Taxidermy and Zoological Collecting / A Complete Handbook for the Amateur Taxidermist, Collector, Osteologist, Museum-Builder, Sportsman, and Traveller

by William T. Hornaday; W. J. Holland

There are almost as many different methods of mounting mammal heads as there are taxidermists, but I shall describe only my own. I have tried various other methods than that to be described, but without satisfactory results, and I offer this as being at once the simplest and easiest for the amateur, as well as the professional worker, and above all, the one by which the finest results are obtainable. The operator retains full control of the shape of the specimen almost up to the last moment, which I consider a sine qua non in any method. The method should be your servant, not your master. Judging from the extent to which this method has been adopted among the taxidermists of this country since I first described it in a paper read before the Society of American Taxidermists, in New York, in 1883, it may be considered to possess some merit.

1. We have before us the clean skull. Procure about two pounds of plaster Paris, and a piece of board an inch or an inch and a half thick, three or four inches wide, and about two feet long. This is to be the neck standard. With the hatchet round off the corners of one end. Then, with a saw and cold chisel, cut a long, narrow hole in the base of the skull, so that the end of the neck standard can pass through it into the brain cavity, and strike against the top of the skull (Fig. 37). The opening should be cut lengthwise with the skull, and only just large enough to receive the end of the board comfortably. In case it is desired to have the head turned to one side, looking to the right or left, the neck standard must be fitted into the skull accordingly. An iron rod may be used instead of a wooden standard, if the operator finds it more convenient.

[a]Fig. 37.]—Internal Mechanism of a Deer Head.

2. Now place the skull upside down on the table, with the forehead on a level with the table-top, and proceed to set one end of the neck standard in the skull. This is done as follows: Into about a quart of water, placed in a basin or large bowl, sprinkle the plaster Paris, a handful at a time, until the water is filled with it and will take up no more. Then stir it thoroughly with a spoon, and after placing the end of the neck standard in the skull cavity in a perpendicular position, pour the plaster around the end of it, filling the brain cavity, and piling it up on the base of the skull in a copious mass, so that when it hardens the board will be immovably fixed. The plaster should also fill around the articulations of the lower jaw, to make that also a fixture in its place. The neck standard should be set at a right angle with the axis of the skull. This may seem strange to you at first, but you will presently see that the angle is correct.

While the plaster is hardening, which it will do in about twenty minutes, you must leave the head undisturbed and busy yourself with giving the final touches to the skin, or to the preparation of some clay and tow for future use.

[a]Fig. 38.]—Complete Manikin for Deer Head, without Clay Covering.

3. When the plaster has fully set, you are ready to decide upon the length of neck to be shown, and the general pose of the head. Having decided upon the former, which is a matter of taste, you can have an assistant hold the side of the neck standard up against the side of a door-post in about the pose you wish it to have, while you stand off and survey it at a distance, and change the elevation until it suits you. Then, mark where the neck standard is to be sawn off, and also the precise angle, and saw it off. Having done this, have the head held up against the wall as it will be when mounted, and see that the elevation of the nose is right. If it is too high or too low, saw off the end of the neck standard at a different angle, and be sure that the attitude is right before proceeding farther.

4. The next step is to cut a board to fit into the lower end of the neck. Its approximate circumference can be determined by measuring the width and depth of the neck the proper distance down. The shape of the board must be about like that shown in Fig. 37—a broad oval, broadest at the top, or else an ellipse. Bevel off the upper and lower ends on opposite sides to match the outline of the neck, and then screw it firmly to the lower end of the neck standard. It may be necessary to alter the shape of the neck-board a little later on, which is easily done.