Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-10-19
TAxIDERMiST's STUDIO.
beauties OF the Animal World, Col
Iected from Jungle aud Field.

BouutieS OF the Amman WOrIO, Soi-
Iected from Jungle aud Field.
There is large collection of man,
NAL skins. des gned for rugs, says a
Washington Star reporter. describing
visit to tax dermists studio.
Among these is the skin Of the giant
Himalayan tiger. II feet 9 inches in
length, hair II inches long and beau
tifully 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 rivalled b. any of the cat tribe.
Leopard skins. with their beautiful
spots, jaguar skins from South Ameri-
ca, ocelot skins from Texas. panther
and bear skins OF every variety; in fact
skins of every animal of note or value
are found here.
1T is an immensely instructive and
fascinating occupation" said the taxi
dermisL IN reference to the report
er s inquiry; "but it requires years of
careful study to master IT.
"How do you obtain your skins?"
1--WE get them from collectors in all
parts of the world
"How do the collectors preserve tho
skins in 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 measure
mcnts. then the animal is turned over
on its back and the SIX ming process
commenced. An incison is made be-
ginning at the tip of the lower jaw and
running down to the base and in some
Instances TO the extreme end of the
tail. The SIX n is then parted right and
left with the assistance of tho 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 Ii the an NAL be very
large. cross cuts are made from the
central cut on the inside of the leg and
the sole of the foot. The flesh is then
moved from the leg bones, and the
front legs operated upon in the same
manner and the skin entirely removed
from the body. The skull is then re.
moved from the carcass and cleaned.
together with the leg bones, to be
utilized in mounting. All surplus fat
and flesh is then removed from the
skin b. scraping. and salt and alum
applied for the purpose of preserving
IL, after which it is spread out and
dried.
''ln very moist hot countries. the
laxidermist went on, "this process is
not always effective, and the new cask
picking process is resorted to. A
large cask. partly filled with q 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 ex =
animation and reiilling of the bath is
tesorted TO.
How long will skins keep in such a
bath?" asked the reporter.
II have kept skins for period of
six years. and mounted them at the
End of that time, making tirst-class
specimens. 1 have large African
! Iion,' continued the naturalist, "a
Shetland pony. a half seal. blacktail
deer and number of monkeys that
have been in the bath for five or six
fears"
docs the bath have any effect upon
The skins or hair?"
1T has no perceptible effect upon
The skins and does not alter the color
Of the hair. II has bad effect upon
bones, however, sof.ening them until
they are almost like rubber. Bones
are nearly always removed before the
skin is placed in the BATH
! The reporter was inv ted to look at
The skins in pickle. aud. peering
through small hole in large cask,
The beautiful fur of Diana monkey
and the soft white skin of an Angora
goat were plainly discernble.
80 mount an animal, what is the
common process?
The most recent and improved
method is the manikin method, pr n
cipally used in the mounting of large
mammals and birds 1t is different
from the old methods in that, first. a
perfect model is made of the entire
animal. over which the skin is placed.
and with the assistance Of small
quantity of clay, modelled and proper
toned to its perfect form. -.
do you use this methodP"
Eyes, l mounted Stonewall Jack
SON horse, Old Sorrel, that way, and
am now engaged in mounting beauti-
full fawn for a distinguished woman"
I'm some of the specimens l have
seen mounted there are wires visible.
What part do wires play in the mount
ing of them?"
"A mos: important one. Without
the use of wires it would be almost
impossible to mount specimens. None
Of the wires should show in thor
oughly mounted specimen.