Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1903-08-22
ART OF TAXIDERMY.
Stuffing and Mounting Animals and
Birds Is Complicated.

The process of stufiing and mopDtipc.
BIRDS and animals, called taxIdermy. is :,
more complicated one than the average
layman supposeS. Some seem 10 baT.
the impression that it is simply necessary
TO remove the 'insides" of the corns,
ana then I'LL up the hole with some Soft
material that will fill out the skin. IT,
result from such performance would h.
interesting, but it would bear mighty ill.,
Tie resemblance to the original animal.
Inc processes used in stufIiuy and
mounting bird and a mammal differ
somewhat, and each taxidermist has sj.
individual method of working. Some tax
ldermlsts prefer to work on mammals.
others prefer birds. And there is ey,g,
difference in birds, some taxidermi>-s
having particular skill in mounting the
small birds. while others prefer the large.
heaVy specimens. AS to which is -A.
hardest to mount, that depends ON tile iu-
dIyidt;ll workman largely. There af,.
some things about the small bird thrt
make it more difficult subject, while c..
the other hand there are features of wc-,-
on the larger birds that make them paI-
ucularly difficult to handle
he hrst thing to do with a bird to he
mounted IS, of course, to remove the
skin; or, rather, one might say, to re-
move the meat or flesh from inside the
SKIN, as 1t is the ska tbit is the part 10
be saved. This has to be done very thor
oughly, as every particle of flesh must he
taken out before anything further is dom
The leaving of any flesh in the finished
specimen would ruin the entire WORK.
The removal of the flesh from the body
proper Is a comparatively simple mat
ter, the more difficult work being when
one comes to the legs, neck and wings
Usually almost all of this is done from
the one cut in the skin at the under side
of the nIF6 furnIntr ha Sly hno
stocking over the legs and the neck, so as
TO reach the flesh of these parts. The
wings are always rather bothersome, and
1t Is necessary to make another small cut
under them on the outside.
Once the flesh is all removed-in the
case of some birds where there is much
fat. such as ducks, it is necessary to be
careful and get off from the skin every
VestlGe of the grease-then the skin is
prenared by rubbing into it a mixture of
dry alum and arsenic. The alum is to
help dry out the skin, while the arsenic
poisons 1t and so keeps it free from all
vermin. which would otherwise soon SPOIL
the finished specimen. To one ignorant
of the science there could be nothing
much more hopeless than the limp skin Of
a blrd-particularly a large bird. Yet it
is the whole thing and the body must all
be supplied by the skill of the operator.
For this purpose a form is made resem-
bling as closely as possible the interior Of
the bird. AS all birds vary much in size.
even those of the same variety, it vii,
be seen that thi is not an absolutely sim
pie matter. Measurements are taken be-
fore the bird is skinned, but even with
this help the taXidermist must have al
most another sense that will enable him
to make the form of the proper shape
and size. with slight depreSsions in the
surface for the legs and wings-Spring-
field Homestead