Thursday, October 25, 2012

Wiring & Poisoning the Tarsus (1894)

The tarsus of the leg should be poisoned as well as any portion of the bird's skin, and it is done as here illustrated. Saturate the wire with arsenical paste (see recipe, page 15) above the heel and at the ball of the foot. Draw the wire up and down several times until the poison has penetrated the tarsus.
Oliver Davie. Methods in the Art of Taxidermy. Illustrations by Theodore Jasper. (Columbus: Hann & Adair, 1894). [Poison is not a typo for position.  "Arsenical paste" is advised here as a preservative.]