CHAPTER I.

Transcriber's note:

Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).

Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold (=bold=).

Corrections and alterations from the original can be found at the end of

the book.

PRACTICAL HELPS IN NATURAL HISTORY

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

INSECTS

HOW TO CATCH AND HOW TO PREPARE THEM FOR THE CABINET

Illustrated Price 50 Cents

FIELD BOTANY

A HANDBOOK FOR THE COLLECTOR

Illustrated Price 50 Cents

TAXIDERMY WITHOUT A TEACHER

COMPRISING

A complete Manual of Instruction for Preparing and Preserving

BIRDS, ANIMALS AND FISHES

Illustrated Price 50 Cents

LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS BOSTON

TAXIDERMY WITHOUT A TEACHER

COMPRISING

A COMPLETE MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION

FOR PREPARING AND PRESERVING

BIRDS, ANIMALS AND FISHES

WITH

A CHAPTER ON HUNTING AND HYGIENE; INSTRUCTIONS

FOR PRESERVING EGGS AND MAKING SKELETONS

AND A NUMBER OF VALUABLE RECEIPTS

BY

WALTER P. MANTON

Illustrated

SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED

BOSTON

LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS

NEW YORK CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM

Copyright, 1882,

BY LEE AND SHEPARD.

_All Rights Reserved._

TO

PROFESSOR J. W. P. JENKS, A.M.,

OF BROWN UNIVERSITY,

This Second Edition

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED

BY THE AUTHOR.

CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE

I. BIRD SKINNING AND MOUNTING 13

II. PERCHES 34

III. SKINNING AND MOUNTING MAMMALS 37

IV. SKINNING AND MOUNTING FISHES AND REPTILES 41

V. EGGS AND NESTS 46

VI. SKELETONS 49

VII. HUNTING AND HYGIENE 51

[Illustration: Fig. 1.

A--Primary Quills.

B--Secondary Quills.

C--Spurious Wing.

D--Wing Coverts.

E--Tertiary Quills.

F--Throat.

G--Jugulum.

H--Beak--Upper and Lower Mandible.

I--Culmen of Upper Mandible.

J--Cere.

K--Commissure.

L--Frons, or Forehead.

M--Occipital Feathers.

N--Scapular Feathers.

O--Back.

P--Upper Tail Coverts.

Q--Rump.

R--Shows position of Under Tail Coverts.

S--Abdomen.

T--Tarsus.

]

PREFACE.

The success of this little book during the past six years necessitates

a second edition. As a manual it is not intended to compete with the

larger handbooks on the subject; but the attempt has been made to

furnish the beginner with reliable instruction for the least money

possible. The present edition has been thoroughly revised, and many

additions made.

As was said in the first edition: "I have employed the method given for

a number of years, and with great success, and guarantee success to the

learner who fully carries out the directions embodied herein. I ask the

reader to take himself, in imagination, to my work-shop, and to proceed

as if I were at his elbow, guiding his hand, and explaining to him the

mysteries of this beautiful art. It is only continuous, untiring labor

that accomplishes anything of real merit in this life; and the most

successful ornithologists will be found to be the hardest workers.

"Therefore I would caution the beginner against all impatience and

disappointment at unsuccessful attempts, and urge him to press forward,

continually striving to improve upon past failures, and soon, to his

own astonishment, those things which at first appeared difficult and

awkward, will become comparatively simple and easy. Said an old teacher

to me: 'I can tell you how all these things are _done_, but I cannot

enable you to do them; practice alone will accomplish that.'

"A person with a light and delicate touch will be most successful

in this art; therefore I recommend it to the special attention of

ladies. It is a continual source of pleasure, and promotive to the

love of the great Nature which moves so mysteriously around us. It is

true that we have seen those of coarse and vulgar minds and clumsy

fingers, eminently successful; but what is more revolting to a delicate

appreciation, than to see these bright creatures, so marvellously

constructed by our all-wise Father, tortured into life-like attitudes

by one who acts merely as an automaton, and has no sympathy with his

work otherwise than to gain a livelihood? It is only the refined and

the lover of nature who can thoroughly enjoy this art of reproduction.

A close observer of nature, in two short hours spent in the fields and

woods, will see and learn more than the unobserving and careless person

in as many years.

"A careful observation of the habits and attitudes of the little

songsters when free, will be of great assistance in mounting. A

knowledge of drawing will also be found of service."

