Sacramento daily record-union., 1888-09-19
4 TAXIDERMISTS STUDIO.
Beauties of the Animal World Collected
From Jungle and Field.

From jungle and Field.
There is large collection of mammal
skins, designed for rugs, says a Washing
ton Star reporter, describing visit to
taxidermists studio. Among these is the
skin of the giant Himalayan tiger, u feet
9 inches in length, hair u inches long.
and beautifully marked The famous
tree tiger" is also here represented by
his skin. Probably this is the only speci-
men of the kind in the United States
Its soft, long fur, with silver tips, is not
rivaled by any of the cat tribe Leopard
skins, with their beautiful spots, iaguar
skins from South America, ocelot skins
from Texas, panther and bear skins of
every variety; in fact, skins of every ami
NAL of note or value are found here.
at is an immensely instructive and
fascinating occupation" said the taxider-
mist, in reference to the reporters in
quiry "but it requires years of careful
study to master it."
GLOW do you obtain your skinsw
ave get them from collectors from all
parts of the world"
GLOW do the collectors preserve the
skins III such good condition ?'' asked the
reporter.
"The animal, if killed far from camp,
must be skinned on the spot. The first step
is to take important measurements, then
the animal is turned over on its back a. d
the skinning process commenced. An in
cision is made beginning at the top of the
lower jaw and running down to the base,
and in some instances to the extreme end
Of the tail. The skin is then parted right
and left with the assistance of the knife,
and skinned down to the hind legs, and
the bones cut off close to the body. Each
leg is then skinned down to the sole of
the foot If the animal be very large
cross cuts are made from the central cut
the foot. The flesh is then removed from
the leg bones, and the front legs operated
upon in the same manner, and the skin is
then removed from the body The skull
is then removed from the carcass and
cleaned, together with the leg bones, to be
utilized in mounting. All surplus flesh is
then removed from the skin by scraping,
and salt and alum applied for the purpose
of preserving it, after which ii is spread
out and dried.
In very moist, hot countries" the tax
idermist went on, this process is not al
ways effective, and the new cask picking
process is resorted to. A large cask, partly
filed with strong solution of alum and
salt, is provided, and the skins, after being
removed from the body and thoroughly
cleaned, are put in and allowed to remain
an indefinite length of time, requiring no
further attention of any consequence until
ready for shipment, when an examination
and a reflling of the bath is resorted to-"
"How long will skins keep in such a
bath ?" asked the reporter.
81 have kept skins for a period of six
years, and mounted them at the end of
that time, making first-class specimens |
naturalist, ga Shetland pony, half seal,
a black-tail deer and number Of monkeys
that have been in the bath for five or six
years"
"Does the bath have any effect upon the
skins or hair p
1t has no perceptible effect upon the
skins and does not alter the color of the
hair. 1t has bad effect upon bones, how
ever, softening them until they are almost
like rubber. Bones are nearly always re-
moved before the skin is placed in the
BATH"
The reporter was invited to look at the
skins in pickle, and, peering through a
small hole in a large cask, the beautiful
fur of a Diana monkey and the soft, white
skin Of an Angora goat were plainly dis
cernible.
To mount an animal, what is the COM
mon processF p
The most recent and improved method
is the manikin method, principally used in
the mounting of large mammals and birds
1t differs from the old methods in that first
perfect model is made of the entire ami.
NAL, over which the skin is placed, and
! with the assistance of small quantity Of
of clay modelled and proportioned to its
perfect FORM"
Do you use this method ?'
Yes: | mounted Stonewall Jackson's
horse, Old Sorrel, that way, and am now
engaged in mounting q beautiful fawn for
| distinguished woman
In some Of the specimens have seen
mounted there are wires visible. What
part do wires play in the mounting of
themw
A most important one Without the
use of wires it would be almost impossible
to mount specimens. None of the wires
should show in thoroughly mounted
specimen"