Home Taxidermy for Pleasure and Profit Part 4

All shields and panels should be carefully sandpapered, filled and varnished, and polished if you wish. Don't make the shield or panel so ornate that the specimen will seem but an incidental, thrown in for good measure, so to speak.

Rustic panels can be made by sawing the end from a log on a slant, and planing smooth the oval. If this is heavily varnished on the front and back and the bark left on it is a very suitable mount for small heads, fish and birds. Artificial branches and trees for mounting birds should be avoided if possible; they are made by wrapping tow around wires, coating with glue and covering with moss or papier mache and painting.

The result I consider unnatural and inartistic.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SMALL BIRD.]

I would advise to use natural branches as far as possible; sufficient labor will be required to make necessary joining and changes look as near like nature as you can. Rock work is usually made of a wooden framework covered with cloth, wire or paper and finished with a coating of glue and crushed stone or sand. One of the most useful materials in this work is the rough cork bark so much used by florists. It is light, comes in desirable shapes, can be nailed, sawed or coated with glue or paint. For constructing stumps for mounted birds of prey and rustic stands for small and medium fur animals it has no equal. Some taxidermists produce rock work of an obscure geological period by covering screen wire forms with a mixture of flour, baking powder and plaster of paris and water. This is put in an oven and baked hard, the weird result being painted to the artist's taste.

Water worn roots such as are found along the sh.o.r.e, twisted laurel branches, limbs of gum, oak and sa.s.safras, all work up well in this and should be stored up to dry against a day of need. Out door people have a good eye for such things, but they are hard to find when you look for them, so gather them on your rambles. Papier mache is also a good modeling material for stumps, limbs and rock, being light, and readily taking coats of glue or paint. The expert can copy nature closely with it.

Some leaves and gra.s.ses can be pressed, dried and colored their natural shades with oil paints. The dealers supply a great variety of artificial foliage, some of which may be used to advantage, in case work especially. Dried mosses and lichens of various sorts may be used in this. Some of these powdered and glued on papier mache or cork bark stumps and limbs produce a very pleasing effect.

Snow scenes are frequently attempted but are not always a success. The peculiar fluffy and glittering appearance is rather difficult to reproduce. Torn or ground up white blotting paper mixed with a little ground mica has been used for this purpose. Gla.s.s icicles are listed by dealers and are quite natural in appearance, but the simulation of water is difficult and often disappointing.

It is often desirable to mount small specimens, of birds especially, in cases of some kind which will protect them from dust, dirt and rough handling and at the same time display them to advantage. The oldest and at the same time the least suitable contrivance for this is the well known bell gla.s.s or globe. It is difficult to find a safe place for this in the average house and it is not at all adapted to many specimens.

A plain wall case with gla.s.s front and a painted or decorated background will give the necessary protection with the least expense. For small bird groups, and singles and pairs of game birds, the oval convex gla.s.ses probably present the finest appearance. The backgrounds for these may be either plush or wood panels or hand painted, and any style of picture framing may be used. These are made in several sizes, listing at $2.00 to $8.00 each without backgrounds or frames. This cost has probably prevented their more common use.

There is on the market a papier mache background also adapted to any picture frame, called the "concave dust proof case." This has the flat face gla.s.s of the old style wall case, but with the square corners and much of the weight eliminated. Any of these styles of wall cases may be placed on shelves as well as hung on the wall like pictures, at once preventing breakage and becoming valuable decorations.

Special cases are often built (as in museums) for large and valuable mounted specimens. Of these the top and at least three sides should be of gla.s.s. The preparing and placing of the accessories in some large museum cases have required an unbelievable amount of time and expense to attain the desired natural appearance of the mounting.

CHAPTER V.

FIELD WORK, COLLECTING.

While it is unlikely that many readers of this book will undertake the collection of natural history specimens in any great numbers or as a special business, a few words on the subject may not be amiss.

It is well to bear in mind that the better the condition of the specimen when it first comes to hand, the greater will be our chances of success in properly preserving it. A small bird shot with a rifle is not worth bothering with unless excessively rare, and a fur bearer which the dogs have been allowed to maul and chew is very difficult to put in satisfactory condition.

One rule of the collector in the field is to shoot each specimen with the smallest possible charge of shot and powder which will kill it. I speak of shooting, as probably three-fourths of the objects mounted by the average taxidermist have been killed with fire arms.

Of late years a number of collector's guns have been put out by the arms makers, though any good small bore shotgun will answer for collecting all of our small and medium sized American birds and mammals. Some of these guns of about .44 cal. are exceedingly accurate and reliable performers.

In one case this small bore shotgun has been combined with a rifle, and the light weight and portability of this little arm makes it about the last word in guns for collecting all small specimens.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MARBLE'S SHOT GUN AND RIFLE COMBINED.]

It as well as other single guns of the same bore, is built to use a round ball in the shot barrel, making them capable of stopping deer or bear at short ranges. However, choosing a gun is like choosing a wife, every one has their own tastes.

I would advise the would-be collector to load his own shotgun sh.e.l.ls, at least those for small birds and animals, as it is almost impossible to get factory loaded sh.e.l.ls but what are charged too heavily.

For the collection of animals for taxidermic purposes the use of traps will probably yield some of the best as well as the more rare and unusual varieties. Such styles of traps as least injure the appearance of the finished specimen are preferred.

The old-fashioned snare, dead-fall and box trap are as good as any in this respect. The wire spring or choke traps of Stop Thief style are ahead of the common steel trap in this respect, but like the homemade traps cannot be used in so many various situations.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE "STOP THIEF" OR CHOKE TRAP.]