FROM THE FIRST EDITION.

BROWN UNIVERSITY, Providence, R. I.

MR. MANTON,--Having perused your MS. "TAXIDERMY WITHOUT A TEACHER,"

I feel free to say, that its suggestions are eminently practical,

and cannot fail to render such aid to the beginner as he most needs,

and indeed must have from some source, at the outset of his efforts

to acquire the beautiful art of preserving and mounting specimens in

Natural History.

Whatever induces the young or old to turn their attention to the

study of nature, is a gain to society at large, as substituting

truth for fiction, and leading the mind to the contemplation of Him

whose devising wisdom and sagacity are manifested in all His works.

Commending highly your effort, I am yours,

With great respect,

J. W. P. JENKS.

HANDBOOK OF TAXIDERMY.

CHAPTER I.

BIRD SKINNING AND MOUNTING.

Well, here we are at last. Please turn the key in that door--to keep

all inquisitive priers out--for the process into which I am about to

initiate you is something of a secret, shrouded by the thin veil of

mystery.

You have come to me to-day to learn something of the art of Taxidermy,

so we will take up, for your first lesson, bird skinning and mounting.

But first let us see what

TOOLS

we shall need to accomplish our end: a pair of good sharp

scissors--surgical scissors, with long handles and short, stout

blades are the best; a knife or scalpel; a pair of spring forceps; a

common knitting-needle; a rabbit's foot, which should be cut off at

the knee, the nails cut out, and thoroughly cleansed and dried,--used

for smoothing and dusting the feathers of birds after mounting; a

fishing-hook, with stout cord attached, for suspending the bodies of

birds that would otherwise be too large to handle conveniently.

On the whole, I would advise you to get at the start a common

dissecting-case, which will contain all of the above, and besides being

convenient, may save you much delay and vexation.

You will need a pair of stout wire cutters; a flat file; a pair of wire

twisters or forceps; plenty of pins; thread and needles,--surgical

or saddlers' needles, as they are called, are the best, as they cut

instead of punching the skin; a brain scoop, made by twisting a bit of

wire into a loop; and a bobbin of thread, which you can procure at any

cotton factory. You should also have on hand an assortment of annealed

wire; glass eyes of various sizes and colors; tack nails; brads; a

piece of putty; sealing and bees-wax; paints; glue; artificial leaves;

mosses; everlasting flowers, etc., for ornamenting perches.

Now we come to the

MATERIALS

required for stuffing. Cotton, tow, soft hay and excelsior are the

best, but anything soft will do, except feathers, hair, or in fact any

animal substance, as they act merely as assistants to the taxidermist's

great enemies--the bugs (Tineidæ and Dermestidæ).

POISON

is used to preserve the skins. But as everything of that description

is dangerous for young and inexperienced persons to handle, I strongly

recommend the following preparation, and guarantee it to preserve their

first efforts until they become an eye-sore, and are finally thrown

into the fire with much disgust.

I.

Pulverized Alum.

Common Salt. Equal parts.

Mix.

Label: Salt and Alum.

The best and only _safe_ preparation is:--

II.

Arsenic.

Pulverized Alum. Equal parts.

Mix.

Label: POISON!!

The arsenic is to poison, and the alum to act as an astringent,

especially in setting the feathers and fur of skins partially

decayed. As arsenic is an irritant poison, great care should be taken

while using. See that the hands are free from all scratches, cuts,

hang-nails, and broken skin. These may be covered with court-plaster

or collodium. Wash the hands immediately after using, and be careful

to clean well under the nails. With these precautions there is little

or no danger, and it may be used with the greatest impunity. Avoid

all so-called "arsenical soaps," as they are both dangerous and

disagreeable to handle. Use nothing but the above receipts, and you

will succeed far better. Having all these materials and implements at

hand, we are now prepared to go on with our work.

LABELLING.

