Taxidermy and Zoological Collecting / A Complete Handbook for the Amateur Taxidermist, Collector, Osteologist, Museum-Builder, Sportsman, and Traveller

For treating specimens of ordinary size with the concentrated fumes of bisulphide of carbon, the National Museum uses a galvanized sheet-iron tank 3 × 2 × 2 feet, which has around its upper edge a deep groove filled with water, into which the rim of the cover fits when the tank is closed. The centre of the cover contains an air-hole, which is also capable of being hermetically closed in the same way. This tank should be used in the open air, if possible, so that the fumes will not injure the health of the operator.

Poisoning Rugs.—It has long been a problem how to poison a fur rug to protect it from insects, and yet to keep out of it the dry mineral poisons which would be injurious to the health of the little ones, the dog, and the cat, who are "tenants in common" of the bear-skin on the floor. Mr. F.S. Webster has solved the difficulty by poisoning all his rugs on the inside with our old and valued friend, arsenical soap. It strikes into and through the skin, of course, and, contrary to previous expectations, it is by no means offensive, or even noticeable by odor in the finished rug.

Furs.—Even in Washington, the City of Moths, Mrs. Hornaday carried the family rugs and furs, and all woolen clothing, through eight summers, unscathed, by the liberal use of camphor gum alone. If the crumbled gum is sprinkled liberally into the folds of anything when it is being folded or rolled up, its protection against moths is assured.

Insect Powders.—For the benefit of the American housewife I will mention the fact that for the complete annihilation of ants, roaches, water-bugs, and the like, there is nothing that I know of that is so far-reaching and so deadly as a powder produced in California called buhac, costing sixty cents per pound. The price is high, but the powder is well worth it—and this is an absolutely free advertisement.

The Effect of Poisons on the Taxidermist.—Arsenical soap is by all odds the safest poison that can possibly be used. It gives off no poisonous fumes whatsoever, its presence in the mouth, nose, or eyes is always detected instantly, and the worst that it ever does is to get into a cut or under the ends of the finger-nails of the careless taxidermist, and make a festering sore which is well in a few days—a purely local ill.

Dry arsenic is more injurious. It sometimes poisons the fingers of a careless operator, and if it is inhaled in the form of dust the effect may be serious. A few persons are very susceptible to the effects of dry arsenic, others are not. If the blood is in a healthy condition there is little to fear from it, except through gross carelessness. I have used, all told, probably more than a hundred and fifty pounds of arsenic in various forms, and never had an hour's illness in consequence, nor anything more serious than a sore finger.

Corrosive sublimate is much more powerful and more dangerous. It should never be used in the preparation of a skin before it is mounted; after mounting it may, with care, be used quite safely.

Strychnine is far too dangerous to be used by a taxidermist save in poisoning animals he wishes to secure as scientific specimens.

CHAPTER XLV.

USEFUL INFORMATION.

Recipe for Making Arsenical Soap.

Directions: The soap should be the best quality of laundry soap, and of such composition that it can be reduced with water to any degree of thinness. Soap which becomes like jelly when melted will not answer, and should never be used.

Slice the soap and melt it in a small quantity of water over a slow fire, stirring sufficiently to prevent its burning. When melted add the potash, and stir in the powdered arsenic. Next add the camphor, which should be dissolved in the alcohol at the beginning of the operation. Stir the mass thoroughly, boil it down to the consistency of thick molasses, and pour it into an earthen or wooden jar to cool and harden. Stir it occasionally while cooling to prevent the arsenic from settling at the bottom. When cold it should be like lard or butter. For use, mix a small quantity with water until it resembles buttermilk, and apply with a common paint-brush.

The prices charged for the manufactured article by chemists who make arsenical soap to sell are out of all proportion to the cost and labor involved, and every taxidermist who uses much of it should by all means manufacture his own supply.

Hendley's Enamel Varnish.—Take equal parts of ether and alcohol, mix them, and add one-third as much gun-cotton. To every gill of this mixture add six drops of olive-oil to give elasticity. It is a good plan to keep two bottles, one containing the varnish ready for use, and the other containing the proper mixture of ether, alcohol and olive oil, to use in thinning the varnish when it gets too thick. This is a very superior varnish being absolutely colorless, and of high gloss.

The Wickersheimer Solution for the Preservation of Fleshy Objects Entire.—

Dissolve in one quart of boiling water. Cool and filter, and for every quart of solution add four quarts of glycerine and one quart of alcohol. Immerse the objects to be preserved in this solution, and keep them in it. It is but little else than our old familiar friend, the salt-and-alum bath, with enough glycerine added to prevent the excess of alum from unduly hardening and shriveling the specimens.

Composition for Use in Modeling Tongues, Mouths, and in General Fancy-Work.—"Procure 3 pounds white glue, 1 pint raw linseed oil, and 1 pound of resin. Heat the oil and resin, then add hot glue and stir thoroughly. Thicken with Paris white until the mixture has the proper consistency to mould when warm. This composition soon dries, becomes very hard, and can be colored or gilded. Fancy decorations of any design can readily be made from moulds of plaster or wood, and be glued on to shields and cases, thereby saving the expense of carving. The above is my own composition, which I have successfully employed for many years."—(J.H. Batty.)

