Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

302 CAMPING AND WOODCRAFTfur, and on some, as the caribou's, they cause a rustthat cannot be eradicated. Finally, turn the skininside out and hang it up in a cool, shady place todry, spreading its folds smoothly apart, notwrinkled, so that air can circulate freely over allparts. Never roll a fresh hide up, expecting it todry that way; it would surely spoil.A skin dried thus without any preservative at allwill soak up better when the taxidermist gets itthan if it had been salted. If, however, the weatherbe damp all the time, you will have to use salt. Inthis case rub plenty of fine salt over every inch ofthe inner surface of the skin; then roll the skin upand let it lie until morning; do not stretch it norhang it up by the nose. Next morning examine itcarefully for soft spots where the salt has not struckin; shave these down and rub salt into them. Donot use any alum, for it would shrink the skin.Then immediately hang up the skin in a shadyplace, well out of reach of dogs and vermin.Meantime you will have the skull to attend to.Before removing it, make the following measurementsand note them down as a guide to the taxidermist:1. Length from base of skull to where neck joinsthe body.2. Girth of neck at throat.3. Girth at center.4. Girth around AB where neck joined body.Turn the head to one side and insert the knifebetween the base of the skull and the first or atlasvertebra, severing- the muscles and tendons; thenturn the head in the opposite direction and performa similar operation there; give a wrench, and theskull is detached. Cut and scrape all flesh, etc.,from the skull.Disarticulate the lower jaw so that 5'ou can workbetter, and- clean it. Remove the tongue and eyes.Now get a stiff stick, small enough to enter the holein the base of the skull, splinter one end by pound-