r nails carefully when through work, washing the
hands in warm water containing a few drops of carbolic acid.

FINISHING.--While the fish is drying secure uncolored glass eyes with
the properly shaped black pupils and paint the iris from your sketch.
When the specimen is thoroughly dry, in two or three weeks, dig a
sufficient amount of clay out of the eye opening and put in the glass
eye, setting it in papier mache. Use the prepared mache, which only
requires boiling with water for preparation. When the mache is dry, give
the exposed portion of it one or two coats of paint of the proper color.

Now do such painting as may be necessary--for instance, the spots and
fins of the brook trout, colors of which have doubtless vanished by this
time. Use tube paint, thinned with the white varnish. Usually it is
sufficient to place a small quantity of the paint of the proper color
directly into the varnish. Do not use much of the paint--just enough to
secure the color and yet not obscure the scales. Where the markings are
prominent, put some of the paint directly on the fish and spread it with
the varnish. Brilliant spots, such as those of the trout, can be
reproduced by the use of the paints without the varnish.

While the specimen is drying prepare a panel for it. To show the fish to
the best advantage, the panel should be of polished hardwood, although
stained pine will answer. Bore two holes about half way through the
panel from the back, slanting upward, by which to hang it. (See Fig. 8.)
Bore two holes entirely through the panel in the proper places and screw
the fish to it, putting in the screws from the back of the panel and
into the fish where the wood is thickest. Countersink the screws.

[Illustration: HOME MADE PANEL. (Fig. 8)]

Finally, apply a last coat of the varnish. Do not varnish the glass eye.
By keeping a piece of writing paper between the panel and your brush you
can varnish the fish without getting any on the panel. It is best to put
on the final coat after the specimen is mounted on the panel, because if
the fish is handled before the varnish is hard finger marks will show.

[Illustration: SIDE VIEW. (Fig. 9)]

MOUNTING HEADS.--With a sharp knife or saw cut the head off squarely
just back of first (pectoral) fins, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, which
show the head of a black bass. In this case the ventral fins are also
left on. Place the head on a board with the cut part down, spreading the
fins as in Fig