[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 30.]

Set legs upon core as shown in Fig. 31. When the legs are properly anch.o.r.ed, cover the core with enough of compo. No. I. so it will fit snugly into thorax and tail sh.e.l.ls. Place these upon the core now and press them accurately into position.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 31.]

Whatever compo. squeezes out may be removed with a bit of damp cloth or sponge. Position legs and tail approximately and wire upon the base. Set the legs in their permanent position, spread or close the tail fan as desired, arrange the antennae, and set the specimen in a well ventilated spot to dry. Tint with oil colors, thinned with kerosene as they are used, laying the tints on with soft brushes.

Sanded or graveled board bases may be made for birds, turtles, etc., by applying a coat of heavy sh.e.l.lac to top and sides of pieces, cut to required sizes and shapes, and before the sh.e.l.lac has a chance to dry, throwing sand or fine gravel on forcibly or laying the boards in the sand and piling sand over the moist tops, letting them lay a few moments before removing and shaking off the loose sand. Allow such bases to dry thoroughly before using.

PREPARING AND MOUNTING A VIRGINIA DEER HEAD

CHAPTER V

PREPARING AND MOUNTING A VIRGINIA DEER HEAD

Well mounted trophies of the chase are a source of delight to the fortunate sportsman who possesses them.

Antlered game heads that are mounted true to life in form and expression may go far to beautify many dining rooms, dens, and hallways, enhancing the artistic tone of the rooms in which they are well placed.

As in all taxidermy work, outline sketches direct from the fresh specimen, top and side views, both before and after skinning, are of great value in mounting deer heads.

As in other specimens, deer scalps for mounting should be as fresh as possible. If a scalp is to be kept for some little time before mounting it should be well salted.

Roll the scalp up and lay over night to drain. Next day sc.r.a.pe off the first salt and rub in another thorough salting. Keep the skin rolled up to prevent drying hard until mounting or sent to the tanner.

An ideal deer scalp includes the neck skin entire to swell of shoulders and brisket. The incisions to be made for removing a deer scalp are shown in Fig. 32. A good sharp knife will be required for peeling the skin from the neck.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 32.]

Cut very carefully up under rim of horn bases when removing skin from around them, using care not to haggle edge of skin. Use same care in skinning out the face, splitting lips and eyelids and skinning out the ears as in small mammal specimen. Remove the ear cartilages entire, after skinning their backs, beginning at the thick top edge and proceeding very carefully, looking out not to tear open the edges.

Scalps may be mounted raw or tanned. The ideal way is to use a tanned, thin pared scalp, mounting it with papier mache upon a modeled mannikin.

The raw skin method is perhaps easiest of application, but in all ways is not as satisfactory as the tanned skin method.

For mounting a deer scalp raw, if salted, soak out the salt by squeezing through two or three baths of cold, weak carbolic water. Dry the scalp thoroughly in fine sawdust, rubbing it into the hair and repeatedly shaking until all moisture is removed.

With a small, hardwood paring "beam," shown in Fig. 33, clamped to edge of table, and a sharp paring knife, remove all flesh from inner surface of skin and peel out nose cartilage. Leave nearly an inch of nostril lining around the openings.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 33.]

Pare all flesh from lips, leaving a half or three-quarters inch of the lining all around them. Split white eyelid lining free to edge and leave a quarter inch of it all around the openings. When skinning out the ears keep the cartilages for models.

Poison all inner surfaces of the cleaned skin with a.r.s.enic water brushed in well. Fold face, wrong side out, back upon neck. Fold neck skin flesh to flesh over face, roll the scalp up, hair side out, and lay aside in cool place over one night before mounting. The mannikin should be prepared in time so that the skin will not have to lay wet for more than a day before mounting.

It is well to prepare mannikin before skin is poisoned so that skin may be used for fitting unless accurate outline studies are at hand. With these the fitting is not necessary.

For raw-mounting the head, clean skull by boiling in a deep pail until meat comes off easily. A little washing soda in the water will help clean the bone. With a saw, cut through under side of brain cavity, lengthwise on each side of axis bone. Cut the loosened piece out with a chisel and remove brain.

Set the skull upon neck-board of suitable length (refer to studies) mounted with screws upon a cut out neck base-board of inch thick wood, as shown in Fig. 34. Fasten skull to top of neck board with nails driven through holes drilled through the bone. If turned head is desired, make opening in under side of brain cavity wider and nail skull at any desired angle upon top of neck board. Screw upon back of neck base-board a one by three inch piece with free end dropping a few inches below bottom of base-board so that head may be handily set in a vise. This will allow you to get all around it and the vise will hold it at any angle, making sewing, etc., easier.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 34.]

