Let us suppose we are fitting up a taxidermic laboratory in which to mount all kinds of vertebrate animals, great and small. To begin with, we must have a good room, if possible 15 X 25 feet, or even larger, with good light, a high ceiling, and an abundant supply of water. There must be somewhere a storeroom for bulky materials, and a drying-room for freshly mounted specimens. There must be provided somewhere, for the wet mammal skins, a big, box-like tank lined with sheet lead, for very large objects, and some alcohol barrels for smaller ones. These must be provided with tight covers, or the salt-and-alum bath will evaporate with great rapidity.
After the above, our laboratory will require the following
Furniture and Fixtures.—A heavy work-table, 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 2 feet 6 inches high; top 1-1/2 inch thick.
A tool case and chest of drawers.
A stove, a chopping-block, a heavy bench vise.
A grindstone, a blacksmith's anvil, and portable forge.
A water-tight platform on castors, on which to stand large mammals that are wet and dripping.
Tools.
| 2 killing-knives. | 1 machinist's hammer. |
| 2 cartilage-knives. | 1 hatchet, to lend. |
| 1 pair shears, and 1 pair fine scissors. | 1 sharp hatchet, to use. |
| 1 draw-shave, adjustable handles. | 1 cold chisel. |
| 2 skin-scrapers, of sizes. | 1 set stone-cutter's chisels. |
| 3 gouges, of sizes. | 1 punch. |
| 3 chisels, of sizes. | 1 tap wrench. |
| 1 screw-driver. | 1 pair calipers. |
| 1 2-foot rule. | 1 set of hack saws, for iron and brass. |
| 1 tape-measure, 12 feet. | 1 set iron fillers, of sizes. |
| 1 thread-cutter, for iron. | 1 set wooden fillers, of sizes. |
| 1 thread-cutter, for brass. | 1 set modelling tools. |
| 3 pair pliers, of sizes. | 1 set of files. |
| 3 pair cutting nippers. | 1 set of paint brushes. |
| 4 pair forceps, of sizes. | 1 set of brushes for hair and teeth. |
| 1 hand vise. | 1 gluepot. |
| 1 hand drill. | 1 set of awls. |
| 2 monkey wrenches, of sizes. | 1 set of glover's needles, 3 sizes. |
| 1 ratchet brace, with bits and drills. | Best linen sewing twine, or "gilling |
| 4 gimlet bits, of sizes. | thread," of two or three sizes. |
| 1 hand-saw. | 1 iron thimble. |
| 1 key-hole saw. | 1 spirit-lamp, or gas-stove. |
| 1 claw hammer. | Pails, kettles, cups, bowls, etc. |
| 1 tack hammer. | 12 spools of Barbour's linen thread. |
Materials.—Excelsior; hemp tow of two qualities, coarse and fine, both of long fibre; flax tow, such as upholsterers use; cotton batting; oat straw; potter's clay; good glue; plaster Paris; arsenical soap; spirits of turpentine; benzine; salt by the barrel; ground alum by the hundredweight; pine and hemlock lumber, one to two inches thick; 2×4 pine scantling; an assortment of annealed wire; rods of Norway iron, from 3/16 inch to 1 inch; nails, tacks, wrought-iron staples, screws, nuts, bolts, wrapping twine; rosettes for iron standards; washers, all sizes; alcohol, shellac, white hard oil finish (varnish); muriatic acid, sheet wax, sperm oil; glass eyes, all sizes, kinds and colors; unlimited pluck, patience, and perseverance.