Composition for Snow Scenes.—"Crush burnt alum with a roller, and remove small lumps. Add frosting, which has been pulverized in a mortar to the proper degree of fineness."—(Batty.)

Varnish Cutter (to remove old varnish from antlers, teeth, wood, or from the surface of an old oil-painting).—Take a sufficient quantity of eighty or ninety per cent alcohol, and slowly pour into it clear spirits of turpentine until the mixture becomes of a milky color. Then cork the bottle and shake the mixture thoroughly, and it is ready for use. Apply it with a small sponge, rub the surface vigorously for a moment only, then dip a rag in boiled linseed-oil and apply it to the cleaned surface. The varnish cutter acts almost instantly, and if left on too long the surface of a painting might be injured.

To Prevent Mould in Boxes of Specimens.—Take some carbolic acid crystals (forty cents per pound), melt them in the sun, and with the resulting liquid acid paint the entire inside of each box, and, if possible, pack contents with naphthaline crystals. This is efficacious in boxes of small skins of birds and mammals, of insects and the like, even in hot climates, but of course does not apply to boxes of large specimens which contain a great amount of moisture.

To Polish Hard Wood.—1st. Rub the surface thoroughly with raw linseed-oil, turpentine, and powdered pumice-stone. 2d. Give the surface a smooth coat of shellac. 3d. When dry, take fine sand-paper and go over it rather lightly. 4th. Give the surface a good coat of hard oil finish (a white varnish), and let it harden. 5th. When quite dry rub down with raw oil, turpentine, and pumice-stone, to soften the gloss of the varnish, and give a polish instead. For rubbing, use a piece of hair-cloth, or clean burlaps.

Cement for Gumming Labels to Minerals and Shells.—Pulverized gum Arabic, 4 ounces; pulverized white sugar, 2 ounces; starch, 4 drachms.

Dissolve all separately in as little water as convenient. Dissolve starch in cold water, then stir it into sugar water, and then that mixture into the gum water. Boil with great care, as burning will spoil the whole. It is well to use a tin vessel raised from the bottom of another vessel containing water. After the starch ceases to make the mixture look milky it is cooked, but at least an hour's time will be required. Keep in large mouthed, tightly corked bottles, or when done pour into a tray covered with strong paper, spreading it evenly over the paper, and allow it to dry. When dry enough, moisten back of paper and remove it from the gum, dry again thoroughly, break into fragments and preserve for use in wide-mouth stoppered jar.—(Southwick & Jenck's "Random Notes.")

Arsenic Water (for poisoning mammal skins, etc.).—Water, 4 quarts; arsenic, 4 ounces. Mix, stir and boil until the arsenic is all taken up.

The Treatment of Furs and Peltries.—Inasmuch as the readers of this book may sometime desire to preserve a few mammal skins as furs, or to be made up as rugs, I will quote entire, verbatim et literatim, a circular of instructions lately issued by one of the largest fur houses in this country, Messrs. William Macnaughtan's Sons, of New York City. Observe particularly, however, that skins prepared thus are utterly worthless to the taxidermist and the scientific museum. They are good for furs only:

"Directions for Fur Collectors and Trappers, to Insure High Prices, Ready Sales, and Save from Losses through Ignorance.—'Cased:' Ermine, fisher, fox, lynx, martin, mink, opossum, otter, skunk, must be 'cased,' that is, not cut open. In skinning, cut at the rump, and turn the skin inside out (like a glove) over the body of the animal, leaving the pelt side out. Then after scraping, cleaning, and drying, turn the skin back again while it is soft and easily managed, leaving the fur side out. Then put a thin board inside the skin, cut the natural shape of it, stretching the skin to its fullest extent, but not so much as to make the fur thin. Too much stretching spreads the fur over a large surface, and makes it thin and lacking in richness. A liberal supply of good boards should be kept on hand. Never use bent sticks, bows, or anything irregular in shape or that yields. When the above are 'opened' they have a Southern appearance that lessens the value greatly.

"'Open:' badger, bear, beaver, cats, raccoon, wolves, wolverine, must be 'open;' that is, cut open, up the belly from rump to head. After scraping, cleaning, and drying, stretch a uniformly oblong shape, to the fullest extent of the skin, but not so much as to make the fur thin. When thoroughly dry, trim off legs, shanks, flippers, and any little pieces that spoil the appearance of skin.

"Exceptions: Skunk, long stripe, such as come from the Territories and sections of California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, cut open and stretch oblong, as explained. Skunk, with the white stripe (or any portion) shaved out, blackened, or tampered with, must be collected at half price. Opossum from Indian Territory, cut open, and stretch oblong as explained. Chop off the tails where the fur ends, as they make opossum look poorly and lessen their value. Beaver are sometimes stretched almost round, but appear very much better stretched oblong. Value by the skin, never by the pound. They rapidly lose heavily in weight. They bring most sold by the skin. Muskrats must be 'cased,' but with fur side in. Chop off the tails as explained. Skin at the nose and make rumps square. Round tails have less value and do not sell well. Muskrats must not be injured by shooting or spearing. Trap them.

