Home Taxidermy for Pleasure and Profit Part 15

Heap up the sand all around, about an inch from the fish, to prevent the plaster flowing off the board.

Mix a sufficient amount of plaster to cover the fish to a depth of about half an inch, covering the fins and tail as well as the body. Mix the plaster by stirring a little at a time into cold water until it has the consistency of cream. Place the pectoral and ventral fins flat against the body. Pour the plaster over the fish slowly and evenly (covering the head, tail and edges first), allowing it time to dry until quite hard, perhaps thirty to forty minutes. Then turn the mold over (it will appear like Fig. 2) and, by inserting the fingers in the gills, carefully remove the fish. Lay the mold aside for a time. Wash all sand and plaster from the fish.

[Ill.u.s.tration: INCISIONS TO BE MADE. (Fig. 5)]

SKINNING THE FISH.--If the fish has scales easily dislodged, wrap it, with the exception of the fins and tail, in several thicknesses of tissue paper, which will readily adhere to the moist skin. Lay the fish on your table, on the side which was covered by the plaster and place wet cloths on the fins and tail to prevent drying. Commence at the gills and make two cuts with the scissors or scalpel lengthwise of the fish to the tail, cutting into the abdominal cavity below, joining these cuts (see Fig. 5), removing the strip of skin, including the pectoral fin, with adhering flesh, and the contents of the cavity.

With the fingers, or tweezers, grasp the cut edge of the skin of the back and with the scalpel carefully separate it from the flesh as far as the middle line of the back from the head to the tail. Remove the exposed flesh to the backbone. With the knife, shears or fine tooth saw, split the head lengthwise a little to one side of the middle, leaving somewhat more than half. Do not sever the skin of the body where it comes to a point between the gills, and use great care when removing the flesh from this portion.

You now have a trifle more than one-half the fish to work on. With the scissors cut through the ribs and remove the backbone with some of the flesh. Be careful when cutting through the backbone at the tail not to cut through the skin below. Going back to the head, remove the remaining flesh, and with the curved scissors and scalpel cut away all the cartilage possible from the head; the more the better so long as the skin is not injured. If enough of the cartilage can be removed to expose the muscles of the cheek from the inside, cut them away, taking out the eye; otherwise it will be necessary to work from the outside of the skin through the eye opening, and this must be done very carefully or the skin of the cheek may be broken. With most fishes it is possible to remove all the cartilage from the head, and this should be done to prevent shrinkage. If the mouth is to be open, do not cut away its lining or much of the tongue behind. The tongue is to be split perpendicularly lengthwise and about one-third of it removed. When the head has been thoroughly cleaned, remove the remaining flesh from the body with the skin sc.r.a.per or scalpel.

The ventral fin which is uppermost as the fish lies on its side and is not to show, should be carefully cut off outside the skin. Do not cut off the ventral fin on the side which is to be displayed. Do not sc.r.a.pe away the silvery lining of the skin if this can be avoided. Some of it will come off. Cut away the bases of all the fins and the tail inside with the curved scissors and sc.r.a.pe away all flesh, working close to the fingers so as not to stretch the skin. Tie the vent inside with thread.

Unless the fish is quite small, the skin of the lower jaw must be loosened with the knife or scalpel and the muscles cut away. The adipose, or small fleshy fin on the back near the tail of such fishes as the trout, must be carefully opened from the inside of the skin with a small-bladed knife and the contents removed, to be later replaced with clay.

Place the skin in water to loosen the paper--if any has been used--carefully washing the skin and wetting the fins and tail thoroughly. You may allow the skin to remain in the water until you are ready to put it back in the mold, but not longer than a few hours.

FILLING.--Brush the sand from the mold, and if the upper edge is uneven, smooth it with a knife so that it will be perfectly straight. Should there be any rough places on the inside of the mold, carefully sc.r.a.pe them down with the skin sc.r.a.per.

[Ill.u.s.tration: INSIDE BOARD. (Fig. 6)]

Cut out roughly a piece of soft pine one-half to one inch thick the shape of the outline of the fish, but somewhat smaller, using the mold as a guide. One side will, of course, be flat, and that side should be uppermost when placed in the mold. Work up with water a sufficient quant.i.ty of clay to about the consistency of fresh putty. Place the mold on your bench or table, resting it on something soft (such as a piece of old carpet or burlap) to prevent its breaking. Drain the water from the skin and put it back into the mold, adjusting it nicely. The median line will guide you. See that the head, fins and tail occupy the same places they did before. Pour a little alcohol on the skin inside and let it run along the bases of the fins and tail, over the entire inner surface of the skin and into the head to preserve any bits of flesh that may possibly remain. Drain off the surplus alcohol. Fill the adipose fin (if the fish has one) with clay. Sprinkle powdered a.r.s.enic over the entire inside of the skin and head. Do not use more than will readily adhere.

