Part 8

Where the tow can not be secured and you have to use cotton in stuffing, always put in the neck wire first, and stuff around it or wrap the neck wire with strips of muslin, old calico, or anything that can be used for that purpose, always being careful not to make the neck too large. Excelsior can be used to good advantage in stuffing large bodies.

PELICANS.

In dressing a pelican always use the board and wire frame. For position, copy after some picture of the bird, which you can find in any natural history. The only difference in dressing from the goose, etc., is they have a game sack under the lower jaw, which is often as much as ten inches wide and sixteen inches long. I find the best way to dress that is to take a fine shingle, wide and long enough, and trim it in the shape of a sleigh runner, and put it inside of the pouch or game sack, with the straight edge up and the square end toward the neck. Draw the pouch smooth over the shingle, and tie the bill together, then wet well with the solution of corrosive sublimate. The board should be left in. Wire can be bent and placed in to answer the same purpose.

PEA-FOWL.

In dressing a pea-fowl, where the wings and tail have to be spread, extra wires have to be put in. The wires for the wings are fastened on to the body board, as when used for the fore legs of animals. Then, for the tail support, take a wire about five feet long and bend it in a hoop shape, leaving enough of the ends to extend into and fasten on the body board. This must be put on the board before putting it in the body. Dress the bird as others, letting the hoop or tail support extend out under the tail. After it is all stuffed and set on the board, bend the tail support up back of tail, and fasten the feathers of the tail to it by tying them, one at a time, with a heavy thread, in such a way that when all are fastened to the wire they will stand as when the bird was strutting. Arrange the wings and body to suit and let dry.

DRESSING BIRDS WITH WINGS SPREAD.

To dress a bird with wings spread, either flying or sitting, it will be necessary to put in wing wires to hold the wings out. The easiest way is to use the wire and board frame, using the front leg wires as used in animals, for the wings. See Figs. 7 and 8, board and body frame.

In dressing a bird this way, after skinning and wiring, as directed for bird, using frames 9 and 10, put in the wing wires and fasten them to body board, as directed for forelegs of animals.

If wishing to represent the bird as flying, take four cords and fasten them to the back of the bird in a way that will balance it; tie them together a few inches above the back and extend one cord longer than the others. It can now be hung from the ceiling by the cord; this will let the specimen turn about and present a fine appearance. The feet should be placed in as near a natural position as possible as when flying. In all large footed birds use plenty of the solution of corrosive sublimate or turpentine. The carbolic acid and water mixture is also used, and is good.

TO CLEAN FEATHERS.

As a test case take a bird after killing and smear it all over with blood, let it lie until dry. Then put it in a basin, and give it a good washing with soap and water, then rinse it clean. Now take a dry cloth and wipe it until almost dry. Then sprinkle it with dry plaster of paris and shake it out before it has time to set. Repeat this powdering and shaking until it is perfectly dry, and the feathers will look bright and nice. Try it.

PRESERVATION OF BUGS, ETC.

Take a large moth fly or miller full of eggs. Make an incision on the under side of body and take out all the eggs and entrails. Now put in some of the preserving fluid and fill the cavity with cotton and sew it up. Then run a pin down through the body and pin it to a board. Arrange its feet, moisten its body with the preserving fluid and the job is complete. Butterflies and small bugs need only the preparation over the body. Heavy bugs can be placed in a cup and the preparation poured over them. Let them lie in it a few hours and pin on board as directed in moth flies. When dry place in a glass case.

ARTICLE II. OF SKINNING ANIMALS.

As soon as an animal is killed, take cotton and stuff in the wounds, nostrils and mouth, as directed in Article I. for birds; then let it cool before commencing to skin. In skinning a specimen be very careful about cutting holes in the skin, and also not to stretch it by pulling on it while skinning. All being ready, lay the specimen on its back, make an incision from the breast-bone back to the center between the hind legs, being careful not to cut too deep over the abdomen. Divide the skin right and left, putting cotton or paper on the body as the skin is removed, or sprinkle with corn meal, as directed for birds in Article I, to prevent the fatty matter from soiling the hair. When you come to the hind legs, pull the skin down over the thigh joint, and unjoint it, cut the leg off and skin down to the knee joint and unjoint there, taking out all the flesh down to the foot, then treat the other hind leg the same way. Now skin down over the rump and back to the tail. The tail is hard to skin. Take a forked stick, and after pressing the skin as far down on the tail-bone as possible, holding the bone as tight in the fork as you can, pull downward and the bone will slip out. If the animal is not too large it should be swung up with a rope or cord tied around the body just in front of the hind legs, or by attaching a hook to the rope which fastens into the flesh. Remove the skin down to the forelegs, and unjoint them at the body, and skin out in the same manner as directed for the hind legs, unjointing at the knees. Now skin the neck and head, and when you come to the ears cut them close to the skull; fine specimens are often spoiled by cutting them too far out from the skull. We next come to the eyes. Be careful not to cut the eyelids. It is better to cut close to the skull and trim afterwards than to risk spoiling them. Remove the skin. Unjoint the neck close to the skull, enlarge the opening at the base of brain and remove all the brains. Take out the eyes and tongue and remove all flesh from the skull.

This completes the skinning, except when the animal has horns. In that case, proceed as above until you come to the neck. Skin as far forward as you can and unjoint the neck at skull. Then cut across from one horn to the other and loosen the skin around the horns. Then make another cut from between the horns backwards along the neck far enough to make the opening large enough to take the skull out; skin out the skull and the skinning is completed. The flesh must now be cleaned from the skull by boiling until tender, then scraping it, or simply by cutting and scraping it.