Water animals taken in steel traps may usually be quickly drowned. If set on land they should be tended often to prevent suffering and usually mutilation of the trapped game. Full information on this subject will be found in Science of Trapping and other books on special animals by same publisher.

The naturalist uses more small traps than large ones in most cases; many, many more specimens being taken in No. 1's than in bear traps.

Several styles of mouse and rat traps are useful in collecting the smaller mammals, such as mice, rats and ground squirrels of various species.

Fish are to be collected any way you can get 'em, (legally at least).

Many varieties of these are to be bought at the large markets and many rare and hideous specimens are discarded by market fishermen when culling their catches. A few years ago before much restriction was imposed on the sale of game it was possible to purchase many desirable things at the markets of Washington, D. C. Not only bear and deer, but elk, ptarmigan, arctic hares, sage and prairie grouse, fox squirrels, pileated woodp.e.c.k.e.rs and many other odds and ends were offered for sale as well as all the usual land and water game.

However you take your specimens or how badly damaged they may be when they reach your hands it behooves you to see that no further damage befalls them.

Specimens when shot should have all possible blood and dirt brushed or washed from feathers or fur and all shot holes, as well as mouth and nostrils plugged with a wisp of cotton to prevent further soiling. An awl, or piece of wire will be useful for this. Blood should be removed from white fur or feathers as soon as possible or it will be stained more or less. Small birds should be dropped head first into a paper cone, and laid in a basket or box if possible, the common hunting coat pocket is apt to break delicate feathers, though if the bird is well wrapped it may do.

Fur bearers will stand more rough usage and may be tied together by heads or feet or packed in game bag or pocket. Fish should be wrapped in paper to protect the scales.

It goes without saying that specimens which it is planned to preserve should be kept cool if possible until work can be started on them. Some varieties spoil more quickly than others; fish eating birds need quick attention; most birds of the hawk and owl family keep well, as do the pheasants, grouse, etc. Frozen animals keep perfectly in that state but spoil quickly after thawing.

Keep away from blow flies. Specimens are often sent to the taxidermists in apparent good order and when received are entirely ruined by fly maggots; the eggs being deposited before packing and shipping.

CHAPTER VI.

SKINNING AND PRESERVING SKINS.

With a suitable specimen at hand it is for us to decide if we shall mount it or preserve it as a skin temporarily or indefinitely. To ill.u.s.trate we will presume that we have a muskrat just from the trap which is to be mounted at once.

Before skinning it is best to get some measurements to guide us in the later work. In this case where the skin is to be mounted immediately a simple outline is sufficient, as we will have the body in the flesh and all the leg bones, etc., to guide us in rebuilding the creature.

To get such outline, lay the animal on its side on a piece of blank paper, put the feet and legs in some natural position, fasten them in place with a few pins and mark around the entire animal with a pencil.

The eye, hip and shoulder joints, and base of skull may be indicated on this outline sheet. Our muskrat is a trapped and drowned one so we will not have to replace the shot hole plugs with fresh ones, as would be best if it had been killed with the gun. Also it has been dead long enough for the rigor mortis to prevent the free flow of blood and body juices which bother the operator if it has been killed but an hour or less.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OUTLINE OF MUSKRAT. HIP AND SHOULDER JOINTS MARKED]

Laying the animal on its back, make the opening cut by pushing the knife point through the skin at the juncture of neck and chest. Run the blade down between skin and flesh, separating the skin in a long clean cut to the root of the tail. Open the tail also along the under side from the tip to within an inch or so of its base. Slit open the sole of each foot from the middle toe to the heel and further if necessary so the leg skin may be turned down over the foot.

Beginning at this central cut, skin back each side until the shoulder and hip joints are encountered. Bending the limb will show the exact joint where the muscles are cut apart and the legs severed from the body. Cut off the tail near its base, leaving it in the skin for the present. Loosen the skin from back and shoulders and turn it wrong side out over the head. Skin down until the ears are reached, cutting them off close down to the head and continue on to the eyes. Work carefully around these and cut close to the skull to avoid hacking the eyelids.

Cut through the nose cartilage, and when the lips are reached cut them away close to the gums, leaving both their inner and outer skin on the pelt. Cutting them off at the edge of the hair is a frequent cause of trouble as they are full and fleshy and should be split, pared down on the inside and when mounted, filled out to their natural shape to perfect the anatomy.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SKINNING SMALL ANIMAL FOR MOUNTING. CUT ON DOTTED LINES.]

Now the skin of each leg may be turned wrong side out down to the toes and all flesh and muscle cut away from the leg bones with knife and scissors. The tail also is to be removed from its skin and the ears turned wrong side out to their tips. In skinning no flesh of any consequence should be left adhering to the skin and it should never be pulled off by main strength, but rather separated by the knife or fingers, pushing the flesh away from the skin rather than the reverse.

The skull should now be cleaned as the leg bones were and if a number of specimens are being prepared at the same time the heads may be put in a kettle and boiled a short time, when on trying with a fork or awl the flesh becomes tender and may be rapidly removed with a knife.

The brain may be removed with a hooked wire, the skull well rinsed inside and out and given a good coat of a.r.s.enical paste or other preservative. The next step is determined by what you intend doing with the skin. If it is to be kept for purposes of study without mounting it should be made up as a scientific skin. If to be mounted at once or in the near future it should be put in the jar of salt and acid or alum. It can of course be mounted at once without this bath but I believe it is well worth any extra work it entails.