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PEREGRINE FALCON ON FLIGHT.

SH. NG METHOD OF BINDING, ETC.

Frontispiece—see Page 111.

P RACTICAL TAXIDERMY:

A
MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION TO THE AMATEUR
IN COLLECTING, PRESERVING, AND

SETTING UP NATURAL HISTORY SPECIMENS OF ALL KINDS.

TO WHICH IS ADDED A CHAPTER UPON

THE PICTORIAL ARRANGEMENT OF MUSEUMS.

ILLUSTRATED.

BY

MONTAGU BROWNE, F-Z.8., c.,

Curator, Moto Musewm, Leicester.

SECOND EDITION,
Revised and considerably Mnlarged,

With additional Instructions in Modelling and Artistic Taxidermy.

LONDON: L. UPCOTT GILL, 17U,° STRAND, W.C.

al

iyigasss
wUY

My

LONDON oe
PRINTED BY ALFRED BRADLEY, 170, STRAND, W.C.

CONTENTS.

PAGE
CHAPTER I.
THE RIs—E AND PRoGRESsS OF TAXIDERMY aise) Lassen atsiete F 1
CHAPTER II.
DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS... 17
CHAPTER III.
NECESSARY TOOLS... .. ee : 45)
CHAPTER IV.
PRESERVATIVE SOAPS, POWDERS, ETC. : 63
CHAPTER V.
SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS ... ced ah duiep pene ene 91
CHAPTER VI.
SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS ... : 500 128
CHAPTER VII.
MODELLING OF ANIMALS BY SUBSTITUTION OF CLAY, COMPO-
SITION, PLASTER CASTS, OR WAX FOR Loose STUFFING a om

CHAPTER VIII.

SKINNING, PRESERVING, AND MouUNTING FIsH, AND CASTING

FIsHES, IN PLASTER, ETC.

. 173

vi CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX.

SKINNING, PRESERVING, AND MOUNTING REPTILES ... 0.2 os

CHAPTER X.

DRESSING AND SOFTENING SKINS OR FuRS AS LEATHER... ...

CHAPTER Xi.

RELAXING AND CLEANING SKINS—‘‘ MAKING-UP’’ FROM PIECES

CHAPTER XII.

COLOURING BILLS AND FEET OF BIRDS, BARE SKIN. OF Man-
MALS, FISHES, ETC.—RESTORING SHRUNKEN PaRTS BY A WAX
PROCESS—DRYING AND COLOURING FERNS, GRASSES, SBEaA-

WEEDS, ETC.—“‘ PIECE Movuunps,” AND MODELLING FRUIT IN
PLASTER — PRESERVING SPIDERS— MAKING SKELETONS OF
ANIMALS, SKELETON LEAVES, ETC. — POLISHING HORNS,

SHELLS, ETC.—EGG COLLECTING AND PRESERVING—ADDI-
TIONAL FORMULA, BTC. ic) ake heat veel cet lece: | cine

CHAPTER XIII.

CasEs, Mounts, SHIELDS, Ea@ CABINETS, RockworK, FERNS,
GRASSES, SEA-WEEDS, ETC., FOR ‘‘ FITTING-UP’”’ atin es

CHAPTER XIV.

GENERAL REMARKS ON ARTISTIC ‘‘ MOUNTING,’ MopELLED
FouiaGE SCREENS, Lamps, NATURAL HIsTORY JEWELLERY, ETC.

CHAPTER XV.

COLLECTING AND PRESERVING INSECTS’... 0. seo con eee

CHAPTER XVI.

On NatrurAL History MvusrEuMS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
To A NEw SYSTEM OF PICTORIAL ARRANGEMENT OF VERTE-
BBATES:.50. ache’ ove’ see) Sas) fens "Asc: Tonks, Melayu) nln

PAGE

188

199

207

. 232

249

264

312

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.

THe First Edition of “Practical Taxidermy” having now run
through the press—with, I venture to hope, some profit to
students of the art,if I may judge from the many hundreds of
letters I have from time to time received—the publishers have
invited me to revise such parts of the work as may be expedient,
and also to add many technical methods of modelling animals
in an artistic manner.