Take out the brains, eyes, etc., we are now ready to anoint the whole inside of skin, skull, etc., with the preserving powder. Put in the frame and stuff the body if ready; if not, the ears, nose, feet and lips must be well wet with the preserving fluid and laid away in a cool, dry place.

STUFFING AND MOUNTING ANIMALS.

After the skin is prepared, we will begin by preparing the skull. After cleaning as directed anoint it with the preserving powder, then put in suitable eyes, as directed in birds. Now if the legs are large enough to take in the leg wires, drill holes through the ends large enough to receive said wires. Next divide the skin of ears out to the points and place a piece of tin in them the shape of ear. Now turn the skin of head inside out and sew up the mouth, draw the under lip up under the upper lip and sew it there so as when turned back the stitches will not show. Next stretch the hide on the bench and measure it. In order to make the wire frame as shown and described in wire frames, Nos. 4 and 6, make the frame of suitable malleable wire, and place it in as shown, except the neck wire should be passed out at nostril. First put the skull in place and pass the neck wire through the nose. Then pass the leg wires out through the leg bones, or on the inside of skin where the bone is not large enough to receive it. Now cut the tail wire long enough to reach to end of tail and put it in place.

Now, if the skin has not been previously prepared with some of the preserving preparations, powder the whole inside with the arsenic and alum. However, the head and legs have to be prepared before putting in the frame. We are now ready for the filling. Stuff cotton in around the leg wires to make the legs proper shape, being careful not to get it in too tight. Take some sand and mix some arsenic with it; fill the tail with this, placing some cotton at base of tail to hold the sand in. Now stuff the neck and body with any suitable material, shaping and sewing up as you proceed. Examine the head, and where it needs filling out pass the cotton in through nose and ears, and shape it as in life, arranging the ears, nose and mouth. Now pose the specimen as you wish it to remain, and place it in a cool, dry place to dry. The leg wires should be bent so as to allow the foot to rest on board, and when dry the wires should be cut off at bottom of feet, and the projecting neck wire at end of nose should also be cut off. Anoint the feet, nose and ears with the preserving fluid once a day for a few days. The wood and wire frame is used in heavy animals, the wood simply taking the place of the wire along the back. By examining the cuts it is easy to see how they are to be used.

Wishing to stand animals, such as squirrels, groundhogs, etc., on the hind legs, they have to remain on a block or perch; so procure a suitable block or perch, and varnish it before putting the specimen on. Animals and birds can be stuffed with hay, or anything that you can get into them in good shape. I often mow fine bluegrass and dry it carefully, and find it makes splendid stuffing, especially for the bodies of animals and large birds. Excelsior also makes a good filling.

ON MOUNTING DEER HEADS.

In mounting a deer's head to look life-like (having horns on), proceed to skin, anoint with the preserving powder, build up the nose with plaster of paris, put in the eyes, sew up the mouth and neck, for which see directions in another article. Now take a 2×4-inch piece of pine for a neck support. Fit the end of it in the brain pit with plaster of paris. When the plaster has hardened sew up the mouth as directed in cat. Draw the skin up over the skull and sew the skin together, drawing it close around the horns. The skin being opened on back of neck, sew it up to within six inches of back end. Now make a board to fit in back end of neck skin, and fasten it to the neck support in such a way as to hold the head on wall as desired. Tack the skin around the board, being careful not to draw the hair down. Stuff the neck and finish sewing up. Cut the skin off at back of board. Arrange the whole head as directed in the cat and set away to dry. See that the ears and eyes are all right, and use plenty of the preserving fluid. When the head is completed make a suitable shield to place on back end of the neck; this should be of a neat pattern and nicely polished. Fasten this on to neck board with screws, then on the wall, also with screws, which should be passed through the shield, under edge of hair, to conceal the heads of screws.

ARTICLE III. A SIMPLE METHOD OF SKINNING, STUFFING AND PRESERVING FISH.

FISH DRESSING.

Take a scale fish, say one that weighs two pounds, more or less, and if a fish on which the scales are tight, you can skin and dress it without losing any of the scales; but if a loose scaled fish, it will be better to protect them as follows: Take some tissue paper and press it gently on one side of the fish, then turn it over and treat the other side in the same manner. The natural glutinous matter which covers the scales will be sufficient to make it adhere firmly. Without this precaution the skin could not be removed from some fish without losing the scales, which would ruin the specimen. When these papers dry, lay the fish on its back, take a pair of scissors and open the skin down the center of the belly, beginning close up the gills and running clear back to the end of the body.

The skin should now be taken off with great care, using a smooth-edged knife for skinning, and a pair of scissors to clip the fins and other fine bones with. After the body has been skinned, take out the gills, tongue and eyes.

It is now ready for the preserving powder, which should be spread or dusted over the inside of the skin, being careful to reach all parts around the gills, in the mouth, eye sockets, etc. We now insert the frame E (see cut No. 1), which is simply a wire bent as shown in the cut, and sew up, beginning at the tail and ending at the gills, leaving the ends EE of frame projecting, as represented in cut No. 1. We now proceed to fill the body with plaster paris. Mix up a sufficient quantity, take a funnel, open the gills or mouth and insert the tube of the funnel therein, and pour in enough plaster paris to fill the body. Handle the body carefully, and shape it properly, while the plaster is setting, being careful to keep the frame EE straight with the body. When the plaster has set (or hardened), bore two holes in a rough board to set the frame rods EE in, which will hold the body up off the board. (See cut.) Now proceed to stuff the head with cotton, being careful not to press the gills out of shape, then draw the mouth together with a thread and tie it. Fill the eye socket with plaster paris or putty, and set the eye in the proper position.