The chances are that you removed more or less of the silvery lining of the skin. Whether you did or not, cover the entire inner surface of the skin of the cheek and body with two or three thicknesses of aluminum leaf. Do not cover the entire surface at once. Cover a small part at a time, and then put on top of the leaf enough clay to cover it, commencing at the head and continuing to the tail. Replace the muscles and cartilage of the head with clay. Be sure to keep the skin properly adjusted to the mold. See that the fins and the tail remain in their proper places and that they are kept covered with wet cloths.

Flatten out the clay (a small quant.i.ty at a time) with the fingers and cover the inside of the skin to the depth of about one-eighth of an inch, pressing it down firmly, especially at the bases of the fins and tail and into the cheek and head. Fit in the piece of pine, cutting it down as may be necessary. Its shape will be something like Fig. 6.

Mix some more plaster, and before putting in the piece of board, pour in the plaster on the clay, filling the skin perhaps two-thirds full.

Quickly, before the plaster sets, put in the piece of wood, carefully pressing it down into the plaster until it is level with the upper edge of the mold, removing any surplus plaster quickly and neatly. Sew up the skin from one edge to the other as shown in Fig. 7.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SEWING UP THE SKIN. (Fig. 7)]

REMOVING SPECIMEN FROM MOLD AND DRYING.--Lay a piece of clean board of the proper size on top of the mold, turning both over. Lift up the mold a trifle, gently shaking it. The fish may or may not come out. If not, turn the mold back, insert the point of a knife in the wood and try to start the fish. In extreme cases it may be necessary to break the mold carefully. However, there should be no undercuts to hold the fish.

Carefully wash the fish as it lays on the board to remove all clay and plaster which may be on the upper surface. With the fingers smooth out any wrinkles or uneven places. Sometimes, when drying, small wrinkles or bubbles may appear in the skin of such fish as trout, but they will soon disappear. If you placed the fish in a natural position when making the mold and properly adjusted the cleaned skin to the mold, there should be no wrinkles.

Place thin pieces of wood the shape of the fins between the board and the dorsal and a.n.a.l fins, which should stand out from the board a little way. Cover the tail and the fins which lie flat with thin pieces of wood, pinning them to the board until dry. The fins which do not lie flat should be spread between thin pieces of wood held in place with pins or clips.

When the surface of the fish is dry, which will be in from six to twelve hours, give it a coat of the very best white varnish (the ordinary yellow varnish will not do) and put the specimen in a well ventilated place out of the sun to dry. In three or four days when the fins are dry, remove the thin pieces of wood and apply another coat of varnish.

CAUTION.--a.r.s.enic is poison and should be kept out of the way of children and animals. Keep the box covered when not in use.

Cuts in the hand can be protected by covering them with liquid court plaster. Clean the finger nails carefully when through work, washing the hands in warm water containing a few drops of carbolic acid.

FINISHING.--While the fish is drying secure uncolored gla.s.s eyes with the properly shaped black pupils and paint the iris from your sketch.

When the specimen is thoroughly dry, in two or three weeks, dig a sufficient amount of clay out of the eye opening and put in the gla.s.s eye, setting it in papier mache. Use the prepared mache, which only requires boiling with water for preparation. When the mache is dry, give the exposed portion of it one or two coats of paint of the proper color.

Now do such painting as may be necessary--for instance, the spots and fins of the brook trout, colors of which have doubtless vanished by this time. Use tube paint, thinned with the white varnish. Usually it is sufficient to place a small quant.i.ty of the paint of the proper color directly into the varnish. Do not use much of the paint--just enough to secure the color and yet not obscure the scales. Where the markings are prominent, put some of the paint directly on the fish and spread it with the varnish. Brilliant spots, such as those of the trout, can be reproduced by the use of the paints without the varnish.