I do this the more readily because of the narrow way in
which most professional Taxidermists bolster up their art in a
secret and entirely unnecessary manner—unnecessary because
no amateur can, but by the severest application, possibly compete
with the experience of the technical or professional worker. No
pictorial artist ever pretends he has a special brush or colours
with which he can paint landscapes or sea pieces at will; he
knows that only thorough mastery of the technicalities of his
art—supplemented by wide experience and close application—
enables him to succeed as he does, and to delight people who,
seeing his facility of handling, may imagine that picture painting
is very easy and could be readily acquired—perhaps from books.
So it is with the Taxidermist. Those, therefore, who procure

Vill PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.

this book, thinking to do all attempted to be explained therein
without long study and without a knowledge of anatomy, form,
arrangement, and colour, may put it on one side as useless.
These pages are merely an introduction to a delightful art,
which must be wooed with patient determination and loving
pains until technical skill invests it with beauty.

If I can be of any assistance to my readers, I invite them to
write to me if at any time they are puzzled or temporarily dis-
heartened; merely asking them to remember (1)—That, not
being in business, I cannot of course answer purely business
communications; and (2)—Not being a man of infinite leisure,
it must also be remembered that a properly directed envelope
for return to the inquirer is of consequence when minutes are
precious. Unlike the Prime Minister, I do not hke post-cards,
and never answer them if from unknown correspondents.

I may here mention that this edition is not only considerably
enlarged, but has several woodcuts and four plates added,
three of which latter have been engraved from photographs
specially taken for this work.

I say now, in conclusion, work hard, study hard, and look to
good modellers and painters—and not to bird-stuffers—for con-
ceptions of form, arrangement, and colour, and in the end,
believe me, you will achieve a better success than attends the
labours of those who follow in the old paths of careless or

inartistic Taxidermy.

MONTAGU BROWNE.

LEICESTER.

PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

sng Pave

CHAPTER I.

Tur Risz AND ProareEss or TAXIDERMY.

TAXIDERMY, which is derived from two Greek words, a
literal translation of which would signify the “arrangement
of skins,” appears to have been practised in a limited degree
ages ago, for may we not say without doubt that the first
taxidermists were the ancient Egyptians, who, despite the fact
that they seldom or never appear to have removed the skin
as a whole, as in our modern methods, yet, taking into consider-
ation the excellent manner in which they preserved their
human or other bodies for thousands of years by the aid of
injections, spices, essential oils, or what not, they may, I think,
be fairly placed in the front rank as the first taxidermists
the world has known. For an account of the arts used in
embalming see Herodotus, who says:

In Egypt certain persons are appointed by law to exercise this art
(embalming) as their peculiar business; and when a dead body is
brought them they produce patterns of mummies in wood imitated in
painting, the most elaborate of which are said to be of him (Osiris)
whose name I do not think it right to mention on this occasion. The
second which they show is simpler and less costly; the third is the
cheapest. Having exhibited them all, they inquire of the persons who
have applied to them which method they wish to be adopted, and this
being settled, and the price agreed upon, the parties return, leaving the
body with the embalmers.

B

2, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

In preparing it according to the first method, they commence by
extracting the brain from the nostrils with a curved iron probe, partly
clearing the head by this means, and partly by pouring in certain drugs ;
then, making an incision in the side with a sharp Ethiopian stone, they
draw out the intestines through the aperture. Having cleansed and
washed them with palm wine they cover them with pounded aromatics,
and afterwards filling the cavity with powder of pure myrrh, cassia,
and other fragrant substances, frankincense excepted, they sew it up
again. This being done, they salt the body, keeping it in natron seventy
days, to which period they are strictly confined. When the seventy
days are over they wash the body and wrap it up entirely in bands of
fine linen smeared on their inner side with gum, which the Egyptians
generally use instead of glue. The relatives then take away the body,
and have a wooden case made in the form of a man, in which they
deposit it, and, when fastened up, they keep it in a room in their house,
placing it upright against the wall. This is the most costly method of
embalming.