Upon skull, for jaw muscles, and upon neck board wrap excelsior, packing it hard as you go along, to required natural size. A raw skin will settle better in drying if neck is slightly smaller than natural size.

To aid in wrapping close and firm to edge of neck base-board, drive a row of small, broad headed nails half into the edge, two or three inches apart all around and loop the winding-cord over these as the wrapping proceeds. Drive these nails down when wrapping is completed.

(See Fig. 35 for finished wrapped excelsior head, ready for the skin.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 35.]

Drop the dry ear cartilages into warm water. In this they will quickly regain their natural shape. Using them as models make a pair of duplicates of them of thin sheet lead which may be procured from a plumber or hardware dealer. Split into the base of the cartilage so it may be spread as nearly flat as possible and lay on the lead, drawing around its outline with a nail point. Cut out the lead ears with a pair of metal-shears. Hammer into natural concave shape with a bit of heavy wood rounded into a ball at one end for the purpose. (For details of ear making see Fig. 36).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 36.]

With the skin and mannikin in readiness make up a batch of plaster of paris in thin glue water, only enough glue stirred in so that it can barely be felt when the fingers are rubbed together in the water. This should r.e.t.a.r.d the plaster setting for from four to six hours and give ample time for finishing the deer's face. This compo. will set immediately if used in a skin that has been treated with formaldehyde, sulphuric acid, or alum, as the glue becomes tanned and impotent by them.

Make this compo. thick and stiff and mix into it some chopped manila fiber. For finishing one deer face and ear-b.u.t.ts about a quart and a half of the compo. should be made. This should cover the face thinly, fill the ear-b.u.t.ts, set the eyes, and fill nose and mouth details out.

In beginning the setting of the scalp into place, cover the lead ears thinly with the compo. and slip them into the ear skins. The lead will have to be partly folded together to accomplish this and spread again when inside. If edges of ears have been torn open in skinning, sew them up neatly from the outside, using a small round needle and small thread before the lead is placed.

With the cartilages set, fill the ear b.u.t.ts with compo., squeezing it out upon the lead a little way that it may brace the ears when set finally.

Set the mannikin in the vise for convenience. Cover skull with a thin layer of compo. where bone is exposed and slip the face skin into place.

Hold the scalp up now by tying a heavy cord under the jaw and behind the horns. Draw the neck skin into place and tie it up with a piece of cord about the neck near base. Now, for better convenience in sewing, remove the head from the vise, set front of neck base on the floor and lean the antlers against a chair seat, back of neck up. Draw corners of antler cuts together back of the horns.

Begin at one horn and sew to joint of the Y cut. Sew from the other horn and then continue down the neck to the base, using medium st.i.tches and drawing tight. This method of sewing a game head is the only exception, in taxidermy, to sewing toward the head. For a raw scalp use a sail needle and waxed ends. For a tanned scalp, a large fur needle and strong linen.

With the sewing completed, turn to nailing the scalp to the back-board.

Turn the free edge of skin down over back of board and nail firmly with short broad headed nails so that when the surplus is trimmed off a turned over edge of skin two or three inches wide will remain, held snugly by nails set two inches apart. Count upon finishing a raw head all up at one go when using the plaster compo. This is the only compo.

which can be recommended to hold raw, haired skins down, as the material must set before the skin begins to dry and pull.

Before turning to finishing the face, unscrew the holding piece from back of neck-board and nail up the part of skin's edge that it covered.

Replace the piece and set head in vise facing you. Pinch and mold the ear skin tightly upon the compo. covered lead and model the ear-b.u.t.ts into shape firmly against the head.

Run a strong-threaded fur needle, with large knot at end of thread, through middle of upper edge of each lead ear. Draw ears up to desired position and wrap thread around a convenient part of antlers to hold until compo. sets. Next loop a cord under each ear at base of cartilage and tie over antlers to hold lower end of cartilage from sagging until set. When ears are finished, press face skin into compo. upon skull and ma.s.sage it down to hold firmly.

Fill eyelids thinly inside flap of lining, place a little compo. in hollow of sockets, and set eyes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 37.]

Deer are usually quite fleshy just over the eyes. Place this filling before eyes are set. Also press a little compo. into the hollows of the suborbital glands and with the fingers work these fleshy eye details out roughly and finish with a modeling tool, pressing the slits of suborbital glands in deeply with a thick-edged instrument. See that the face skin is worked down firmly and smoothly clear to the nose.