Chapter XII: The Laboratory and Its Appointments

It would be impossible for me to dwell too strongly upon the importance, nay, even the vital necessity to the taxidermist, of a commodious and suitable workroom, and a good supply of proper tools and materials. Anyone setting up a store of any kind meets the expenditures for fixtures and furniture as a matter of course; but the average taxidermist would consider it a killing thing to invest from $100 to $200 in good tools and materials. First-class tools, and a good assortment of them, are indispensable allies in the production of the finest kind of work in the shortest possible time.

In taxidermy let us have no making of bricks without straw. As well might an artist attempt to paint a grand picture with a sash tool as a taxidermist attempt to mount fine specimens with a dull knife, an old file, and a pair of rusty pliers.

Let us suppose we are fitting up a taxidermic laboratory in which to mount all kinds of vertebrate animals, great and small. To begin with, we must have a good room, if possible 15 X 25 feet, or even larger, with _good light_, a high ceiling, and an abundant supply of water. There must be somewhere a storeroom for bulky materials, and a drying-room for freshly mounted specimens. There must be provided somewhere, for the wet mammal skins, a big, box-like tank lined with sheet lead, for very large objects, and some alcohol barrels for smaller ones. These must be provided with tight covers, or the salt-and-alum bath will evaporate with great rapidity.

After the above, our laboratory will require the following

FURNITURE AND FIXTURES.--A heavy work-table, 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 2 feet 6 inches high; top 1-1/2 inch thick.

A tool case and chest of drawers.

A stove, a chopping-block, a heavy bench vise.

A grindstone, a blacksmith's anvil, and portable forge.

A water-tight platform on castors, on which to stand large mammals that are wet and dripping.

TOOLS.

2 killing-knives. |1 machinist's hammer. 2 cartilage-knives. |1 hatchet, to lend. 1 pair shears, and 1 pair fine scissors. |1 sharp hatchet, to use. 1 draw-shave, adjustable handles. |1 cold chisel. 2 skin-scrapers, of sizes. |1 set stone-cutter's chisels. 3 gouges, of sizes. |1 punch. 3 chisels, of sizes. |1 tap wrench. 1 screw-driver. |1 pair calipers. 1 2-foot rule. |1 set of hack saws, for iron and | brass. 1 tape-measure, 12 feet. |1 set iron fillers, of sizes. 1 thread-cutter, for iron. |1 set wooden fillers, of sizes. 1 thread-cutter, for brass. |1 set modelling tools. 3 pair pliers, of sizes. |1 set of files. 3 pair cutting nippers. |1 set of paint brushes. 4 pair forceps, of sizes. |1 set of brushes for hair and | teeth. 1 hand vise. |1 gluepot. 1 hand drill. |1 set of awls. 2 monkey wrenches, of sizes. |1 set of glover's needles, 3 | sizes. 1 ratchet brace, with bits and drills. |Best linen sewing twine, or 4 gimlet bits, of sizes. |"gilling thread," of two or three | sizes. 1 hand-saw. |1 iron thimble. 1 key-hole saw. |1 spirit-lamp, or gas-stove. 1 claw hammer. |Pails, kettles, cups, bowls, etc. 1 tack hammer. |12 spools of Barbour's linen | thread.

MATERIALS.--Excelsior; hemp tow of two qualities, coarse and fine, both of long fibre; flax tow, such as upholsterers use; cotton batting; oat straw; potter's clay; good glue; plaster Paris; arsenical soap; spirits of turpentine; benzine; salt by the barrel; ground alum by the hundredweight; pine and hemlock lumber, one to two inches thick; 2×4 pine scantling; an assortment of annealed wire; rods of Norway iron, from 3/16 inch to 1 inch; nails, tacks, wrought-iron staples, screws, nuts, bolts, wrapping twine; rosettes for iron standards; washers, all sizes; alcohol, shellac, white hard oil finish (varnish); muriatic acid, sheet wax, sperm oil; glass eyes, all sizes, kinds and colors; unlimited pluck, patience, and perseverance.

If the worker intends to mount only birds and small mammals, he will need but a very small portion of the tools and materials enumerated above. But fie! Where is the taxidermist worthy of the name who will admit that his resources are limited, or that he is not able and ready to "set up" any animal that may be brought to him, no matter how big or how bad it is. Perish the thought that he is not able to cope with dog, deer, or even elephant.

We now start on the supposition that you have acquired all the tools and materials you are likely to need, and that our subsequent work is not going to halt or hang fire on account of the lack of this or that article.