For those who choose the middle kind, on account of the expense,
they prepare the body as follows: They fill syringes with oil of cedar,
and inject this into the abdomen, without making any incision or
removing the bowels, and, taking care that the liquid shall not escape,
they keep it in salt during the specified number of days. The cedar
oil is then taken out, and such is its strength, that it brings with it the
bowels and all the inside in a state of dissolution. The natron also
dissolves the flesh, so that nothing remains but the skin and bones. This
process being over, they restore the body without any further operation.

The third kind of embalming is only adopted for the poor. In this
they merely cleanse the body by an injection of syrmcea, and salt it
during seventy days, after which it is returned to the friends who
brought it.

The account given by Diodorus is similar, if we except the cost and
time of embalming. The most expensive way of embalming costs a
talent of silver (about £250 sterling) ; the second, twenty-two minz
(£60) ; and the third is extremely cheap. The persons who embalm the
bodies are artists who have learnt this secret from their ancestors.
They present to the friends of the deceased who apply to them an
estimate of the funeral expenses, and ask them in what manner they
wish it to be performed, which being agreed upon, they deliver the body
to the proper persons appointed to that office. First, one who is
denominated the scribe, marks upon the left side of the body, as it lies
on the ground, the extent of the incision which is to be made; then

THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF TAXIDERMY. 3

another, who is called the dissector, cuts open as much of the flesh as
the law permits with a sharp Ethiopian stone, and immediately runs
away, pursued by those who are present throwing stones at him, amidst
bitter execrations, as if to cast upon him all the odium of this necessary
act, for they look upon everyone who has offered violence to, or inflicted
a wound or any other injury upon a human body to be hateful; but the
embalmers, on the contrary, are held in the greatest consideration and
respect, being the associates of the priests, and permitted free access to
the temples as sacred persons.

As soon as they have met together to embalm the body thus prepared
for them, one introduces his hand through the aperture into the abdomen,
and takes everything out except the kidneys and heart, another cleanses
each of the viscera with palm wine and aromutic substances; lastly,
having applied oii of cedar and other things to the whole body for
upwards of thirty days, they add myrrh, cinnamon, and those drugs
which have not only the power of preserving the body for a length of
time, but of imparting to it a fragrant odour. It is then restored to the
friends of the deceased; and so perfectly are all the members preserved
that even the hair of the eyelids and eyebrows remains undisturbed, and
the whole appearance of the person is so unaltered that every feature may
be recognised.

Sir J. Gardener Wilkinson (“Manners and Customs of the
Ancient Egyptians”), from whom I have quoted, says that—

The extraction of the brain by the nostrils is proved by the appearance
of the mummies found in the tombs ; and some of the crooked instru-
ments (always of bronze) supposed to have been used for this purpose
have been discovered at Thebes.

The preservatives appear to have been of two classes, bitu-
minous and saline, consisting, in the first class, of gums, resins,
asphaltum, and pure bitumen, with, doubtless, some astringent
barks, powders, &c., rubbed in. Mummies prepared in this way
are known by their dry, yet flexible skins, retracted and adherent
to the bones; features, and hair, well preserved and life-like.
Those mummies filled with bitumen have black skins, hard and
shining as if varnished, but with the features perfect, having
veen prepared with great care, and even after ages have elapsed,
are but little susceptible to exposure.

Of the mummies of the second class (also filled with resins
and asphaltum), we must assume that their skins and flesh

B2

4, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

have been subjected to sodaic or saline products; for Boitard,
in a work published at Paris in 1825, says that an injection
is made with oil of cedar and common salt, also, that they
wash the corpse with nitre and leave it to steep for seventy
days, at the end of which time they remove the intestines,
which the injection has corroded, and replace their loss by
filling the cavity of the abdomen with nitre. This is also
borne out by Wilkinson, who says:

On exposure to air they (the mummies) become covered with efflo-
rescence of sulphate of soda, and also readily absorb moisture from the
atmosphere.

