this the legs of most wild rabbits must be handled very
gingerly, as they have no lining membrane like the body. For finishing
mouth, nose, and eyelids of mounted mammals, melt a little refined
beeswax in a metal vessel. While the wax is hot (don't allow it to
smoke), stir in a little tube oil color (black or brown for most
mammals; color to nature for birds with highly tinted eyelids). Mix the
wax and color thoroughly with a flat bristle brush. Afterward the brush
may be easily cleaned of the wax by breaking it up with alcohol, when it
has cooled.

Next draw some wisps of fine, long-fiber cotton through the melted wax
and lay them quickly flat upon oiled paper to cool. For lips of mammals
cut narrow strips of the wax. Heat an upholstering spindle and with it
repeatedly heated, melt the wax and cotton into crease of closed lips.
Melt thin, flat pieces of the wax into depth of nostrils and very narrow
strips in eyelids.

When all the wax is placed, model it into shape with a smooth,
wedge-ended bit of pine wood. To clean out wax that ran into the hair
by melting, apply alcohol with a bit of cloth, scratch the waxy hair
loose with finger nail and rub the crumbled wax out with the bit of
alcohol dampened cloth. This leaves lips, eyelids, and nostrils neatly
finished. Apply thin varnish to nose, edge of eyelids, and bare parts of
lips that show. For mounting a mammal with open mouth, follow same note
given in making a whole head for rug.

To make a small mammal cabinet skin, remove the skin as for mounting
except that legs are severed at elbow and knee and soles of feet are
split only to allow of poisoning.

Poison with dry arsenic. Wire tail same as in mounting. Wrap leg bones
with cotton, tow, or excelsior according to size of specimen. Turn the
skin back over a core of one of these materials, wrapped upon a splinter
or stick, to size of natural body, but somewhat flatter. Sew up
abdominal incision neatly. Catch the lips together with two or three
stitches. Lay specimen, belly down, upon a soft-wood board. Pin fore
paws alongside of the face and hind feet alongside of tail.

When this is done press specimen until it is slightly flattened and set
aside to dry. With each specimen preserve the perfect skull when
possible, date on which taken, locality, any note of interest observed
at the time (and add collector's name).

In using dry arsenic, apply with a small brush, using no grease on the
hands.

PREPARING