"Skins that have dried without proper care can be treated same as fresh, green skins. Otherwise they have no value. Dissolve a handful of common salt in a pail of fresh water, and apply frequently with brush or rag (to pelt side only, as it spoils appearance to wet the fur) until the pelt becomes perfectly soft. Then handle as explained. The same with 'open' skins.

"Cautions: Do not cure with alum or salt. It injures them for dressing and spoils their sale. Do not dry skins at a fire, or in the sun, or in smoke. It often 'burns' them; when they then spoil, and ruin on being dressed. Dry in the open air where shady. Meaty skins often 'burn.' The meat and fat on them heats and 'burns' them, and they then go to pieces and rot on being dressed. Too much warmth curls and spoils the top fur or hair. Never stuff furs of any kind; dry and stretch as explained. Do not stretch out the noses and make them pointed. It gives a Southern appearance and lessens value. Do not cut off heads, ears, or noses, or mutilate in any way. It lessens value and injures sales. Remove as much of bone from tail as possible, otherwise the tail rots.

"Trapping: Fur-bearing animals must not be killed till they have at least a fair growth of fur. Stop trapping as soon in early spring as the fur begins to shed or becomes thin, or a little faded. These too early or too late caught furs are a disgrace to fur trappers and collectors, and a wasteful, worthless slaughter."

CHAPTER XLVI.

THE BEST BOOKS OF REFERENCE FOR THE TAXIDERMIST AND COLLECTOR.

It is manifestly impossible even to name under this head a tenth part of the excellent books which might well be given place. It is also inexpedient to include in a list, that must of necessity be brief, the names of special works relating to the fauna of other countries than North America. Having been from first to last a diligent user of books in the course of my work, and ever on the alert for something new in printed word or picture that would be of practical use, I will give here the titles of the books that have proven of the greatest practical value to me. I must also in this connection strongly urge the young taxidermist and collector to supply himself with as many of these standard works as he can possibly procure. If diligently studied they are bound to save him from many an error, and richly repay their cost.

General Zoology and Classification.

"Steele's Popular Zoology." By Professor J.W.P. Jenks. American Book Company, New York. $1.00.

A model manual; of great value to the student because of its clearness, conciseness, and wealth of information. Copiously and elegantly illustrated.

"Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London;" also "Transactions."

Contains a great number of fine animal plates of much value to professional taxidermists. The series is extensive and very costly, and is therefore usually inaccessible except when it can be reached in some scientific library.

On Mammals.

"Illustrated Natural History: Mammals." Rev. J.G. Wood. Routledge, London, 1861. Price about $4.00. Get the original edition if possible.

This book has been of more help to me than any other I have ever found.

"Quadrupeds of North America." Audubon and Bachman.

Out of print and difficult to obtain, but very valuable.

"The Mammalia, in Word and Picture." By Carl Vogt and F. Specht. Translated from the German by Geo. G. Chisholm. D. Appleton & Co., 1-5 Bond Street, New York, 1890. Super royal 4to. $12.00.

This great work contains the finest illustrations of mammals, both singly and in groups, ever published in any country. The groups represented are wonderfully fine and life-like, and must be seen to be appreciated. No mammal taxidermist can afford to be without this work.

On Birds.

"The American Ornithologist's Union Code of Nomenclature, and Check-List of North American Birds." L.S. Foster, 35 Pine Street, New York City. $3.00.

Indispensable to the American collector, because it is the highest authority on the classification and nomenclature of North American birds. Thanks to this work, it is no longer necessary to take a daily paper in order to keep posted on the latest changes in bird nomenclature. The names adopted by Baird (1858), Coues (1873), Ridgway (1880), and Coues (1882) are all given. No illustrations.

"Key to North American Birds." By Dr. Elliott Coues. Estes & Lauriat, Boston. $7.50.

This great work—indispensable to every ornithologist—consists of a masterly treatise on systematic ornithology and the anatomy of birds, a key by which even the tyro can learn to analyze any American bird and identify it, and also a valuable treatise on "Field Ornithology," or bird-collecting.

"Nomenclature of North American Birds." Robert Ridgway. Sold by F.B. Webster, 409 Washington Street, Boston. $7.50.

Especially designed for use in the determination of species.

"Illustrated Natural History: Birds." Rev. J.G. Wood. Routledge, London, 1861. Price about $4.00. Get the original edition.

To a bird taxidermist this is the most valuable book ever published in a single volume, because of its wealth of excellent illustrations. Of special value in mounting strange foreign birds. Beware of the later editions.

"Studer's Birds of North America." Illustrated by Theodore Jasper. Large royal quarto. Jacob H. Studer, New York. $25.00.

Contains 119 plates, and a colored figure of every species of North American bird known at the date of its publication. A notable work. The illustrations are of great value to young taxidermists as models by which to mount birds.

"Birds of North America." J.J. Audubon.

This superb work is out of print; rare and costly. The octavo edition is to be found in most large libraries, however, and every bird taxidermist should at least know where the copy nearest to him is to be found, and how to gain access to it in time of need.