It appears, also, that after the period of preparation (thirty,
forty, or seventy days, as fixed by various authors), the corpse
was relieved, in the first-class ones, of all the old saline, nitrous,
or resinous products, and re-filled with costly resins, aromatic
spices, and bitumen; which, says Monsieur Rouyer—

Having styptic, absorbent, and balsamic qualities, would produce a
kind of tanning operation on the body, which would also, no doubt, be
heightened by the washing with palm wine.

He here broaches the ingenious and highly probable theory,
that the corpse, during its mummification, was placed in stoves
of a certain temperature, where the heat gradually and closely
united the various preservative agents before mentioned. They
were then swathed in linen bandages of great length, and
enclosed in beautifully painted and gilded cartonages; the
faces were heavily gilded and the eyes imitated in enamel; they
were then inclosed in three or four cases, also richly gilded
and painted, and finally “ mounted” in a sarcophagus.

Common peopie appear in some cases to have been merely
salted and plunged in liquid pitch, others were simply salted and
dried. Mummies prepared by these methods freely attract
moisture—are ill preserved, and, therefore, as a matter of course,
fall to pieces easily on contact with external air.

In summing up the process of embalming, as described by the
authors just quoted, we find a few problems of more or less
difficulty, and which none of them appear inclined to solve; and
I do not wonder at this, as the attempt, in my own case, in one
or two instances, has involved days of study and references to

THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF TAXIDERMY. 5

dozens of medical and other works with but a meagre result.
However, to take them seriatim, we can assume, I think, with
some show of evidence, that the Ethiopian stone, mentioned as
being used to make the first incision in the corpse, might have
been a piece of obsidian or basalt, but most probably was
merely an ordinary sharp flint of a dark colour.

The first chemical used in embalming is the hardest nut of all
to crack, and on which I have most exercised my intellectual
teeth—and that is natron. Now, what is natronP* Ordinary
dictionaries and authors tell us, as a matter of course—carbonate
of soda. In support of this theory M. Rouyer writes :

The natron would be used just as it was got from many of the lakes
of Egypt, where it is found abundantly in the form of carbonate of soda.

Pereira, in “ Materia Medica,” though intimating that natron
is not to be confounded with nitre, says, in speaking of car-
bonate of soda:

This salt was probably known to the ancients under the term of
Nuivpoy.

Now, as Nizpoy is more likely, from its etymology, to be trans-
lated “nitre,” we are landed into another difficulty, if by nitre
we mean saltpetre, for that will, as we all know, preserve animal
tissue for a certain time; however, I do not think we can
translate natron as being nitre (saltpetre), for in former days
many salts were included under the general term nitre; for
instance, our common soda and potash, the chemical composition
of which was unknown until Davy, in 1807, extracted the metals
sodium and potassium from those salts. Boitard expressly
states :

Il parait que ce natrum était un alkali fixe, et pas du tout du nitre
comme quelques auteurs l’ont pensé; ce qui semblerait appuyer cette
opinion, c’est que les femmes egyptiennes se servaient de nutrum pour
faire leur lessive, comme on se sert aujourd’hui de la soude.

In Peru the soil may be said to be impregnated with nitre,
but that is nitrate of soda, and not really saltpetre (nitrate of

* Natrium is the old Latin term for the metal or base we now call sodium. The old
names for some of its salts were: Natron Carbonicum—or Bicarbonate of Soda; Natron
Vitriolatum—or Sulphate of Soda; discovered or re-discovered about 16/0. Nitvwm=Car-
bonate of Soda.

6 . PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

potassium), as many people imagine who hear it called simply
nitre.

Mr. Thos. W. Baker, who has most obligingly unearthed
several old works for me, says:

Now I think of it, natron is perfectly familiar to me as apparently a
mixture of broken soda crystals and a brown earth which is sold in the
bazaars of India, under the name of ‘“‘ sootjee moogee,’’ for domestic
purposes; and I know, from experience, that unless it is washed off
paint work directly it is passed over it with a cloth all the paint comes
off bare, sometimes to the wocd.

Again, he says:

In Bayley’s Dictionary, circa 1730, I find the following: ‘Natron; or,
a Natron, from Gr. Nerpoy (?), a kind of black greyish salt, taken out of
a lake of stagnant water in the territory of Terrana, in Hgypt.

