is necessary; they look better rough. The cow horns should be polished, as directed on page [102], before they are put on the board. No polished horn should be varnished.

POLISHING HOOFS OF VARIOUS KINDS.

The cow hoof takes a high polish, and a number of useful articles can be made of them—which are not only useful, but quite a novelty. Take a pair of cow hoofs, which are neither bruised nor scaled, rasp them down in good shape, then scrape, sand-paper and polish the same as directed in polishing horns. The hoofs should be good matches, and both from the same foot. Bore or drill two holes in one of them on the inner side, about one-half inch apart, and place the two hoofs side by side on a level board, seeing that the toes are even with each other. Take a piece of wire or an awl and put through the holes in the hoof and mark the place to make the holes on the other, so that when they are wired together they will set even with each other. Drill small holes around the tops, say a quarter of an inch apart; take a piece of malleable wire of sufficient size and draw it through the holes in the sides of the hoofs, drawing them firmly together, and twist the ends of the wire together; this will hold them in place. Bind the upper edge of hoofs with piece of cloth, sewing through the holes drilled for that purpose. Stuff each hoof with tow or moss, and stuff with any goods to suit your fancy, silk plush, velvet, etc. Put the filling in tight and let it come above the level of hoof to make the cover rounding, then drawn down tight. Draw the edges of the cover down and sew them with a strong thread to the binding. Take a piece of fancy cord or ribbon and tack it around the edge of the cover and you have a fancy pin cushion. To make a match safe or tooth-pick case, polish the hoofs, wire together, and drill the holes around the edge as before; then take some glue and spread it well over the inside of each hoof; cut some red flannel to fit the inside and press it in with your fingers until it is all smooth; cut it off at the edge of top of hoof, and bind the edges with ribbon. This makes a very pretty match safe or tooth-pick case. All hoofs are polished in the same manner. Should the hoofs not set level after they are put together, take a coarse piece of sand-paper and tack or hold it on a level board, set the bottom of the hoofs on it and rub round and round until they do set level. It would be best to attend to this as soon as they are fastened together.

ARTICLE XIII.
ACORNS, TIPS FOR HORNS, ETC.

A nickel-plated acorn, as shown in the accompanying cut, makes a very fine finish on the point of a polished horn. B is a wire stem attached to the acorn, and is intended for fastening it to the horn. They are made as follows: If made of metal, they are cast on the stem and then turned. If brass, they are polished; but if iron, turned and then bronzed, painted or nickel-plated. If made of horn, first put in the stem and then turn and polish them. To put them on the horn, saw off the point of the horn, drill a hole in the end of same, the size of the stem, put a little glue in the hole and drive the stem in tight. The horn should be polished before putting the knob on. Round knobs are also very nice, put on in the same way. This way of putting them on is much better and easier than the old way of screwing them on.

ARTICLE XIV.
RECEIPTS FOR VARIOUS PREPARATIONS USED IN THE PRESERVATION AND SETTING UP OF ANIMALS, FOWLS, ETC.

SOLUTION OF CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE.

Corrosive sublimate1 teaspoonful
Alcohol½pint

Mix and let stand twelve hours, and it is ready for use.