Let us take this Blue Jay for your first attempt. The first thing to

be done is to measure and label it--and, by the way, never neglect

this, for a bird without its label in a collection, is like a ship

at sea without its rudder. LENGTH.--Lay the bird on its back, and

with a pair of dividers (for a large bird a tape line must be used)

measure from the tip of the beak (the head lying flat on the table)

to the tip of the tail. Place the points of the dividers on a rule

that is divided into one-hundredths of an inch, and see how much they

measure. EXTENT.--Place the bird across the ruler, and using reasonable

force, stretch the wings out, and see how far they reach. LENGTH OF

TAIL.--Place one point of the dividers at the end of the "pope's

nose," and open them until the other is at the tip of the longest tail

feather. THE TARSUS.--Place one point of the dividers at the middle

of the sole of the foot, and measure as far as the first joint. THE

BEAK.--Place one point of the dividers at the beginning of the cere,

on the upper mandible, and open them until the other is at the tip

of the beak. In addition to these I advise you to keep the weight of

each specimen, especially in the case of game birds. Set all these

measurements, etc., down on your label as you go along; also color

of eye, contents of stomach (after skinning), and the number of the

bird. This number must correspond to a number in your Ornithological

Ledger--a book in which you should keep an account of each day's

doings; the number of birds killed, the number used, attitudes, etc.,

and whatever else may be of interest to you regarding the day's

shooting.

BLOOD STAINS.

These may be removed before skinning, by gently washing with a sponge

and a little water, and afterwards dried by working into the feathers

pulverized plaster of Paris, or potato starch, until the water is all

absorbed, and the feathers become dry and clean; then shake all plaster

or starch from the feathers. Now fill the beak, anus, and shot holes,

if you have not previously done so,[A] with cotton, and we are ready

to begin

[A] See Hunting and Hygiene.

SKINNING.

Lay the bird on its back, its head towards your right hand, and run

the handle of your scalpel from the sternum, or breast bone, to the

anus. In so doing you will see there is a little naked place, in many

birds, all the way down. Stroke the feathers away right and left,

leaving this bare, and inserting the point of the scissors at the end

of the sternum, cut down to and _into_ the anus (taking care not to

cut through the thin belly walls; if this is done, fill the place with

cotton, or disembowel); stopping here, as this makes a good strong

termination that will not easily tear. Take the forceps in the right

hand, and seize one edge of the skin. Holding this, press and push

(never pull) the skin from the sides and belly walls. Care must be

taken that the feathers do not get into the cut and thus become soiled.

Keep stroking them away, right and left, and place a little fluff

of cotton, tissue paper, or white pine sawdust, under them. After

skinning away, you will come to a hard substance; this is the thigh.

Skin carefully around this until you come to the under side, when you

can easily insert your scissors and sever it from the body. Push the

leg up out of the skin until you come to the tarsus; clear away all

muscles and tendons, and bring the legs back into its skin again.

Repeat this process on the other side without turning the bird around.

Now skin carefully around the tail; place your forefinger across this,

and pressing it back a little, insert the scissors and sever the stump.

Great care must be taken, however, not to cut the thin and very tender

skin over the tail.

Now turn the bird up, and with its belly pointing toward you, let the

tail fall over the forefinger of your right hand, and with your thumb

nail and fingers, continue to push and work the skin until you come to

the wings; sever these at the shoulder.

Now holding the skin in the left hand, and letting the body fall over

the other side of the fingers, skin down the neck--which will slip

out as easily as a finger from a glove--until you come to the base

of the skull. Skin carefully over this, taking great care to detach

the thin membrane of the ear, with the thumb-nail or scalpel handle,

and proceed until you come to the front part of the eye socket. Cut

the thin membrane that covers the eye, taking care not to lacerate the

ball; then scoop out the eyes. Stick one point of the scissors just

inside one branch of the lower jaw, and make a cut parallel with the

jaw, crushing through the skull just outside the angle of the jaw. Make

a duplicate cut on the other side. Then at the end of these make a

transverse cut through the roof of the mouth.

Connect the posterior ends of the side cuts by cutting across the skull

near its base. You have now cut out a square-shaped piece of bone and

muscle, and by pulling gently on the neck, this will come out, bringing

with it a mass of brain. Remove all brain and muscles of the head. Skin

down the wings as far as they will go, and run the thumb-nail along the

ulna, detaching the quills to the metacarpal bones; remove all muscles

and tendons. Now turn the skin and shovel in arsenic, so that all parts

may be covered; afterwards shake the skin over your box to remove all

loose arsenic.

Some difficulty may be experienced in getting the head back into the

skin. Begin in any way you please until you see the point of the beak

coming through the feathers; seize this with the fingers, and making

a cylinder of your left hand, gently coax the skin backwards, with a

motion very much like that of milking.

Now if you wish to make the skin neat, dress every feather with the

thumb and knitting-needle, and see that they all lie in place. Insert

the knitting-needle through the eye to the top of the skull (under the

skin), adjust the scalp and see that every feather is smooth.