"Oology of New England." E.A. Capen. Sold by Frank B. Webster, 409 Washington Street, Boston. $8.75.

This is the finest illustrated work on birds' eggs ever published in this country.

On Reptiles.

"Illustrated Natural History: Reptiles." Rev. J.G. Wood. Routledge, London, 1861.

Uniform with volumes on Mammals and Birds.

On Fishes.

"American Fishes." G. Brown Goode. Standard Book Co., New York, 1888. $5.00.

An elegant work, of convenient size. Comprehensive and eminently useful. Fully illustrated. No collector or student of American fishes can afford to be without it.

"The Fishery Industries of the United States." Section I. By G. Brown Goode and Associates. 2 vols. Complete and exhaustive, both in text and plates, and very valuable. Government publication. Sold at cost by the U.S. Fish Commission, Washington.

"Introduction to the Study of Fishes." Albert Gunther. A. & C. Black, Edinburgh.

On Insects.

See the end of Chapter XLIV.

On Invertebrates.

"The Ocean World." Louis Figuier. Cassell & Co., New York. $2.50.

"Recent and Fossil Shells." S.P. Woodward, London. John Weale, 1856. (Apply to Bernard Quaritch, London.)

A very handy and useful manual for the field. Many illustrations. Price about $1.50.

"Structural and Systematic Conchology." Geo. W. Tryon. Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. $12.00.

A great work; complete, exhaustive, and richly illustrated.

For Suggestions of Groups of Animals.

"Homes Without Hands." Rev. J.G. Wood. Longmans, Green & Co., London. Price about $3.00.

"Mammalia in Word and Picture." Specht and Vogt, already described.

Miscellaneous.

"The Sportsman's Library," as advertised by the Forest and Stream Publishing Company, 318 Broadway, New York, contains an attractive and valuable selection of books on subjects of special interest to the sportsman, naturalist, and traveller. It includes books by specialists on such subjects as "Camping and Trapping," "Hunting and Shooting," "Angling," "Boating and Yachting," "Guide-Books and Maps," "Horse," "Kennel," "Natural History," and miscellaneous works. The list, as a whole, is an excellent one to select from.

Of course no one with a spark of interest in hunting and the natural history of the higher vertebrates will be without Forest and Stream—a whole sportsman's and naturalist's library in itself,—or The Field, or Sports Afield. No young ornithologist can get along without his best friend, the Ornithologist and Oologist, and it would indeed be rank heresy for the professional bird-man to ignore the stately and infallible Auk.

INDEX.