Also see “Penny Cyclopedia,” vol. xvi., p. 105, “ Natron,
native sesquicarbonate of soda (see ‘ Sodium’); ”

The Natron Lakes, which are six in number, are situated in a valley
bordering upon Lower Egypt, and are remarkable for the great quantity
of salt which they produce. The crystallisations are both of muriate of
soda (or common salt) and of carbonate of soda. ... The ‘‘ Natron’? is
collected once a year, and is used both in Egypt and Syria, as also in
Europe, for manufacturing glass and soap, and for bleaching linen.

Turning to “Sodium ” for the sesquicarbonate, which is found
native in Hungary, and also near Fezzan, in Africa:

By the natives it is called ‘“ Trona.’’ It is found in hard striated
crystalline masses, and is not altered by exposure to the air, but is
readily soluble in water. This salt appears to be formed when a solution
of the carbonate of soda is heated with carbonate of ammonia, and
probably also when a solution of the bicarbonate is heated. Its taste is
less alkaline than that of the carbonate, into which it is converted when
strongly heated by losing one-third of its carbonic acid.

That it was one of the products of soda cannot reasonably
be doubted. Biborate of soda* (with which I have been ex-

* The following report appeared in the California Alta, 24th June. 1874: ‘“‘Aw
INTERESTING DISCOVERY.—Several weeks ago we mentioned the departure of Mr. Arthur
Robottom, Birmingham, England, on a search for borax in the southern part of California.
He has now returned, bringing news of an interesting and valuable discovery. Beyond the
Sierra Nevada, in the Enclosed Basin of North America, about 140 miles in a north-east-
ward direction from Bakersfield, there is the bed of a dry lake filled over an area of tifteen
miles long by six wide with saline crystals to a depth of about six or eight feet. The appear-
ance of the surrounding country clearly indicates that water once stood sixty feet deep here
over a large area, the ancient beach being distinctly traceable. The most remarkable fact
about this saline ‘deposit i is that in its middle there is a tract, tive miles long and two wide,
of common salt, while on the outside there is a deposit of borate of soda, three feet thick,

THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF TAXIDERMY. 7

perimenting lately) has certainly wonderfully preservative
powers, especially in conjunction with common salt, or saltpetre;
but then it has not the caustic properties of natron. May not
natron have been a fixed alkali, or has the native carbonate of
soda more caustic and antiseptic properties than the usual car-
bonate of soda of commerce, which plainly cannot be intended P

We have here a most interesting subject to solve as to the
component parts of the ancient natron; my suspicion is that
natron, as used by the Egyptians, was a mixture of biborate of
soda, caustic soda, and muriate of soda.

The next chemical agent we have to notice (which should,
however, have appeared prior to natron), is palm wine, used in
the first process of cleansing the intestines; this would doubt-
less act as an astringent, and would, of course, tend to coagu-
late the liquid albumen contained in the body (in a similar
manner to our ordinary spirits of wine), which, if followed by a
caustic alkali (such as natron may have been), to dissolve the
solid albumen, fibrine and gelatine, ought certainly to have
exercised a decidedly tanning influence.

Following this is oil of cedar. The present oil of cedar (ol
cedrat of commerce) cannot be intended, as that is made from
the citron, and being merely an essential oil can have little of
the antiseptic or corrosive qualities imputed to the ancient oil of
cedars. May it not have been a product distilled from the
actual cedar tree (one of the conifer) similar to our oil or
spirit of turpentine? I have, however, been unable to discover
any writings in certain support of this theory; “Encyclopedia
Britannica” merely mentions it as a certain oily liquor extracted
from the cedar;” while Boitard boldly says, “. ...Sans doute
Vessence de terebenthine.’’+

and under this a lower stratum composed of sulphate of soda and tincal mixed together,
from one to three feet thick. These minerals are all in crystals, the sulphate of soda and
tincal forming a solid mass, almost like stone in its hardness. The borate of soda is of a
dirty hue, but the salt, which lies above the level of the entire deposit, in some places toa
depth of seven feet, is white as snow. The report of natural deposits thus situated will
appear very improbable to scientific men, for there is nothing to account for the separation
ot the salt from the borates, or tor the accumulation of salt above the level of other crystal-
line deposits. We have Mr. Robottom for authority, and the country is open for those who
wish to examine for themselves, ‘The place can easily be found. It is known as the Borax
Fields in the Slate Range, and will be examined carefully by many competent men, since
the tincal—a crude borate of soda—is a valuable mineral, and can be separated, at little
expense, from the sulphate of soda.”’