In birds with large heads--such as owls, some woodpeckers and

ducks--over which the neck skin will not easily slip, a slit must

be made along the top of the head and the skull worked through, and

treated as given. When completed, sew up the skin and carefully arrange

the feathers.

When birds are to be mounted with spread wings, as if flying, it is

sometimes desirable to make the incision along the back instead of the

belly, the ventral feathers thus presenting a smoother appearance.

MAKING A SKIN.

After a skin has been poisoned and dressed, it may be "made"

by inserting into each eye-socket, through the neck, with the

knitting-needle, a little ball of cotton. Then make a little roll of

cotton and insert it into the neck; one end in the cavity of the skull,

the other just appearing at the end of the neck. Some collectors at

this point fasten the wings to the sides, by taking a stitch through

them with needle and thread. Before doing this, be sure that the wings

are in the right place. Take a piece of cotton about one-half the size

of the bird's body, and by turning in the edges make it into an oblong

ball, corresponding to the body just removed. Place this in the skin

with the forceps, and before letting go with the thumb and forefinger

press the wings together on the back, placing the fingers _under_ the

wings. Now draw the edges of the skin together, and making a cylinder

of each hand, gently coax the skin through, until it is of the required

shape. Then place it in a drying-rack, made by bending a piece of zinc

or tin into a half cylinder. Leave it to dry for a few days. Many

collectors never mount birds, but prefer "made skins." These may be

relaxed at any time by wrapping in damp cotton for a few days, and then

set up as directed.

SEX

May be determined by cutting through the ribs under the right wing, and

pushing away the intestines. There, bound to the small of the back,

will be seen the _testicles_ of the male--two spheroidal, whitish

bodies, which vary in size according to the season of the year. In the

female will be seen the _ovaries_, a flattened mass of whitish bodies.

These are often so minute as to defy the naked eye, and the inquirer

is obliged to employ the microscope to make the distinction. The sign

recognized by ornithologists all over the world is [male symbol] for

males, and [female symbol] for females; to which is added for young

birds the Latin _juvenis_ or _juv._ or O, meaning young, and _Nupt._

for birds in nuptial or breeding plumage.

STUFFING.

In the first place we must prepare the wires that we shall need. There

are three of these--the head wire and two leg wires. The first of these

must be about three or four inches longer than the bird as it lies

stretched out on the table (Fig. 2, A); the second and third two or

three inches longer than the leg (C).

[Illustration: FIG. 2.]

These wires must be perfectly straight (in the case of small wires this

may be done by stretching), and have one end sharpened. To do this

make a little groove with the file in the table, lay the end of the

wire in this, and holding it in the left hand, place the forefinger

near the end, and seizing the file in the right hand slowly sharpen,

revolving the wire at the same time with the left. This will seem a

little awkward at first, but you will soon become accustomed to it. Now

take a piece of sand-paper and polish the wires.

Take the longest of the three wires, and bend the unsharpened end

into an oblong ring--in length according to the size of the bird to

be mounted. Or, instead of the ring, you may make a little oval block

of wood, secure the head wire to one end, and bore holes for the leg

wires, which must be firmly fastened. For this Blue Jay we will make it

about one inch in length. Now around this ring or block as a _nucleus_,

or foundation, place the tow and wind it on with thread or string,

continually putting on more tow until you have an egg-shaped form (B).

Wind _around_ and then _lengthways_ to accomplish this. For birds

larger than a canary, the body may be made of hay or excelsior, and

finished with a coating of tow. This is easier to put wires through,

and is more economical. The tow body must be as near the size of the

natural body as possible, if anything a trifle _smaller_, on no account

_larger_. In order to be more accurate, I generally keep the body of

the bird skinned, on my table, and while winding compare the artificial

body with this until it is perfected. In this way a better shaped and

firmer body is produced. Be careful that you do not get the body too

soft (you cannot get it _too hard_), or when you come to set up your

bird it will be too weak to stand on its legs; the wires will have

nothing to clinch and hold to. Now take a bit of cotton, and with the

forceps introduce into the eye-socket through the neck. Repeat on the

other side. Fill up the cavity between the mandibles and the space in

the cranium with finely cut tow. Unless you are making a "skin," this

had better be done directly after poisoning the skin, before turning

the head through the neck. Now as to the neck. Some say, "Fill out

gently with chopped tow." I prefer to wind the wire, A, for a short

distance, with a bit of tow. To make this stick, first rub the wire

with a piece of beeswax. This, I think, makes a better neck, and is

less liable to misshape and contort the skin.