• Accessories, artificial, 338-339
• natural, 247
• Africa, destruction of game in, 2
• Agassiz, Professor Louis, 72
• "Agassiz Tank," for alcoholic specimens, 72-73
• Albatross, 62
• Alces malchis, 248
• Alcohol, preservation of specimens in, 66, 70, 71-75, 83, 127, 202-204
• Alcoholometer, 75
• Aldrich, P.W., 219
• Alectorides, treatment of, 65
• Alligators, collecting, 66-68
• mounting, 204-206
• skeletons of, 293-294
• Alum, use of, 32, 45, 51, 61, 68, 115, 162
• American Museum of Natural History, 109, 236, 249
• Ammonia, use of, 322
• Anatomy, caution against detailed external, 112
• Antennæ, 332
• Anthrenus, 336, 341
• Apes, treatment of large, 43-45
• Apparatus for drying larvæ, 315
• for inflating larvæ, 314
• for mounting larvæ, 315
• Arsenic, use of, 32, 51, 64, 115, 148, 151, 344-345
• Arsenic water, 342, 348
• Arsenical soap, use of, 32, 45, 51, 61, 65, 68, 118, 132, 148, 162, 167
• recipe for making, 346
• Artificial branches, 127
• foliage in group, 238-239
• Attitudes of animals, 111, 121, 171-172, 192, 205
• of skeletons, 288
• Backgrounds, painted, for cases and groups, 221-222
• Bailly, Jules F.D., grotesque groups by, 227
• Bath, see Salt-and-alum bath
• Batrachians, 202-203
• Bats, mounting, on glass, 127-128
• mounting skeletons of, 291
• Battle in the Tree-tops, 233, 234
• Beetles, collecting, in alcohol, 328
• frame for mounting, 330
• Bird, names of external parts of, 47
• Birds, arrangement of feathers on, 182
• collecting, best season for, 16
• collecting skins of small, 46-57
• determination of sex in, 56
• groups of, 224, 232, 235, 249-250
• mounting large, 191-197
• mounting small, 183-190
• mounting skeletons of, 287, 292-293
• painting mounted, 256
• relaxing dry skins of, 179-182
• shooting, as a pastime, 18
• skeletonizing, 276-278
• skinning large, 58-65
• wrapping skins of, 53-55
• Bison, American, extermination of the, 1
• group of, by the author, 234-235, 245, 246
• manikin for, 148
• mounting the skeleton of, 296
• specimens of, collected by author, 234
• Blood on specimens, 42, 47, 198, 201
• Body, artificial, for birds, 184, 191-192
• Bone-scrapers, 286
• Books of reference on birds, 352
• on fishes, 354
• on general zoology, 351
• on groups of animals, 355
• on insects, 337
• on invertebrates, 354
• on mammals, 352
• in "Sportsman's Library," 355
• miscellaneous, 355
• Boxes for collecting insects, 323, 324, 332
• for exhibiting insects, 335-336
• for relaxing skins, 180
• for tools, 11
• Breeding-cages, 317, 318
• Breeding larvæ, 316-319
• Brushes for painting specimens, 252
• Buffalo, see Bison
• Butterflies, breeding larvæ of, 317
• collecting, 325, 332
• Cages for breeding larvæ, 317, 318
• Capybara, 103
• Carbon bisulphide, use of, 336, 342
• Carbolic acid, use of, 61, 323
• crystals prevent mould, 348
• Carving wooden skulls and leg bones, 104-106
• Carpocapsa, 306
• Cases of ornamental taxidermy, 220-224
• Casts, 21, 25
• making moulds and, 259-270
• of mammals in the flesh, 268
• of fishes and reptiles, 269-270
• painting plaster, 257
• Cassowary, 61
• Cat a difficult subject, 127
• Chimpanzee, 43-44
• Chloroform, use of, 322, 336
• Chelonia, collecting, 68-70
• mounting, 206-207
• Chloride of lime, 88, 89
• Clay, Colonel Cecil, moose collected and presented by, 248
• Clay as a filling material, 112-113, 119, 124, 167, 207, 211
• preparation of, for use, 113, 148
• Cleaning feathers, 65
• skins of mammals, 102-104
• Clothing and food, 4
• Collecting, best seasons for, 16
• -boxes for insects, 323-324
• by amateurs, 17
• eggs of insects, 309-311
• fishes, 71-79
• insects, 320-327
• jar for insects, 321
• large mammal skins, 37-45
• marine invertebrates, 80-89
• nests and eggs, 90-97
• reptiles, 66-70
• small birds, 46-57
• small mammal skins, 24-36
• shells, 85-89
• specimens for groups, 237, 243-244
• Collectors, character of ideal, 3, 46
• firearms for, 9, 12
• golden rule for, 20
• need of skilful, 1-3
• outfits for, 8-15
• Colors, how to handle, 253-255
• kinds of, 252
• list of, 23
• necessity of recording, 22, 25, 43, 48, 71-72
• Coloring soft parts, 113-114, 253-255
• Combs, furrier's steel, 36
• "Coming to the Point," 221-222
• Composition for use in modeling, 347
• for snow scenes, 347
• Corals, collecting and cleaning, 81-83
• Corn meal as an absorbent, 59, 64, 198
• Cornell University insect-house, 318
• Corrosive sublimate solution, 151, 341, 345
• Cotton, use of, in making bird skins, 52-54
• Crabs, cleaning and mounting, 217-218
• Cranes, 65
• Crocodiles, collecting, 66-68
• mounting, 204-206
• skeletons of, 293-294
• Crustaceans, cleaning and mounting, 217-218
• Cyanide of potash, 321, 323
• Dead game panels, 224
• Dermestes lardarius, 64, 336, 339
• maculatus, 340
• Designing groups, 237, 243, 244-245
• Ducks and their treatment, 64
