skull to avoid hacking the eyelids.
Cut through the nose cartilage, and when the lips are reached cut them
away close to the gums, leaving both their inner and outer skin on the
pelt. Cutting them off at the edge of the hair is a frequent cause of
trouble as they are full and fleshy and should be split, pared down on
the inside and when mounted, filled out to their natural shape to
perfect the anatomy.

[Illustration: SKINNING SMALL ANIMAL FOR MOUNTING. CUT ON DOTTED LINES.]

Now the skin of each leg may be turned wrong side out down to the toes
and all flesh and muscle cut away from the leg bones with knife and
scissors. The tail also is to be removed from its skin and the ears
turned wrong side out to their tips. In skinning no flesh of any
consequence should be left adhering to the skin and it should never be
pulled off by main strength, but rather separated by the knife or
fingers, pushing the flesh away from the skin rather than the reverse.
The skull should now be cleaned as the leg bones were and if a number of
specimens are being prepared at the same time the heads may be put in a
kettle and boiled a short time, when on trying with a fork or awl the
flesh becomes tender and may be rapidly removed with a knife.

The brain may be removed with a hooked wire, the skull well rinsed
inside and out and given a good coat of arsenical paste or other
preservative. The next step is determined by what you intend doing with
the skin. If it is to be kept for purposes of study without mounting it
should be made up as a scientific skin. If to be mounted at once or in
the near future it should be put in the jar of salt and acid or alum. It
can of course be mounted at once without this bath but I believe it is
well worth any extra work it entails.

Some young furred animals and others with very delicate skins do not
work up well from the bath and had best be mounted without it, being
handled more as bird skins are.

In skinning the larger quadrupeds we make two additional cuts, from the
right to the central line and out to the left fore foot and a similar
cut connecting the hind feet. These opening cuts are on the back and
inside of the legs, you will understand.

With most large subjects another cut from the shoulders up the back of
the neck is necessary. On animals having horns or antlers this is
terminated in a Y or T shape, reaching the base of the antlers. After
loosening the skin around the antlers the head is removed