Practical Taxidermy Part 19

Try the skin of the neck for length and shape, and then fill up each side of the block with peat nailed on, over which pour wet plaster, making up the back of the head as you go on, keeping the neck in front narrow, and of an elegant shape, using clay afterwards over all to do this. During all this time you will no doubt have had the skin off and on several times to get the shape to suit, and you will have taken precautions not to break away the thinly carved parts around the mouth, nose and eyes.

The very last operation is sewing up; this is done with a "skin"

needle (glover's needle) and strong hemp, double and waxed; commence your st.i.tches at the skin in front of one of the horns, bring it around to the back, and enter your needle in the edge of the skin at the side, lace across and across, including the other horn, in the manner most convenient, being careful, however, to make every st.i.tch "tell," otherwise, as the skin dries, the horns will be left bare around the "burrs," and ugly gaps appear. The neck being sewn up, is to be nailed around its circ.u.mference to the neckblock by strong tacks.

The skin of the face is, perhaps, a little out of position; it must be properly arranged on the model, and wire points of suitable size, filed up from galvanized wire, must be driven into the eye-pits, inside the corners of the mouth, the nostrils and ears, and also on various parts of the face and the head, to prevent the skin rising whilst drying. The eyes should now be inserted, and the skin of the eyelids filled slightly, and drawn naturally around them. Hang the head up as high as possible out of the way, and also because the room is always warmest near the ceiling; two centre-bit holes of different sizes, forming a kind of keyhole, may be drilled in the centre of the neck-block, or strong wire bolted in the form of a loop near the top to hang it up by.

Be sure all is sound and firm, as also the nail on which the specimen hangs, otherwise your own, or your stag's, head may come to grief.

Plaster heads being very heavy at first, before drying, it is as well to get them dried, if possible, in advance of the mounting, to obviate great weight, and also a tendency to cause mildew inside the skin. It is really astounding, however, to observe how very light plaster becomes when thoroughly dry; clay of the same sized model is, on the contrary, exceedingly heavy--more than twice the weight of plaster.

Sometimes it may be necessary, if wanting a frill of hair, or what not, to be conspicuous, to keep it in position until dry, by brushing on paste, or thick clay water, to stiffen the hair in the desired manner. This can afterwards be brushed off, when the head is ultimately cleansed, before s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g it on its shield. Foxes' and other similar heads may be blocked best by the process sketched out as relating to Figs. 26 and 27: and finally attached to suitable shields (see Chapter XIII.)

Looking at the skeleton of the otter, Plate III, we at once observe that it is placed in the position it a.s.sumed when the animal was alive and walking with a stealthy, cat-like, movement. This skeleton is not very unlike that of the fox, nor, if we except its smaller size, that of the lion. Hence we shall be enabled to refer to it, from time to time, as being sufficiently our guide to the mounting of these animals.

We will not be too ambitious to begin with, and will, therefore, take our old friend the fox for our first lesson. This is the animal sure to be selected by all learners, and the reason is not far to seek--it being of a manageable size, not too large nor too small; an animal, moreover, of a picturesque habit of body, and about whose death more or less of mystery hangs--this mystery so dear to the imagination of the youthful amateur! In some places the death of the vulpine robber of hen roosts is hailed with delight, and people are to be found even --oh, horror!--willing to grasp in friendship the hand of the slayer.

In such a county as Leicestershire, foxes are not "accidentally"

killed, but when so, what bewailings over the "late lamented!" what anathemas upon the villain's head who is suspected of "vulpicide"! If it were not so serious a matter, one would be inclined to laugh over Anthony Trollope's description, in the "American Senator," of the old hunting farmer who moved himself and his dinner to the other side of the table, in speechless indignation, lest he should be contaminated by the presence of a sympathiser with a man who wantonly killed a far too sacred fox, which gobbled up the aforesaid man's ducks and fowls.

Let this sad relation be a warning to all who look with acquisitive eyes on the scented jacket of our "Reynard."

Moral, procure your specimens from the Highlands, where they are not worshipped, nor protected, with a view to being hunted to death afterwards.

Having procured our specimen, we lay it in state on the modelling table, and, having decided to mount it by the first process mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, viz, by using the skeleton as a foundation, we have further to decide if the animal is to be open-mouthed or not. In the first case, we shall require the skull, in order to show the teeth and palate; in the latter case, we may discard the skull if we choose, making a model of the head in a similar manner to that of the stag, but with the difference that now, our specimen not being horned, will make a mould and model much more easily.

We decide, then, to keep the skull as part of the skeletal foundation.

