ng
well under and around finger-nails and wiping the hands partially dry so
that none of the grease will soil fur or feathers. This precaution will
keep the arsenic from entering your skin.

Wash the hands with soap powder and a nail brush after work.

Apply arsenic-water with a brush, or a cotton-and-wire swab, to all
inner surfaces of specimen skins.

Carbolic acid (best to procure U. S. P. pure crystals if possible) is
needed for use in dilute form for relaxing dried skins. This prevents
decay and does not injure the specimen skin. A few drops of the
dissolved crystal to a quart of water is sufficient. Keep carefully
labeled and in a safe place.

Following is a list of the materials needed for general light work:

A quantity of fine excelsior, fine tow and cotton batting, a quantity of
various sizes of galvanized soft steel wire, an assortment of colored,
enameled artificial eyes (procure a taxidermist's supply-house catalog
and from this order your special tools and sizes and colors of eyes
needed), a jar of liquid cement, dry glue (for melting up for
papier-mache), dry paper pulp, plaster of paris, Venetian turpentine,
boiled linseed oil, boracic acid, some refined beeswax, a little
balsam-fir, white varnish, turpentine, alcohol, benzine and a student's
palette of tube oil colors (such as vermilion, rose madder, burnt
sienna, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow middle, zinc white, cobalt blue,
French ultramarine Blue, and Viridian).

Plastic compositions of papier-mache are essential, especially in mammal
and game-head work, for properly finishing the details of ears, face,
and feet of specimens after the body has been filled. These are applied
partly as a last detail before mounting and partly after the figure is
set up.

Compo. No. I is practical for all-around use. Take one-third hot melted
glue and two-thirds flour paste (thick and thoroughly cooked). To this
add a little boracic acid, a little arsenic powder, a very little of
Venetian turpentine, a quantity of gray building-paper pulp (soak paper
and squeeze and beat up even and then squeeze water out). To furnish a
body to this mass, stir in dry white lead until middling thick. Beat the
whole well together.

When carried so far this compo. is a powerful adhesive medium and may be
employed to stick tanned deer scalps to mannikins, and ear skin of same
to the lead cartilages.

Compo. No. II is No. I with fine plaster of paris added until of the
consistency