l be anything but creditable.

Some flesh now lies between two skins along the sides of the fish's
gums, between the tongue and the teeth; a hole must be cut inside at
the back part of the head below the eye, the crooked scraper inserted,
and all the flesh dragged out bit by bit. Remember, this is merely a
thin membrane, and the slightest awkwardness ruptures it; in large
fish, however, the finger may be introduced with advantage, to pull
out pieces of flesh. Many taxidermists cut the whole of this away, and
replace it with plaster; but if the fish's mouth is to be left open it
never looks so well as if done by this method.

Cut under the tongue from the outside, and scrape out the flesh, fill
up with putty, and sew up neatly.

To stuff the fish, procure a thick piece of wire somewhat longer than
the body, bending one end, to form a large oval-shaped loop, to be
afterwards pushed up as a bearer into the head. At some little
distance from this (which will be determined by the size of the fish),
form a smaller loop, to which, by twisting, attach a short piece of
wire a size smaller than the main bearer. At some distance from
this--near the tail--form another small loop, to which attach in the
same manner another piece of wire. Cut off the end of the main wire,
so that when pointed and pushed through it will fall just outside the
bone of the tail. It will no doubt be obvious to the reader that this
forms an artificial backbone.

The large oval or pear-shaped loop at the one end is intended to be
pushed in to support the head, and, in the present method, also to
help the formation of the model. The loops and attached wires are to
support the body, and also to bolt it to the back of the case when
finished. The pointed end is to push into and support the tail.

I should have previously mentioned that this wire backbone should be
made before the fish is skinned, as you then have a correct guide to
position of bearing wire, and, more important still, a guide to the
extreme length of the fish.

Round this wire, wrap paper, glued, or tied with string, until it is a
little less than the body of the fish previously taken out; when this
is done, cover over with tow well tied on with hemp, until it has
arrived at almost the shape and size of the body--being, in fact, the
shape of the fish without head or tail--lay this down and thoroughly
anoint all parts of the fish. Stuff out the now hollow sides of the
face, gums, and the u