The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-02
ART OF TAXIDERMY.
StuHing and Mounting Animals and
Birds Is Complicated.

blEOS Is Onlpilcutcus
From the Springfield Homestead.
The process of stuffing and mounting
birds and animals, called taxidermy, is
a more complicated one than the aver
age layman supposes. Some seem to
have the impression that it is simply
necessary to remove the "insideS" of
the corpse and then fill up the hole
with some soft material that will fill
out the skin. The result from such
performance would be interesting,
but it would bear mighty little resem-
blance to the original animal.
The processes used in stuffing and
mounting a bird and a mammal differ
somewhat, and each taXidermist has
his individual method of working.
Some taxidermists prefer to work on
mammals, others prefer birds. And
there is even difference in birds, some
taxidermists having particular skill in
mounting the small birds, while 9TH
ers prefer the large, heavy specimens.
AS to which is the hardest to mount,
that depends on the individual work.
man largely. There are some things
about the small bird that make it a
more difficult subject, while on the
other hand there are features of work
on the larger birds that make them
particularly difficult to handle.
The first thing to do with a bird to
be mounted is, of course. to remove
the skim or, rather, one might say, to
remove the meat or flesh from inside
the skin. as 1t is the skin that is the
part TO be saved. This has to be done
very thoroughly, as every particle of
flesh must be taken out before any
thing further is done. The leaving of
any flesh in the finished specimen
would ruin the entire work. The re-
moval of the flesh from the body prop
err is a comparatively simple matter,
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 I'M
der side of the bird. turning the skin
back like stocking over the legs and
the neck. so as to reach the flesh of
these parts. The wings are always
rather bothersome. and it 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 vestige of the grease-then the
skin is prepared by rubbing into 1t 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 finish
ed specimen. To one ignorant of the
science there could be nothing much
more hopeless than the limp skin of a
Extraordinarily a large bird. Yet
1t is the whole thing, and the body
must all be supplied by the skill of the
operator. For this purpose a form is
made resembling as closely as possible
the interior of the bird. As all birds
vary much in size, even those of the
same variety, IL will be seen that this
is not an absolutely simple matter
Measurements are taken before 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