Barbers' Manual (Part 1); Text Book on Taxidermy (Part 2)

by T. J. McConnaughay

Never be afraid of charging a good price for a well dressed specimen.

Always use the best material, such as eyes, tow, cotton, wire, etc.

Always try to improve on each specimen you dress that you may excel others in the art.

TANNING HIDES WITH HAIR ON.

Very little has ever been written in regard to tanning skins with the hair on. Indeed we may say there is scarcely any literature on the subject, and this article must necessarily be very brief. Tanning with the hair on is always somewhat difficult, but of course, some hides are more difficult to tan than others. As an average, I will here give directions for tanning a dog hide. The same process obtains in the tanning of other hides. The only difference being in the length of time required which must be regulated to suit each case. We will start with the skin on the dog's back, and hence the first operation will be the skinning process. To begin, make an incision from middle of under lip back along the median line to the tip of the tail. Then make an incision from the middle of each foot along the inner side of the leg to the median line, and proceed to skin, being careful not to cut holes in the hide, and at the same time to leave no flesh sticking to the skin.

When skinning the head cut the gristle of the ear back close to the skull and separate the skin as near out to the point of the ear as possible. Unless this skin is separated, it is difficult to tan the ears without losing the hair, especially in warm weather. Be very careful not to cut the eyelids; skin on over the nose and cut loose from the body.

Then go over the pelt and remove every particle of flesh which may have been left on the skin, and be especially careful around the nose and mouth. All the bones of the feet should be removed except the bones of the toes. Next bathe the nose, ears, feet and tail with the preserving fluids used in taxidermy. If you have none of the fluid, use plenty of arsenic and alum, and then stretch the hide on a floor with the hair side down and tack all the parts so that they will be stretched perfectly smooth, after which salt all over thoroughly. Let it remain until perfectly dry, and then take a piece of coarse sand-paper and rub it down smooth and clear of any remaining vestige of fleshy particles.

Or instead of the preceding modus operandi, remove the pelt from the floor when about dry, and lay it on a fleshing beam and with a fleshing knife scrape off all remaining flesh and grease. Should there be grease that cannot be removed with fleshing knife, tack hide back on the floor and spread about three gallons of sawdust over it and rub thoroughly. Clean the skin and cover again with salt, and when dry sand-paper as directed above. Next place in warm water to soften it, and when soft wash it thoroughly with soap. Then rinse and wring it, and put it into the following liquid which should be contained in a wooden vessel. The liquid consists of one gallon of soft warm water, one-half ounce of commercial sulphuric acid, and one-third of a pound of corn starch. After compounding, this liquid should be stirred about ten minutes before the skin is introduced. When the pelt is put in, it should be pressed well under, and stirred with a wooden paddle for thirty minutes or until it begins to thicken and turn a dark reddish color. Then take it out and hang it up, and let it drain about thirty minutes, after which put it into a weak lye made either from wood ashes or from concentrated lye which may be bought in any grocery store; strain the liquid before putting the hide in. Stir the hide in this lye about thirty minutes again, or until you are satisfied the lye has had time to neutralize the acid from the preceding bath. The object of this latter bath is to counteract the acid effect of the former. Take out of the lye and hang up and let it drain about one hour, and then give it a thorough washing on a wash-board with plenty of soap and warm water. Rinse perfectly clean and again hang up to drain. When the hair is nearly dry, tack it again on the floor taking care to stretch it into proper shape. When partly dry take it up and rub and pull it until soft, which completes the tanning. We are then ready to place the skull in position. After skinning the head, remove the brains and eyeballs, and then boil the skull until all the flesh can be scraped from the bones. The skull being ready, fill the eye sockets with plaster paris made with water into the consistency of a plaster, and then set in a pair of suitable glass eyes, being careful to so adjust them as to give them the appearance of natural eyes.

The under jaw should be wired to the upper, or bound securely to it by a small cord or wire. Saw the skull and back corners of under jaw off, so that when the sawed surface is fastened down flat on a board, the nose will be somewhat elevated from the floor, while the back part of the skull will lie on the floor. Fasten the skull to the small boards with wire, and then stretch the skin over it. Soak only the skin of the head in water, and sew up the mouth by drawing the lower lips up under the upper in the natural way. The skin should be inside out while the lips are being sewed. If in the process of skinning you have cut the skin clear out through the lip, it must be sewed together far enough to inclose the skull and the under board, which should not extend more than two inches back of the skull. Build out the end of the nose with plaster paris to make it natural shape and draw the skin over the skull. Be very careful to have the nose and eyes all right. Tack the skin to the under side of the board which should in width correspond to the thickness of the dog's neck. The edges of the neck skin should be sutured together under the board and tacked to it. Cut the skin, which is lapped under, following the line of back end of board out to the side edges of the board. Turn this flap out and sew the underlying end to the upper skin, or to the skin of back of neck, and close to the back end of board; this brings the skin on a level of under side of board; now round off the turned out flap so as to conform with the line of the neck and fore legs; the head will now need some stuffing to round it up in proper shape. Take some cotton and put it in through the ears with a wire, placing it where needed to give the head a proper shape; arrange the skin around the eyes, nose and mouth; then let dry before lining. Put a good supply of the alcohol and corrosive sublimate on the ears, nose and lips, as soon as head is dressed. Now for the lining, procure a sufficient amount of felt to line it, say of a dark green color; then get enough to make a strip one and a half inches wide and long enough to go around the edge of hide; this should be an orange color.

Take this strip and pink one edge of it, then baste the lining on to skin letting the edges of it project about two inches out from edge of hide. Now comb the hair around the edges of hide back towards the center of same. Then take the pinked strip and lay it on the hair side of skin, the smooth edge along the edge of the hide and the pinked edge laying back on the hair; then sew the pinked strip, lining and hide together, running close to the edge of hide. Now turn the pinked strip out on to the projecting lining and sew another seam around just out side of the hide, thus sewing the lining and the pinked strip together. Now pink the out edge of lining to suit your taste; then take some yarn or zephyr and knot the lining and hide together, the same as in knotting a comfort, and the job is complete.