6. Cut away the flesh from the pelvis, both inside and out, and the flesh of the tenderloin from underneath the lumbar vertebræ.
7. Cut the flesh from the thick portion of the tail.
8. Cut off the head at the first cervical vertebra, and clean the skull as previously described elsewhere, but leave _the hyoid bone in its place_.
9. Cut the flesh away from the neck vertebræ as well as you can. Be careful not to cut the sternum (or breastbone), which is soft cartilage, and easily cut; nor the ends of any vertebral processes, nor any soft bones.
10. If the skeleton is a small one, it is apt to get quite bloody during the operation. Wash it clean, and if necessary soak it in clear water for an hour or two. It will come all the whiter for it in the end. Skeletons of ruminant animals are generally clean enough without that.
11. Do not poison a rough skeleton with arsenical soap, nor put salt upon it; so says Mr. Lucas, the osteologist of the National Museum. The former has a tendency to prevent skeletons from properly macerating and coming white. Sprinkle dry arsenic upon a skeleton, if anything is necessary to protect it from _Dermestes_ and other insects. Never put alum on a skeleton.
[Illustration: FIG. 66.--Rough Skeleton of a Small Animal. (After F.A. Lucas.)]
12. The last thing is to make up the skeleton into a small, compact bundle, that will pack nicely and economically when dry, and withstand some pressure without breakage. Put the skull in the chest cavity. Fold up the upper joints of the legs, put the foot of each in the pelvis, and the other end in the cavity of the chest. Now tie all the legs tightly to the spinal column. (See Fig. 66.) Bend the tail under the pelvis and tie it fast also. Finally, hang the specimen up in the shade and wind, so that it will dry quickly.
It will be observed that the above process leaves the body of the skeleton entire, and all the bones of each leg and foot united by their natural ligaments. A skeleton prepared thus may ultimately be mounted as a "ligamentary skeleton," or it may be disjointed throughout, macerated, and mounted as a "disarticulate skeleton." Except for skeletons of bison, elk, and other animals which are entirely too large to admit of transporting their bodies whole, it is much the best to prepare all others in the field as described above, and disarticulate some of them afterward; for this reduces to a minimum the chance of losing some of the parts.