Now push the leg wire through the sole of the foot, and run it along

the leg-bone up through the leg. Great care must be taken not to break

the tarsus or run the wire through the loose skin which envelops the

leg so as to tear it. Repeat on the other leg. Now wind a little splint

of tow around the bone and wire of each leg. This will require some

practice, but once acquired it is very easy. Place the body in the

skin, and with a twisting motion run the wire out through the top of

the head. Gently draw the skin over the body until it is about half

way in. Then run the leg wires through the body, a little front of

the middle and a trifle higher up. When the wire appears through the

other side, seize it with the twisters, and bending it into a hook,

draw it firmly into the body. Repeat on the other side. Now work the

body entirely into the skin, by bending lengthwise the legs, and gently

sliding them on the wires. This done, take a little chopped tow or

cotton and place it under the body, on each side, directly where the

shoulders come. Pin or sew the edges of the skin together. There will

be a long piece of wire projecting from the head. Cut this off, say

quarter of an inch from the head; and making a ring at the unsharpened

end, push it through the stump of the tail into the body. This is to

support the tail (D).

Just now the bird is a decidedly shabby looking affair, and if you are

not careful you will find yourself getting discouraged, and thinking

that you have spoiled the skin. But do not despair, for if you have

carefully followed the directions, all will be right, and you will soon

have the pleasure of seeing a well-mounted specimen. But it will only

be after many failures that you will succeed. Remember "Post nubila

Phœbus,"--and it is just the same with bird stuffing.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.]

The legs are now straddling wide apart. Bring them together parallel

to each other, and make a sharp bend at the knee, bringing them over

the body in a natural position. Now place the bird on a temporary

perch; bend back the head, and arrange the body in the position you

think most lifelike. Some difficulty may be found in adjusting the

wings, but if preceding processes have been rightly carried out, they

will readily fall, or may be easily worked into place. Stick two pins

through them at right and obtuse angles to hold them in place (1 and

2, Fig. 3). Now your bird will look much better, and with the exception

of rumpled feathers, quite lifelike. To remedy this latter, with the

knitting-needle and thumb go all over the bird with a kind of picking

process; lifting the feathers and letting them gently fall into place.

You cannot work over the bird too long in this way; and the more time

you spend in dressing the feathers, the better will be your specimen

after drying. Now stick two pins along the back, and three along the

breast (G, H, I, J, K). Fasten one end of the thread from the bobbin

to the projecting head wire, and carefully wind the entire bird. Do

this loosely, so as not to disarrange any of the feathers, tightening,

however, wherever they tend to rise or look uneven.

This winding process is considered by some to be the most difficult

part of bird mounting.

The specimen should now be set away for several days, or even weeks,

if the bird be a large one, and allowed to dry; after which it may be

unwound; the eyelids soaked, by inserting little flabs of wet cotton

until they become soft and pliable; the eyes inserted in putty, and

the lids carefully adjusted over them. The protruding head wire and the

pins in the wings are cut off, and your bird mounted on the perch which

you have already prepared for it.

WINGS AND TAIL.

Wings may be spread by running a wire through the primaries (Fig. 1,

A) into the body, and placing another near the end of the wing as a

support while drying. The tail may be spread by running a wire through

the quills, near the "pope's nose" (Fig. 2, E), or by placing a bit of

split wood across the tip and tying the open end firmly (Fig. 3, L).

Crests may be raised or spread by inserting a small fluff, or ball of

cotton under the feathers, using a pin to hold them in place.

When glass eyes are not at hand, black beads may be used. Or white

glass beads may have a pupil (black) surrounded by the iris (yellow or

brown) painted with oil colors on the back. If neither of the above

can be procured, a half globe of the right size may be cut out of cork

or wood and a pin run through its centre. The outside is then to

be covered with sealing-wax or varnish until quite smooth, and then

painted the required color.

The feet, tarsi, cere and loose skin about the necks of some birds

often fade or become dull. These should be carefully painted, imitating

the original colors as closely as possible.

You have now completed your first lesson, and I advise that you become

perfectly familiar with skinning and mounting birds, before you take

up that of animals. For you cannot become too familiar and too much at

home in this department; and it will come in play fifty times, where

the other does once.