Moths and feathers

Caroline Finch <ycrnp64 [at] ucl__ac__uk> writes

>I am a final year conservation student currently doing research into
>the deterioration and conservation of feathers.
>...
>I welcome any
>opinions and or recommendations for further reading regarding this
>query and feather cleaning in general.

Years ago, after purchasing a stuffed owl at auction, I stopped at
the local taxidermist here in the Adirondack Mountains, to ask them
how to keep the specimen clean. They told me that they use plain
white bread to stroke the bird because the bread takes up the dirt
from the bird and imparts a nice gloss to the feathers.

I can't imagine that doing this is appropriate because I'm certain
that there must be some transfer from the bread TO the bird that
would be harmful to the survival of the feathers

A source you might try to get information that is all inclusive, is
a well known outdoor Catalogue company in Nebraska called Cabellas
<URL:http://www.cabelas.com/> . They have, in their beautiful store,
an extensive collection of mounted animals and birds. I would be
curious to know what they do to keep the collection going.

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:68
                 Distributed: Friday, February 19, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-68-004
                                  ***