While the specimen is drying prepare a panel for it. To show the fish to the best advantage, the panel should be of polished hardwood, although stained pine will answer. Bore two holes about half way through the panel from the back, slanting upward, by which to hang it. (See Fig. 8.) Bore two holes entirely through the panel in the proper places and screw the fish to it, putting in the screws from the back of the panel and into the fish where the wood is thickest. Countersink the screws.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HOME MADE PANEL. (Fig. 8)]

Finally, apply a last coat of the varnish. Do not varnish the gla.s.s eye.

By keeping a piece of writing paper between the panel and your brush you can varnish the fish without getting any on the panel. It is best to put on the final coat after the specimen is mounted on the panel, because if the fish is handled before the varnish is hard finger marks will show.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SIDE VIEW. (Fig. 9)]

MOUNTING HEADS.--With a sharp knife or saw cut the head off squarely just back of first (pectoral) fins, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, which show the head of a black ba.s.s. In this case the ventral fins are also left on. Place the head on a board with the cut part down, spreading the fins as in Fig. 10. If it is to be displayed with open mouth, fill the mouth with cotton or cloth to exclude the plaster. Cover the whole head with plaster.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FRONT VIEW. (Fig. 10)]

After the plaster sets, with a saw and knife cut the mold into two parts lengthwise, being careful not to cut into the head. Use the saw first and when the plaster is cut down close to the skin use the knife carefully. Do not attempt to remove the head before cutting the mold in two.

Remove flesh and cartilage from the head, line with aluminum leaf, and proceed as previously instructed. Of course none of the tongue is to be removed if the mouth is to be left open, in which case do not remove the bony parts of the gills. Before placing the cleaned skin in the mold, tie the two parts of the mold together. Cut a neck board to fit and set it in plaster. Finish as previously advised.

CHAPTER XXII.

MOUNTING REPTILES, FROGS AND TOADS.

The largest reptile of the United States, the alligator, is mounted by methods applied to medium sized animals. Leg, head and tail rods are stapled to a stout back board and after building up the legs from tow the larger part of the body is filled by stuffing with coa.r.s.e tow or fine excelsior. Let the skin rest back down while engaged in this, sewing up the skin as it proceeds, with stout twine and a sail needle.

You may even need to use the awl to pierce the armor like skin.

For any natural position the leg irons need not be heavy as this animal usually keeps its body and tail in contact with the ground. The leg rods are clinched or bolted beneath the pedestal as in other quadrupeds and in addition some long screws are turned into the back board from below and the tail held down by wire fastened to its central support and clinched beneath the pedestal.

All but the smallest lizards are mounted in the same way as the small fur-bearers. There is apparently no known mode of "stuffing" a snake so as to resemble its natural state.

The skin must be placed on a carefully modelled manikin with a plastic layer between. For small snakes tow is wound on a wire and shaped with thread, and excelsior is used in the same way for the large ones.

The larger manikins are to be posed and paper coated in most cases before receiving the skin. Frogs and toads are also very difficult to mount in natural positions, but are nicely represented in painted casts.

Frogs, however, possess the distinction of not having to be sewed up, when skinned as they usually are through the mouth. In doing this the entire body is dissected away through the mouth and the legs are detached and skinned the same way.

After turning completely wrong side out and poisoning the legs are wired, wrapped with tow or cotton in the same manner as other small animals. One hind leg wire is cut long enough to reach through the body and head and to this the other leg wires are twisted. Some claim that to leave the vertebral column attached to the skin of the back is an invaluable aid in giving that part its proper shape.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WIRING SYSTEM FOR FROG.]

The body filling is tow or cotton placed through the mouth in small pieces until the proper shape is acquired. Dry sand has been used to fill the bodies of frogs, being poured in the mouth through a funnel and retained by a cotton plug until the skin was dry, when it was poured out.

Painting and varnishing are required to finish mounted frogs. The frog is a favorite with the caricaturist as it can be made to take almost any human posture with laughable results.

Turtles may be mounted by wrapping and wiring legs, tail and head like other small animals, after detaching the under sh.e.l.l on three sides, removing the body and skinning the limbs. The tow wrapped legs should have a covering of soft clay which can be shaped with the fingers after they are returned to the skin.

Twisting the wires together is all right for the small turtles, large ones need a block of wood to clinch the wires in. The under sh.e.l.l is replaced and fastened with small wires and as enough skin was left attached to it to sew to, all cuts are closed that way. Heavy wires are seldom necessary in turtles. Those having bright colored sh.e.l.ls will need to be touched up with paint and all should be varnished thinly to give a fresh appearance.