The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-04-28
MOUNTING TROPHIES
u. HUNTING TRIP
'stztzS5.
Great Skill Being Shown
In Preparing Speci-
mems For Ex- "a
hibition.
N the taxidermy shop of the Ma

AoiSSlS anu JuuSleS Oh Africa. Inc
raw material was supplied by Theo-
dore Roosevelt, while the art. skill
and beautiful workmanship that CON
verts it into the finished product are
furnished by a staff of experts whose
work is equaled by few men in this
country.
story went the rounds recently
that there was not enough money
available TO mount all the Roosevelt
specimens. AS a matter of fact. il is
not the intention to mount all of them.
There are good many Duplicates
and there would he no object in pre-
pairing duplicates for public exhibition
The skins of those animals which are
not mounted will be kept. however
and will always be available for ex-
animation by persons interested in the
study of them
A Question of Men.
'It is not a question of money" said
an official of the Smithsonian institu
ton. ut is a question of men. There
is sufficient money to mount the
Roosevelt specimens and also other
specimens which we have. but there
are not very many men who can do
the sort Of work that we are doing
here. A man has to be more than
taxidermist. He must be something
of a naturalist himself. something of
a sculptor and good deal of an OBJ
server of animals in the life"
hn hot ;c
the taxidermy shop bears out this
statement. Only a few men are en-
ployed there. and they work quietly
and deliberately on their delicate
tasks. Scattered around the room are
clay models of all sorts of wild ami.
mails. There are plaster casts. too.
which are executed with a fidelity to
life worthy of a Barge. So excellent
is the work on these casts that many
of them would serve for statues rath-
er than mere bodies to be clothed with
skin.
sour work is just the reverse of a
tailors," remarked the head of the
shop "A tailor has furnished to him
the body. and he makes the suit of
clothes to lit it. Here we get the suit
of clothes. and it is our job to build
the body"
Mount Skins on Statues.
Up to about ten years ago the usual
method of mounting animals skins
was to construct a more or less rude
framework. drape the skin upon it
and then stuff it. The result usually
was an unnatural pose and mis-
shapen beast that would not have been
recognized by its fellows in the jungle.
TaXidermy of this kind is frequently
exhibited in the form of stuffed bears
and other animals used as advertise
ments over the doorways of fur stores.
But a revolution has come in the
mounting of animals for scientific mu-
seums 1t is now the fashion to make
a statue of the animal itself and then
to clothe 1t with the hide. fitting it so
closely as to allow muscles to stand In
relief and Joining the seams with such
infinite skill that they are practically
invisible.
In doing this sort of work the taxi
dermists at the Smithsonian institution
make use of animal statuary, of pho
tographs, drawings and personal stud
les of live animals. But most impor-
tant of all are the measurements that
were taken ir the field by the natural
lists who accompanied the Roosevelt
expedition. Every skin that was sent
over here had a set of measurements
that were taken Immediately after the
animal was killed These measure
ments are more minute and complete
than any ever taken by tailor who
makes suit of clothes. They are in
valuable to the taxidermists in prepar-
ing the plaster casts over which the
skins are stretched.
Hides Are Well Tanned.
When the skins arrived here they
were packed in brine. The first thing
to be done was to have them tanned
so that they could be permanently pre-
served. This work was done in pri-
vate tanneries, the result being that
the hides have been converted into
soft, pliable leather without in any
way damaging the hair. In skinning
all VI tic very leW CulS
were made. One incision along the
belly was sufficient in most cases, with
the exception of short incisions In the
legs. The rule was to get the skin off
the animal with minimum of cutting
This makes more work for the taxi.
dermists, but 1t produces a specimen
that Is practically unmarried.
When the Smithsonian experts un-
dertake to mount an animal in nearly
all cases they first make miniature
model in clay. This is worked out in
great detail and decides the pose into
which the animal is to be placed.
Frequently the workmen make trips
out to the Washington zoo in order to
study poses. From the miniature
model life size clay model is con-
structed, and this carries the detail
even further, so that the muscular