Tt The Detroit Review of Medicine and Pharmacy for July, 1876, gives a report of a case of
poisoning through an overdose of oil of red cedar (vlewm juniper virginiane), which supports
my theory as to there being extracted an oil from the Lebanon (or other) cedars partaking of
the nature of turpentine and totally distinct from o/ ced7at,

8 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Whatever may have been the composition of—and manner
of applying—the foregoing agents, it is certain that they had the
effect intended, for Diodorus writes fully within bounds when
mentioning the life-like appearance of the features in mummies,
as we know by later discoveries, for there are some well-known
specimens still in existence of which the eyelids, lashes, eye-
brows, and hair are still in their natural state, and this after an
interval of thousands of years. In some mummies, for instance,
the contour of the features is plainly discernible, and surely this
is scientific “ preparation of specimens” not to be excelled in
the present day.

The Egyptian mode of embalming was imitated occasionally by the
Jews, Greeks, Romans, and other nations, and has sometimes been
adopted in modern times, but never to the same extent or perfection as
they attained. The only other method which is known to have been
adopted as a national custom was that practised by the Guanches, the
ancient inhabitants of the Canary Isles. Their mummies are particularly
described by M. Bortj de St. Vincent, in his ‘‘ Essai sur les Isles
Fortunées.’’ Numerous and vast catacombs are filled with them in each
of the thirteen islands, but the best known is one in Teneriffe, which
contained upwards of a thousand bodies. The mummies are sewn up in
goat or sheep skins, and five or six are commonly found together, the
skin over the head of one being stitched to that over the feet of another;
but those of the great are contained in cases hollowed out of a piece of
savin wood. The bodies are not bandaged, and are dry, light tan-
coloured, and slightly aromatic. Several of them are completely pre-
served with distinct, though distorted, features.

The method of embalming adopted by the Guanches* consisted in
removing the viscera in either of the same ways as the Hegyptians

* My friend, the late Thes. Baker, wrote me, some time before his sad death by shipwreck:
“Tn an old work which I have, ‘A General Collection of Voyages,’ I tind the following
relating to the ‘Guanches,’ in vol. i., book ii., chap. i., page 184, ‘‘The Voyage of Juan
Rejon to the Canary Islands, A.D. 1491”: ‘‘ When any person died, they preserved the body
in this manner: First, they carried it to a cave and stretched it on a flat stone, where they
opened it and took out the bowels; then, twice a day, they washed the porous parts of the
body, viz., the arm-pits, behind the ears, the groin, between the tingers, and the neck, with
cold water. Aiter washing it sufficiently they anointed those parts with sheep’s butter (?),
and sprinkled them with a powder made of the dust of decayed pine trees, and a sort of
brushwood which the Spaniards call Aretsos, together with the powder of pumice stone.
Then they let the body remain till it was perfectly dry, when the relatives of the deceased
came and swaddled it in sheep or goat skins dressed. Girding ali tight with long leather
thongs, they put it in the cave which had been set apart by the deceased for his burying
place, without any covering. There were particular persons set apart for this oftice of
embalming, each sex performing it for those of their own. During the process they
watched the bodies very carefully to prevent the ravens from devouring them, the relations
of Bae deceased bringing them victuals and waiting on them Quring the time of their
watching.

THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF TAXIDERMY. 9

practised, then filling the cavities with aromatic powders, frequently
washing and anointing the surface, and, lastly, drying the body very
carefully for fifteen or sixteen days in the sun or by a stove. So complete
is the desiccation of these mummies, that a whole body, which Blumenbach
possessed, weighed only 7lb., though the dried skeleton of a body of the
same size, as usually prepared, weighs at least 91b.