Skin out the animal in the usual manner, as described in the last chapter, with these differences, that the skin must be split on the underneath, from the vent to above the shoulder (in some cases, and for some att.i.tudes, this cut must extend up the throat); cross cuts from this must extend all the way down the limbs, on their inside surfaces. By these five cuts the body is released entirely from the skin, the head being cut off at the nose, and the feet at the claws; nothing, therefore, of the skeleton remains in the skin but the cores supporting the claws.

Measure the body now carefully for size, etc, and treat the skin in the manner indicated, and turning to the body, disjoint the hind limbs at the junction of the femur with the pelvic girdle, and the fore limbs at the junction of the humerus with the scapular arch (see Plate III).

Cut off the head (A, B), and trim it. If you cannot make a rough representation in wood of the pelvic girdle (H) and scapular arch (M), you had better cut these bones out and trim them, as they, or their representatives, give a natural set to the limbs. Throw away the remainder of the body. You now possess the complete skin, and also the bones I, J, K, 1, and N, O, P, Q, together with the skull and the four other bones, or their semblances. Having properly cured all these parts, we will for this lesson take the skeleton of the otter and its att.i.tude as our guide.

Our first care, then, is to provide a block of wood, similar to that in the ill.u.s.tration, for the animal to stand on; the length and width of this are, of course, determined by the measurements which should have been previously taken--its thickness should not be less than one inch. The next thing to be done is to cut a piece of 0.5 in. or 0.75 in. deal to represent the body--now thrown away--figured in the plate as D, E, F, and R; the shape as shown in Fig. 32 will be found the most convenient.

To this attach, by bolting, a thick wire, to represent the neck (C), and of sufficient strength to carry the weight of the head, also another thinner one to take the place of the tail (G). At the point M nail two small blocks of wood on each side of the body-board, in order to slightly raise from its surface, and also attach thereto, the scapulars; do the same at H, remembering that the thickness of the blocks with bones attached determines the width of the chest, etc. Bore holes along D, through which thrust stout wires to represent the ribs, bending them into position, and bringing them over the edge of R, and bolting each end into one or the other of the holes along its lower surface. The wires must, of course, be cut of sufficient length to go right through the holes at D, to form both sides of the ribs, ere being finally bolted in the holes at R.

Fig. 32--False body of wood, with neck and tail wires attached.

We now have a cage, as it were, of wood and wire, terminating in two long wires, in which state we leave it for the present. The next process is to drill the leg bones (I and J, and N and P) with an American twist-drill and brace, in order to push up a wire rod of sufficient stoutness to carry the weight of the body; leave plenty of length of wire above and below. [Footnote: In cases where drilling is impracticable, it will be sufficient to firmly lash the bones to the rod in the position which they should occupy during the subsequent modelling.]

Next drill the bottom board to receive the wires under the feet, where shown at 1 and Q; when firmly bolted underneath bend the rod with attached bones into the positions shown on Plate III. Bend the upper portion of the rods now at right angles, in order to go through the scapulars and pelvis. Next take the cage (Fig. 32) representing the body, with pelvic girdle and scapular arch attached, and ready drilled, lift between the limbs, pushing the top wires--now at right angles--through the holes drilled to receive them, bending these down on each side. We have now a rough but fairly correct image of the skeleton without a head.

Taking now the natural skull (A B), we open the jaws as much as desired, and filling in the cavities with paper and tow, perfect the shape by modelling with clay to replace the flesh. Fixing this on the wire, C, we make up the neck with tow and clay, binding the former on very tightly, and adding clay to give character, especially where it approaches the chest. The cage must now be tightly packed with old newspapers, brown paper, or clean straw, but with neither hay nor "flocks." [Footnote: "Flocks" and sacking are the harbouring places of Tinea Tapetzella, 1, a destructive little moth, the ravages of whose larvae once cost me all the "soft" parts of a sofa, besides filling the house before discovery with the perfect insect--eager to perpetuate its race at my expense.]

Before this is done, however, it will be as well to interlace the wires with tow, laid on as a thin sheet, and glued; be sure of the shape now--if ever; let the cage be widest in the middle, tapering off above and below and toward each end, being careful to make it a little smaller, if anything, than the actual body; make up with straw and tow at E, keeping this part narrow underneath; bind the tail, G, thinly with tow, gradually thickening it as it approaches F; cover all these parts with clay where required.

The fore and hind limbs, especially the latter, require very careful modelling. To do this properly measurements and tracings of the shapes should have been taken. Bind tow around all, to roughly represent the form, and then artistically adjust clay to represent the muscles and flesh. The appearance presented now should be as a clay model--without hair--of the specimen taken in hand.

Nothing now remains but to take the skin, properly thinned down and prepared, and try it over the model, altering the latter where it is too large or too small. Perhaps it may be necessary to pull it over--commencing at the head--several times before getting it quite right. When fairly satisfied with your progress, commence st.i.tching the skin up from the neck, adding clay where wanted, noticing that, in the position you are now working to, the neck will hang low, and rather fine in front, between the fore limbs, and that the flanks will be tucked up.