• Ear, treatment of the, 45, 125, 160-162, 167
• Echini, collecting and preserving, 84
• Eggs, blowing, 95
• collecting and preserving, 94-97
• removing embryos from, 96
• Eggs of insects, 309-311
• how deposited, 309-310
• how devitalized, 310
• how preserved, 310-311
• Elephant, prize won by, 141
• Elephants, firearms for hunting, 12
• preserving skin of, 41
• Embryos, removal of, 95, 96
• Emu, 61
• Enamel varnish, Hendley's, 346
• Entomological supplies, 337
• Entomology, economic, 306
• Envelopes for insects, 328
• Excelsior, use of, 147, 148
• Expression, 169, 171-172
• Extermination, animals threatened with, 1
• Eye, treatment of the, 44, 124, 160, 169, 172, 188, 196, 212
• Eyes, cleaning glass, 177
• Feathers, cleaning, 65, 198-201
• distribution of, on bird's body, 182
• Felidæ as taxidermic subjects, 171
• Filling for dry skins, 33, 52, 60, 166
• for necks, 166
• skins of mammals, 129, 130, 132, 138
• small mammals, 122-125
• Finishing a small mammal, 123-127
• large mounted mammals, 150-155
• Firearms, 9, 12
• Fire-screens, feather, 225
• Fish medallions, 213
• Fishes, cartilaginous, treatment of, 77-78, 214-216
• field notes on, 71
• museum collections of, 208-209
• mounting, 208-216
• painting casts of, 257
• painting mounted, 256
• preserving entire, 73-75
• skeletons of, 78, 294
• skinning, 76-77
• Flamingoes, group of, 232-233
• Florida, collecting in, 80-87
• Foot, treatment of the, 44, 192, 194
• Fossil skeletons, 280
• Fraine, Thomas W., 219
• fire-screens by, 225
• Frogs, grotesque groups of, 227
• Furniture of taxidermic laboratory, 100
• Furs and peltries, treatment of, 349
• Game panels, 224
• Garman, Samuel, quotation from, 203
• Gasoline, 335
• Geese, 64-65
• Gelatine moulds, 265
• Goode, Dr. G. Brown, 72, 234, 251
• "American Fishes," by, 354
• "Fishery Industries of the United States," by, 354
• Gorilla, 43, 44, 130
• Government Museum at Madras, 208
• Grease, on skins, 59, 64, 65
• removal of, from insects, 335
• removal of, from birds, 191-201
• Grotesque groups, 227
• Group of antelope, 235
• of buffaloes, 234-235, 246
• of coyotes, 234
• of flamingoes, 232-233
• of moose, 235, 247
• of musk oxen, 235
• Groups by European taxidermists, 230, 239
• for special exhibition, 239
• of birds, 232, 234
• of orang-utans, 231, 232
• Group-making, general principles of, 237-240
• with birds, 249-250
• with large mammals, 244-248
• with small mammals, 241-244
• with reptiles, 250-251
• Guides in hunting and collecting, 4
• Gum for labels, 348
• Hair, treatment of, 126, 127, 150, 169
• gluing on, 155-157
• Hand of anthropoid ape, 130
• Hares, see Rabbits
• Hatteria punctata, 204
• Hawks, group of, by F.A. Lucas, 224
• Head, finishing a small mammal's, 124
• finishing a bird's, 188
• Heads, exhortation to sportsmen regarding, 158
• how to cut off, 159
• how to skin, preserve, and mount, 159-178
• Health, preservation of, 4
• Heron, neck of a, 195-196
• prize won by F.S. Webster with, 195-196
• skins, 59, 60, 65
• Hexanchus griseus, 214
• Holland, Dr. W.J., author of Part V., 61, 305-338
• advice from, to insect collectors, 324, 327
• collecting-boxes devised by, 323
• Japanese insects collected by, 333
• "Homes Without Hands," 93
• Hornaday, William T., advocacy of painted backgrounds by, 221-223
• use of clay by, 112
• prizes won by, 141, 222, 233
• new method of mounting bats by, 127
• development of clay-covered manikin by, 140
• method of head-mounting developed by, 163
• Hornaday, William T., new treatment of feline tongues by, 174
• new method of making ape's hands by, 130-131
• new method of mounting fishes by, 211, 213-214
• museum groups advocated by, 231, 232, 234
• groups of mammals mounted by, 231, 234-235
• Human figure in groups, 239-240
• Hunting, hints on, 13, 14
• the alligator and crocodile, 67
• Hygiene, principles of, 5
• Ice, artificial, 220
• Inflation of larvæ, 312-316
• Insect labels, 329, 337
• nets, 320
• pests, 336, 339-341
• pins, 329-330
• Insects, boxes for, 335-336
• breeding-cages for, 317, 318
• carrying-boxes for, 333
• classification of, 305-308
• collecting perfect, 320-327
• collecting-boxes for, 323-324
• drying, 333
• eggs of, 309-311
• effect of light on, 336
• house for breeding, 318
• killing, best methods of, 321-322
• mounts for, 329
• mounting, 329-332
• mould in collections of, 334-335
• pinning, 330-332
• poisoning collections of, 336
• ravages of, 306
• relaxing dried, 334
• removing grease from, 335
• setting-boards for, 330-331
• stuffing, 333
• Invertebrates, marine, 80-89
• Ward's catalogue of, 81
• Iron square, the, 136-137
• Irons for necks of mammals, 132
• legs of mammals, 130, 131, 145
• Javelle water, for skeletons, 287
• Jenks, Professor J.W.P., author of "Steele's Popular Zoology", 351
• Jesup, Morris K., bird groups ordered by, 235
• "Key to North American Birds," 48, 352