In some situations the conditions of the soil and atmosphere, by the
rapidity with which they permit the drying of the animal tissues to be
effected, are alone sufficient for the preservation of the body in the form
of a mummy ; this is the case in some parts of Peru, especially at Arica,
where considerable numbers of bodies have been found quite dry in pits
dug in a saline dry soil. There is an excellent specimen of a mummy of
this kind in the Museum of the College of Surgeons, which was brought
from Caxamarca by General Paroissien--like most of them, it is in a
sitting posture, with the knees almost touching the chin, and the hands
by the sides of the face. Itis quite dry and hard; the features are dis-
torted, but nearly perfect, and the hair has fallen off. The Peruvian
mummies do not appear to have been subjected to any particular pre-
paration, the dry and absorbent earth in which they are placed being
sufficient to prevent them from putrefying. M. Humboldt found the
bodies of many Spaniards and Peruvians lying on former fields of battle
dried and preserved in the open air. In the deserts of Africa the
preservation of the body is secured by burying it in the hot sand; and
even in Europe soils are sometimes met with in which the bodies undergo
a slow process of drying, and then remain almost unalterable even on
exposure to the air and moisture. There is a vault at Toulouse in which
a vast number of bodies that have been buried were found, after many
years, dry and without a traco of the effects of putrefaction ; and in the
vaults of St. Michael’s Church, Dublin, the bodies are similarly preserved.
In both cases putrefaction is prevented by the constant absorption of the
moisture from the atmosphere, and through its medium from the body
by the calcareous soil in which the vaults are dug.—Penny Cyclopedia,
vol, xv., p. 477.

Having now given a brief sketch of the best-known methods of
preserving Nature’s greatest handiwork—Man—I may mention
that the Egyptians also devoted their energies to the preserva-
tion of those things more intimately connected with our theme,
namely, mammals, birds, &. A people who knew how to
preserve and arrest from decay the carcase of so immense an
animal as the hippopotamus (a mummy of which was discovered

10 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

at Thebes), or the various bulls, cows, dogs, cats, mice, ichneu-
mons, hawks, ibises, fishes, serpents, crocodiles, and other sacred
animals (mummies of which have been and are constantly
found), must have had some glimmerings of taxidermy; many
of the subjects are preserved in so beautiful a manner that
mummied ibises, hawks, &c., are occasionally discovered even
in a good state of preservation, and Cuvier actually found in
the intestines of a mummied ibis (Lbis religiosa, a species still
found, though rarely, in Egypt) the partly-digested skin and
scales of a snake!

From this period of the world’s history I can discover but few
links to the chain of Practical Taxidermy.

True it is that the Greeks, Romans, and the tribes which
inhabited ancient Britain must have had some knowledge of
preserving skins of animals slaughtered by them in the chase,
for we everywhere read of the skins of lions, tigers, wolves, &c.,
being used for purposes of necessity, as im the case of those
barbarians who clothed themselves with skins as a protection
from the inclemency of the weather, and also in the case of the
luxurious Greeks and Romans, who used skins in the adornment
of their persons or homes. In fact, the conversion of skins into
leather must be of the highest antiquity, for, in the Leeds
mummy described in 1828, there was found on the bandages of
the head and face a thong composed of three straps of leather,
and many of the Egyptian divinities are represented with a lion
or leopard skin as a covering for the throne, &c.; and do we not
read in many places in Holy Writ of leather and of tanners P—
a notable instance, to wit, in Simon, the tanner—in fact, the
ancient history of all nations teems with the records of leather
and of furs; but of the actual setting up of animals as
specimens I can find no trace.

I doubt, however, if we can carry taxidermy proper farther
back than to about 150 years ago, at which date naturalists
appear to have had some idea of the proper preservation and
mounting of natural history specimens; but Réaumur, more than
a century and a quarter ago, published a treatise on the preser-
vation of skins of birds; however, as his plan was simply setting
up with wires birds which had previously been steeped in spirits
of wine, this method did not find much favour. It appears that,

THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF TAXIDERMY. Il

just after that time, the system was tried of skinning birds in
their fresh state, and also of cutting the skins longitudinally in
two halves, and filling the one half with plaster; then the skin
was fixed to a backboard, an eye was inserted, and the beak and
legs were imitated by painting: and this was then fixed in a
sort of framework of glass. This system is still followed toa
certain extent; for, fifteen years ago, when I was in one of the
Greek islands, a German came round the town selling birds
mounted in the same way, and also mounted feather by feather.

