h experience and aptitude, that I have deemed it advisable to reserve for a separate chapter the explanations of

that no one should attempt the mounting of animals by this method until he has fully mastered the principles laid down

ughtsman and modeller - in fine, an artist! - with all an artist's perception of beauty of line and of form. I will here indicate what I take to be the basis upon which a competent taxidermist must proceed to become a zool

here is the "Zoo" for him to study in. Indeed, it is a marvel to me that, with the museums and the Zoological Gardens surrounding them, so few London taxidermists attain even a respectable proficiency in the correct delineation of animal forms. The pupil being well grounded in drawing, will have obs

als, being looked upon as the chief motif in composition. To do all this requires time and considerable perseverance, but, with the facilities for s

work himself up to a respectable proficiency in modell

- First, mounting the skin of the specime

wood and iron, more completely than as instanced in

nd iron, to represent, and to take the place of, the b

hard composition, of some kind or another, to replace the flesh and muscles, and that the heads of mammals being often of great

dead head, and the "return," or

e eye and by measurements, and a mould taken f

gives the best result when the modeller is experienced; but as the forme

mon plaster of Paris at about 4s. per cwt., two pails, or rather zinc or galvanised iron buckets, one of them containing water. [Footnote: Pipe-clay quite good enough for this purpose is sold by the pipe makers in dry blocks or pieces, at about 6s. or 7s.

must be propped up on the table, whilst the greater part of the body rests on boxes, or trestles, somewhat lower than the table. A very little "gumption" will en

ll effect this. The chin should be propped up a little from the surface of the table, by means of a pad of clay which has been previously prepared; next cut more slices of clay from the mass, and build in the front and sides of the face in a straight line, to ju

to make "undercuts," they shall still preserve a certain shallow imprint of their original form. Now mix your soft soap with a brush until it becomes a stiff lather, and paint it all over the face and hair of the

II.) The head being nicely soaped, lay a thin piece of string or strong hemp along the top of the face and head, exactly in the centre, and extending from the clay under th

the head with a layer some inches thick. After it is well worked up and moderately thick, carefully pour it over the specimen, taking it up as it runs down, and piling it up a little thicker in the centre, to give stability to the mass. Just

hen ready for the next operation, which is the turning of the carcase, so that the head may also be turned upsi

horns, being in the way, may require to hang over the edge of the table to effect this properly, and that the head, being rounded by the superior thickness o

ound as before with wood, and fill in all interstices leading to the table below with clay. See that the mouth is properly shut, introducing a little clay if needed. Brush over with soft soap, not forgetting the top of the plaster mould, and mix some more plaster and pour over the lower jaw, on to the edges o

ire to cast more, in length, of the under surface than of the upper, you may easily do this by lengthening the upper surface, when tu

ces in an oven for a day or so until sufficiently dried, then examine them for flaws or air-bubble holes, which fill up with clay, brush over inside with linse

h a small mallet, rolling it every now and then upon the table; in a short time you will hear something rattle, and perhaps a little loosening of one edge or piece will take place; tap now very cautiously, lest you should break anything; soon one piece will come off, whi

you will see, if your eye is sufficiently educated, that, although it correctly represents the hair even, and all prominent features, yet that the weight of

ttle larger than you require it, so that the hair marks, etc.., must be trimmed away to lessen it. Shaving the hair all away from the head, leaving only the naked skin, has been recommended as a preliminary to casting; but this, of course, destroys one specimen entirely, that other

, unfortunately, give no directions for doing this. I can merely say, in the words of many unpractical "guide books" to art: "Take a board, some tools, a well-kneaded lump of clay; place the head before you in strong light, and turn out a lifelike representati

the "points," and before he can model straight away, yet that he has an advantage which I, as a self-taught m

this has to be cast from, as if from the dead head, and the resultant model touched up, where incorrect, by cutting and scraping when too large, or by addition of

head in plaster

ostrils are also shallow depressions; all of these parts must be hollowed out or undercut. To do this we require a knife such as that figured No. 12 in Chapter III., and three other tools, one a large crooked awl (sharpened at on

eel "undercu

teel "relie

ls, keeping it fine, however, at the lips, and not opening it outward too much; the same with the nostrils, looking to the dead head to note the beautiful curves which can be treated so as to express, at will, rest, alarm

of neck-skin attached, severed from the body, in the manner in which heads usually arrive from Scotland to be mounted as trophies of the chase. The model being re

blocking; this may be done as shown at Fig. 26. A slot to receive the board should have been previously cut in the plaster under-jaw of the model, or, in a more simple and efficient manner (see Fig. 31), by procuring a piece of "quartering," 3 in. x 2 in., about 2 ft. i

nd into the wood, which they should "bite" for an inch or so of their length; wet plaster is then poured on the top, and the back of the head

a glove upon the hand, put a little clay in the "bags" of the eyelids, perhaps a little about the nostrils, and fix the various parts in the under-cuttings made to receive them, being sure that the lips go in naturally,

and inserting it between the skin, pushing it well up to the tip; afterwards it may be elevated or depressed, and moulded to any sha

d angle required, to determine upon the shape and size of the neck, a

w of model with ne

f Skull; B B, the Model; C, Quarte

as you go on, keeping the neck in front narrow, and of an elegant shape, using clay afterwards over all to do this. During all this time you will no doubt have had th

nd to the back, and enter your needle in the edge of the skin at the side, lace across and across, including the other horn, in the manner most convenient, being careful, however, to make every stitch "t