• "Killing-knife", 15
• -jar, for insects, 321
• Knives for a collector, 15, 49
• Labeling, 23, 72, 94, 97, 348
• Laboratory, taxidermic, 99-101
• Lacertilia, 66, 202-203
• Lamellirostres, treatment of, 64
• Larvæ, breeding and rearing, 316-319
• collecting, 311
• Larvæ, drying, 315
• inflation of, 316
• mounting, 315
• preparation of, 312
• transformation of, 312
• Leaves, artificial, 220
• Leg-bones, value of, 32, 33, 42
• Leg-irons, best attachment for, 136-137
• how to prepare and attach, 143-147
• Leg-wires, attachment of, in birds, 193
• Legs, of large mammals, making, 130-147
• of small bird, wiring, 184-186
• of small mammals, making, 116-118
• treatment of, in skinning, 33, 59, 60, 61
• Lepidoptera, 317-318
• Ligamentary skeletons, cleaning, 286
• mounting, 288
• Lion, 171-172
• Liquors, hurtfulness of intoxicating, 6
• Lizards, 66, 202-204
• Lobster, how to clean and mount, 217-218
• Longipennes, treatment of, 62
• Lucas, Frederic A., 69, 219, 223, 276
• work in National Museum by, 288
• group of turtles by, 250
• group of hawks by, 224
• wall-cases of birds by, 224
• Macerating skeletons, 282-284
• Mammals, collecting, best seasons for, 16
• gluing hair on mounted, 155-157
• groups of large, 231, 234
• groups of small, 234, 241, 244
• mounting, general principles of, 109-114
• mounting groups of, see Groups
• mounting heads of, 163-178
• mounting medium-sized, 129-134
• mounting large, 135-149
• mounting small, 115-128
• mounting skeletons of, 289-293
• painting mounted, 254-255
• relaxing dry skins of, 102
• skeletonizing, 273-279
• trapping and poisoning small, 18
• treatment of skins of small, 24-36
• treatment of skins of large, 37-45
• Manikin, advantages of the, 141, 142
• how to construct the best, 142-149
• required for largest birds, 193
• Maynard rifle, recommendation of the, 12, 13, 15
• Medallions, bird, by F.S. Webster, 225
• fish, 213
• Measurements, of birds, 20, 48, 191
• of large mammals, 37-39
• of small mammals, 24
• Medicines, collector's outfit of, 5, 6
• Microscopic slides of insects' eggs, 311
• Modeling an open mouth, 172-177
• -tools, 173
• Monkeys, treatment of, 43-44
• Moose, group of, in National Museum, 247
• Montana, natural accessories from, 247
• Moth, destructiveness of the codling, 306
• Moths in museum collections, 340, 341
• Mould, in insect collections, 344, 345
• precautions against, 61, 348
• Moulds, gelatine, 265
• making "piece," 259-263
• making waste, 263-265
• Mouth, expression of the, 171
• modeling the, 172
• Muriatic acid, use of, 81, 88, 89
• Museum, American, 109, 236, 249
• British, 235
• Comparative Zoology, 202, 203
• Government, at Madras, 208
• United States National, 97, 109, 209, 221, 234, 235, 241, 251, 270, 343
• Naphthaline crystals, use of, 335, 342, 343
• Neck irons, 107, 130, 132, 138
• treatment of the, 60, 65, 159, 165, 166, 169, 195
• of a heron, 195
• of a trophy head, 159, 165
• Needles, extra long, for sewing manikins, 107
• Nests, collecting, 91-93
• displaying, 94
• Nets for insects, 320
• Nose, treatment of the, 44
• Nostrils, treatment of the, 169
• Notes, field, 22
• Oologist, outfit for an, 91
• work of an, 90-97
• "Oology of New England", 225, 353
• Ophidiæ, 66, 202
• Opossums, group of, 241
• Orang utans, groups of, 231, 233
• treatment of, 43, 130
• "Ornithologist and Oologist", 355
• Ostrich, 61, 193
• Outfit for collecting insects, 320-324
• for general collecting, 9
• of medicines, 6
• for an oologist, 91
• for sportsmen and travellers, 11
• Outlines of dead animals, 22, 25
• Owl, snowy, 192
• Packing bird-skins, 56, 61
• corals, 82
• eggs, 97
• insects, 332-333
• skeletons, 291.
• Painting finished specimens, 170, 218, 252-258
• materials, 252
• on papier-maché, 155
• plaster casts, 257
• Papier-maché, how to make, 151-153
• rustic case made of, 223
• use of, 151, 154, 173, 246
• Parasites, 73
• Passions, expression of the higher, 171
• Pedestals, for skeletons, 292
• Pelican, 62
• Peltries and furs, treatment of, 349
• Penguin, 62
• Photographing animals, 21
• Pinning insects, 330-332
• Plaster Paris as an absorbent, 50-64, 65, 198-201
• casts, 21, 25
• tablets for reptiles, 202-204
• use of, 163-164, 198-201, 220
• Plumage, cleaning soiled, 198-201
• Poison, effects of, on taxidermist, 344
• Poisoning furs and rugs, 344
• -jar for insects, 321
• mounted specimens and collections, 341
• skins and mammals, 32, 110, 148, 151
• textiles and skin clothing, 343
• wild animals, 18
• Polishing hardwood, 348
• Principles of bird-mounting, 188-190
• of group-making, 237-240, 249-251
• of mammal-mounting, 109-114
• Proportions of animals, 112
• Pulp, paper, 152
• Python, 202
• Rabbits, mounting, 127
• Rats, necessity of guarding against, 33
• Ray, author vanquished by a villainous, 215
• Rays, treatment of, 77-78, 214-216