Go on sewing up until you are at the point behind the shoulders, including the fore limbs in this; pad the skin at the toes with clay, to replace the flesh previously cut away. Leave this now, and go to the tail end; bend the wire down, and insert it in the hollow of the skin of the tail, and work on the hind limbs, finishing as you go on, and sewing up to the point between F and E. This leaves you the remainder of the body to finish, and also gives you a chance to dispose of any loose skin about that part. The clay and wire, being both amenable to any alteration, can be beaten into shape where required. Finally, sew up, and if your modelling is correct all the remainder must of necessity be correct also.

To keep the skin in position on the model, tack it down with galvanised wire points, or by st.i.tching it through in places, such as occur in the neck and various parts of the limbs. These wires can, of course, be removed, and all st.i.tches cut and drawn away when the specimen is dry, at which time the eyes can be inserted, if not previously done. In all cases, however, the specimen must be thoroughly dried before it can be finished off by modelling the inside of the lips and palate with wax or cement (described in Chapter XII), or before the model tongue is inserted.

The foregoing thus describes the method which may be adopted to educate the tyro to a correct idea of the osteology of his subject, and, by a.n.a.logy, to the osteology and relation of parts of many others. It is practicable only in the case of mammals done from the flesh, and whose skeleton is not valuable. In this system, as in all the following, the model head of any animal, cast as described for the stag, may be subst.i.tuted for the natural skull, unless the teeth, etc.

are required to be shown. Model teeth carved from bone, or from wood, subsequently coloured, are sometimes inserted in model heads, but this is not recommended.

The next part of our theme deals with mounting skins from the "flat,"

when no body or skeleton is forthcoming, and is practised by masters of the art, who know by experience the various positions a.s.sumed by their subjects when in a state of Nature. By this means large animals, such as tigers, lions, bears, etc, may be mounted from skins sent home from abroad.

The skin having been relaxed and thinned (see Chapter X.), is put over the model in exactly the same manner as described for the otter. The model is, however, now determined by the size of the skin, which, when perfectly soft, is folded together, legs and all, and shaped on the floor of the studio, in somewhat the position required; from this a rough tracing is made with red chalk on boards kept for that purpose, or on sheets of brown paper. These are afterwards corrected by eye, or by the aid of smaller drawings or good prints.

Inside this large finished tracing trace an irregularly-shaped long oval, quite two inches smaller all the way round than the tracing of the skin itself. Cut this out in stiff paper, and from it shape up one or two boards of 1 in. to 1.5 in. deal, jointed together on edge; to this "body-board" bolt by staples the four strong rods representing the fore and hind limb bones. Let each have a right-angled crook where they first spring from the board, to represent the scapular and pelvic arches, then bend each one (more or less) at each joint (see Plates III. and IV.) according to the att.i.tude desired.

Insert these rods at the feet through a strong base made of 1 in. or 1.5 in. boards, remembering that, if the projected att.i.tude of your model demands the fore-feet raised, you must nail "quartering" on end, to which attach a platform of board of the requisite height. Fix two medium sized or one very strong rod for the neck, and one moderately strong for the tail. In a large animal--and I am a.s.suming that we are now engaged on a lion--the wire ribs may be replaced by sections of 0.5 in. board, cut as in Fig. 33, and nailed vertically on each side of the body-board. On the half-rounded surfaces of these, laths are tacked, and afterwards covered with straw, or plastered over, just as a plasterer would finish a part.i.tion; let this be kept somewhat smaller than you wish it, in order to allow for its subsequent covering with clay. From this proceed to model the limbs as before, using plaster over the tow, and clay over all; next arrange the tail, and, lastly, fix on the skull, if you possess it, or the plaster head, which has been modelled and cast in the same manner as the stag's head.

The skin is then fitted on as before, with the difference that the head part, which, perhaps, is split right through the chin, and the tail, split up its whole length, will come on more easily, but will of course require more sewing up. When finished, adjust the claws, the mane, the ears (blocked with zinc as in the stag), and the mouth.

Should it be wished to open the mouth to express rage or what not, the edges of the skin of the mouth, being no doubt dest.i.tute (in a "flat"

skin) of their inner lining (the mucous membrane), must have this replaced by wash leather sewn all around to form the "bags" of each side of the lips, previously mentioned.

These "bags" are then filled with clay or modeling wax, and when the skin is put on over the skull, are pinched into proper shape and attached by their inner edges to where the gums should be, or around convenient teeth by st.i.tches, or by strong wire points driven into the bone, in the manner which will best commend itself to the learner.