, and also on various parts of the face and the head, to prevent the skin rising whilst drying. The eyes should now be inserted, and the skin of the eyelids filled slightly, and drawn naturally around them. Hang the head up as high as possible out of the w

e drying, it is as well to get them dried, if possible, in advance of the mounting, to obviate great weight, and also a tendency to cause mildew inside the skin. It is really astoundi

ter, to stiffen the hair in the desired manner. This can afterwards be brushed off, when the head is ultimately cleansed, before screwing it on its shield. Foxes'

and walking with a stealthy, cat-like, movement. This skeleton is not very unlike that of the fox, nor, if we except its smaller size, tha

t being of a manageable size, not too large nor too small; an animal, moreover, of a picturesque habit of body, and about whose death more or less of mystery hangs - this mystery so dear to the imagination of

d be inclined to laugh over Anthony Trollope's description, in the "American Senator," of the old hunting farmer who moved himself and his dinner to the other side of the table, in speechless indignation, lest he should be contaminated by the p

, where they are not worshipped, nor protected,

foundation, we have further to decide if the animal is to be open-mouthed or not. In the first case, we shall require the skull, in order to show the teeth and palate; in the latter case, we may discar

eath, from the vent to above the shoulder (in some cases, and for some attitudes, this cut must extend up the throat); cross cuts from this must extend all the way down the limbs, on their inside surfaces. By th

Cut off the head (A, B), and trim it. If you cannot make a rough representation in wood of the pelvic girdle (H) and scapular arch (M), you had better cut these bones out and trim them, as they, or their representatives, give a natural set to the limbs. Throw away the remainder of th

rmined by the measurements which should have been previously taken - its thickness should not be less than one inch. The next thing to be done is to cut a piece of 0.5

aise from its surface, and also attach thereto, the scapulars; do the same at H, remembering that the thickness of the blocks with bones attached determines the width of the chest, etc.. Bore holes along D, through which thrust stout wires to represent the ribs, bending them into positio

of wood, with neck an

and P) with an American twist-drill and brace, in order to push up a wire rod of sufficient stoutness to carry the weight of the body; leave plenty of length of wire above and below. [

n of the rods now at right angles, in order to go through the scapulars and pelvis. Next take the cage (Fig. 32) representing the body, with pelvic girdle and scapular arch attached, and ready drilled, lift betwe

he former on very tightly, and adding clay to give character, especially where it approaches the chest. The cage must now be tightly packed with old newspapers, brown paper, or clean straw, but with neither hay nor "flocks." [Footnote: "Flocks" and sacking are

dest in the middle, tapering off above and below and toward each end, being careful to make it a little smaller, if anything, than the actual body; make up with straw and t

the shapes should have been taken. Bind tow around all, to roughly represent the form, and then artistically adjust clay to repre

ry to pull it over - commencing at the head - several times before getting it quite right. When fairly satisfied with your progress, commence stitching the skin up from the neck, adding

nd insert it in the hollow of the skin of the tail, and work on the hind limbs, finishing as you go on, and sewing up to the point between F and E. This leaves you the remainder of the body to finish, and also gives you a chance to dispos

es can, of course, be removed, and all stitches cut and drawn away when the specimen is dry, at which time the eyes can be inserted, if not previously done. In all cases, however, the specim

acticable only in the case of mammals done from the flesh, and whose skeleton is not valuable. In this system, as in all the following, the model head of any animal, cast as described for the stag, may be substit

ctised by masters of the art, who know by experience the various positions assumed by their subjects when in a state of N

he size of the skin, which, when perfectly soft, is folded together, legs and all, and shaped on the floor of the studio, in somewhat the position required; from this a rough tra

up one or two boards of 1 in. to 1.5 in. deal, jointed together on edge; to this "body-board" bolt by staples the four strong rods representing the fore and hind limb bones. Let each have a right-angle

In a large animal - and I am assuming that we are now engaged on a lion - the wire ribs may be replaced by sections of 0.5 in. board, cut as in Fig. 33, and nailed vertically on each side of the body-board. On the half-rounded surfaces of these, laths are tacked, and afterwards covered with straw, or plastered over, just as a plasterer would finish a partition; l

re more sewing up. When finished, adjust the claws, the mane, the ears (blocked with zinc as in the stag), and the mouth. Should it be wished to open the mouth to express rage or what not, the edges of the skin of the

e points driven into the bone, in the manner which will best commend itself to the learner. Suffer it to dry, looking at it from time to time, and when perfectly dried model the palate, etc.. (should the animal be represented open-mouthed), in the m

of half-inch board

n mounted fro

od (sometimes two); D, E, and F, the body-board; G, the tail rod; and 1, 2, 3, and

ight knowledge of wood carving, and would be practised in the case of having the skeleton of the large animal to model from, or in cases where, h

tudent too much, we determine that it shall take the attitude of our last example (Plate IV), or else that shown in Plate III. Accordingly, we arrange it on a pl

uire. By careful arrangement of clay, wooden walls, and other packing, it is quite possible to take a complete cast of the whole carcase. Piece-casting, however (described in

bowels are taken out, the flesh is cut off the bones, and the parts H, I, J, K, and M, N, O, P (see Plate III.), are copied by carving in

Plate IV. By this it will be seen that the model is made up precisely as in that, the only addition being the substitution of carved limb-bones in place of t

e ultimate phalanges of each limb out of the skin, and by careful management we shall also be enabled to

ry large alligators and crocodiles - may be mounted by

o used to paint over the mucous membrane, where shown or exposed. All this will be found fully explained in Chapter XII, thus exploding all the rubbish talked, and written, about "s