• Relaxing skins of mammals, 102-104
• Reptiles, casts of, by Joseph Palmer, 270
• collecting, 66-70
• groups of, 250
• mounting, 202-207
• new method for alcoholic, 202-203
• Rhinobati, 216
• Ribs, attachment of, 298-299
• Richardson, Jenness, groups of birds by, 236, 249, 250
• preservation of evergreens by, 221
• Rocks, artificial, 228-229
• Rugs, 227
• Salometer, use of the, 30, 31
• Salt, use of, 30, 33, 162
• Salt-and-alum bath, 30, 31, 102, 115, 127
• Saurians, 66-68
• Saw-fish, 214-215
• Scapula, attachment of, 302
• Screens, feather fire-, 225
• Sea-eggs, 84
• -porcupines and -urchins, 84
• Serpents, 66, 202, 293
• Setting-boards for insects, 330
• Setting-needle, 332
• Sewing skins, hints on, 106
• Sex in birds, determination of, 56
• Sharks, 77
• difficulties in preserving, 214, 215
• Shells, cleaning, 87-89
• fresh-water, 83
• land, 85
• "living" and "dead," 85
• marine, 83
• Shooting, hints on, 13, 14
• Shot-gun, use of the, 14, 15
• Shields for trophy heads, 170
• Shrinkage in mounted specimens, 150, 214
• Skeletons, bleaching, 283
• collecting, 271-279
• cleaning by macerating, 282-288
• fish, 78, 294, 295
• field-work on small mammal, 273-275
• fossil, 280
• mounting large disarticulated, 296-303
• mounting small, 288, 295
• packing, 279
• repairing damaged, 272
• "rough," 271
• selection of, 271
• snake, 66
• tools for mounting, 303
• various methods of cleaning, 282, 285, 287
• Skeletonizing birds, 276-278
• cetaceans, 279
• fishes, 78
• mammals, 273-279
• reptiles, 278
• Sketching from nature, 3, 4, 21, 22, 71
• Skin, superfluous folds of, 134, 149, 167
• Skins, cleaning bird-, 181, 182
• cloth lining for old, 182
• making alcoholic fish, 76-78
• making alligator and crocodile, 66-68
• making dry mammal, 32-36
• making large bird, 58-65
• making small bird, 47-50
• relaxing bird-, 179-181
• shrinking power of, 214-215
• Skinning apes and monkeys, 43
• crocodilians, 67
• deer's ear, 161
• fishes, 76
• large birds, 58-65
• large mammals, 39-42
• and preserving mammal heads, 40, 159, 162
• sharks, etc., 77
• small birds, 47-50
• small mammals, 26-29
• reptiles, 66-70
• turtles, 69
• Skulls, how to dispose of small, 34
• value of, 32
• Snakes, 66
• Snow, artificial, 220
• Society of American Taxidermists, 141, 163, 196, 222
• Space in groups, 238
• Specimens, half-spoiled, 31
• selection of, 20
• Sphargis coriacea, author's struggle with, 206
• Sphenisci, treatment of, 62
• Spirits, use of, see Alcohol
• Sponges, collecting and cleaning, 81-82
• Squirrels, groups of, 242, 243
• Star-fishes, collecting and preparing, 83
• Steam, use of, 200
• "Steele's Popular Zoology", 47, 351
• Steganopodes, 62
• Straw, use of, 129, 132, 133, 205, 207
• Struthiones, treatment of, 61
• Strychnine, 18, 345
• "Sugaring" to capture insects, 326
• Suidæ, 103
• Swan, 64, 65
• Sweat-box, for relaxing skins, 180
• Table groups, 224
• Tail, wiring the, 118, 132
• attitude of, 126, 172
• treatment of a bird's, 54, 190
• Taxidermy, ornamental, 219-229, 250
• possibilities in, 149, 222, 224, 250
• common faults in, 109
• Taxidermist, 53
• materials necessary for, 100-101
• requirements in successful, 104, 108, 154
• tools necessary for, 100
• Taxidermists, Society of American, 231
• organization of, 232
• exhibitions of, 227
• gifts by, 219
• prizes awarded by, 141, 195, 222, 223, 224
• productions of, 219
• Teeth, how to clean, 176, 206
• Temperance, value of habits of, 6
• Thread, 168
• Tiger, facial expression of, 171-172
• "Till the Doctor Comes", 6
• Tin, sheet, in ears, 167
• Tinea, 340
• Tongue, treatment of the, 174-176, 206
• Tools, for bird taxidermist, 183
• for general taxidermist, 100
• Tools, for oologist, 91
• for professional collector, 9
• for traveller and sportsman, 11
• Tow, use of, 147, 187, 207, 211
• Trappers, directions for, 344
• Trapping mammals, 19
• Turpentine, use of, in cleaning feathers, 65, 198-201
• in painting, 114
• Turtles, collecting, 68-70
• mounting, 206-207
• skeletons of, 294
• Umbrella, use of, in catching insects, 321
• Varnish cutter, 347
• Hendley's enamel, 346
• Wall cases, 220-223
• Ward, Professor Henry A., 226, 234
• first large mammal group ordered by, 232
• Ward, Henry L., West Indian seals collected by, 2
• Ward's Natural Science Establishment, 136, 204, 231
• Water, artificial, 220
• Wax, use of, in mouth modeling, 176-177
• Webster, Frederic S., 189, 204, 219, 228, 232, 233
• bird medallions by, 225-226
• prize won by, 195, 224
• "Wounded Heron," by, 224
• Weight of animals, 39
• Wickersheimer solution, 347
• Winding a mounted bird, 189-190
• Wing, treatment of the, 59, 188
• Wings, spread, mounting birds with, 194
• Wire, how to anneal iron, 116
• Wire supports for mammals, 131
• supports for birds, 183
• Wiring a bird, 184-186
• a small mammal, 116-120
• Wood duck, by F.S. Webster, 233