Suffer it to dry, looking at it from time to time, and when perfectly dried model the palate, etc. (should the animal be represented open-mouthed), in the manner described in Chapter XII. So great a ma.s.s of damp clay used on these large animals is apt to crack; paper may advantageously be pasted over the whole surface before the skin is put on, which will stick well and not interfere with the modelling.

Fig. 33--Section of half-inch board to represent ribs

Plate IV. Lion mounted from the "Flat".

Plate IV. represents a lion mounted by this method: A, B, the skull; C, the neck rod (sometimes two); D, E, and F, the body-board; G, the tail rod; and 1, 2, 3, and 4, the rods representing the parts H, I, J, K, 1, and M, N, O, P, Q, in Plate III.

The last process of all is mounting, by means of a model skeleton of carved wood, supplemented by iron rods. This is a system which requires a slight knowledge of wood carving, and would be practised in the case of having the skeleton of the large animal to model from, or in cases where, having both skeleton and flesh, it is desirable to retain the former as an osteological preparation, and to treat the skin as a taxidermic object.

Supposing, then, we have a lion in the flesh, our first care must be to determine upon the position and att.i.tude it is to ultimately a.s.sume. Not to perplex the student too much, we determine that it shall take the att.i.tude of our last example (Plate IV), or else that shown in Plate III. Accordingly, we arrange it on a platform just raised from the floor of the studio, when by propping and judicious management we make it, although lying on its side, a.s.sume the position we require.

We carefully measure and take a rough tracing of the whole. The muscles are now worked up into position, and moulds taken from them, or from such parts of the limbs as we require. By careful arrangement of clay, wooden walls, and other packing, it is quite possible to take a complete cast of the whole carcase. Piece-casting, however (described in Chapter XII), a.s.sists us here. From these moulds we cast reproductions of parts of the lion, which will be patterns for, and greatly a.s.sist us when, ultimately modelling up. The animal is now skinned, and the skin prepared in the usual manner, i.e, stripped entirely from the body, cured, and thinned down. The bowels are taken out, the flesh is cut off the bones, and the parts H, I, J, K, and M, N, O, P (see Plate III.), are copied by carving in lime-tree or beech wood. [Footnote: Bones can be cast in plaster quite as easily as anything else, and often take the place of carved wood.]

These models are then sawn longitudinally in halves, and each half hollowed out to receive, and to be either tied, or wired on to, the rods-1, 2, 3 and 4 of Plate IV. By this it will be seen that the model is made up precisely as in that, the only addition being the subst.i.tution of carved limb-bones in place of tow previously used to bind over the rods. Clay or other substances is worked over these "wooden bones," and the finishing processes are the same as the last.

The skeleton must be carefully mounted and articulated, as described in Chapter XII. Be careful to get the ultimate phalanges of each limb out of the skin, and by careful management we shall also be enabled to get the bony core from the claw, and thus reap the advantage of having two specimens instead of one only.

Large fishes--such as sharks; or reptiles, such as very large alligators and crocodiles--may be mounted by slight modifications of any of the foregoing processes.

Often hardened wax, linseed oil and plaster, plaster composition, modelling wax, cobbler's wax, sh.e.l.lac, or what not, is used to represent the muscles and "flabby" parts. Wax is also used to paint over the mucous membrane, where shown or exposed. All this will be found fully explained in Chapter XII, thus exploding all the rubbish talked, and written, about "secret" or "patent" compositions, which, when put on soft, will ultimately dry as hard as marble. These wonderful "secrets" may be summed up under three heads--Clay, Plaster, and Wax!

CHAPTER VIII.

SKINNING, PRESERVING, AND MOUNTING FISH, AND CASTING FISHES IN PLASTER, etc.

FISH being, perhaps, the most difficult things in the range of taxidermical science to set up in a satisfactory manner, I would impress upon the amateur to take particular note of their peculiarities of shape and colour, and to practise upon any easily-obtained and tough-skinned fish, such as the perch, which is, indeed, one of the best of all subjects for the purpose.

However, as I have now before me a pike of over 11 lb, I will take it to ill.u.s.trate this lesson.

Provide yourself first with skinning knives (see Figs. 11-13) and a tool previously figured, which I call the undercutting knife or sc.r.a.per (see Fig. 29). It is best made by an artisan, but may be roughly fashioned by beating out a square piece of steel (a worn-out, narrow, flat or square file will furnish this), while hot, to a flat surface at one end, turning it at right angles for about an inch, and filing each side of this return, as also the point (the latter previously rounded) to a cutting edge, and afterwards giving it the requisite hardness by "tempering" it in oil. Many tools used by the gun stockers are to be bought ready made, which will fulfil all the requirements of this tool, but it is so easily made that I consider anyone with the least mechanical ability should be able to make one.