To quote now from the translation of a French work, published
by Longman, Rees, and Co.,in London, in 1820,* we find that
** A work appeared at Lyons in 1758, entitled ‘Instructions on
the Manner of Collecting and Preparing the Different Curiosities
of Natural History.’ ”

The author was the first who submitted some useful principles for
taxidermy. He ornamented his book with many plates, more than half
of which are in all respects foreign to his subject, as they simply repre-
sent shells, and other marine productions, with their descriptions.

In 1786, the Abbé Manesse published a volume under the title of
‘‘Treatise on the Manner of Stuffing and Preserving Animals and Skins.’’
He presented his work to the Academy, who made a favourable report
of it.

Mauduyt has given a memoir on the manner of preparing dead birds
for forming collections. (See Ja 5éme ‘‘ Livraison de L’Encyclopédie
Méthodique, Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux,’’ t. i., deuxiéme partie,
p. 435.) By studying his method we may, with perseverance, be abie to
mount birds well, although he had never prepared them himself, for he
has composed his memoir from the notes which Lerot furnished him, who
mounted them very well, and who merited the confidence which Mauduyt
had accorded him in all the preparations which his fine collection
required.

An old sculptor, living at Lahaye, devoted himself to the practice of
taxidermy, and in a short time surpassed all those who had employed
themselves in mounting animals, especially large mammalia.

It seems that neither the English nor the Dutch have published any
work which treats of the method of mounting animals according to
system.

* The sixth edition, twenty-three years later, has this title, “‘ Taxidermy, or the Art of Pre-
paring and Mounting Objects of Natural History for the use of Museums and Travellers, by
Mrs. Rk. Lee, formerly Mrs, J. Ldward Bowdich. Sixth edition, 1843. Longman, Brown,
Green, and Longman.”

12 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

In 1801 we were not more advanced than they were. What we pos-
sessed of this kind appeared insufficient to amateurs. Notwithstanding,
many derived advantage from the memoir of Mauduyt, but being inserted
in the ‘‘ Encyclopédie Méthodique,’’ it was not always easy to procure it.
There was, besides, only the work of Abbé Manesse, and the tediousness
of the means which he pointed out frightened all those who desired to
learn taxidermy. The professors of natural history to the central schools
of the departments felt more than ever the want of a work which furnished
the method of preserving and augmenting their zoological collections.
In 1802 their wishes were nearly accomplished, for there appeared almost
at the same time two works on taxidermy, the one by M. Nicholas, a
chemist, the other by M. Henon. M. Nicholas makes an analysis of all
that had been said before on the preparation of animals. This view
comprehends nearly half the volume.

Bécceur, of Metz, was the best apothecary in that city. He mounted
fresh birds in the greatest perfection, and by a little practice one is sure
to succeed with his method. He opened his birds in the usual manner,
that is to say, by the middle of the belly. He easily tcok out the body
by this opening withcut cutting any of the extremities ; he then removed
the flesh by the aid of a scalpei, taking the precaution to preserve all the
ligaments; he anointed the skin, and put the skeleton in its place, care-
fully dispersing the feathers on each side. He ran the head through with
an iron wire, in which he had formed a little ring at nearly the third of
its length; the smallest side passed into the rump in such a manner that
the ring of the iron wire was under the sternum. He then passed a wire
into each claw, so that the extremities of the wire united to pass into the
little ring ; he bent these extremities within, and fixed them with a string
to the iron in the middle of the vertebral column. He replaced the flesh
by flax, or chopped cotton, sewed up the bird, placed it on a foot or
support of wood, and gave it a suitable attitude, of which he was always
sure—for a bird thus mounted could only bend in its natural posture (?).
He prepared quadrupeds in the same manner.

It remains for us to speak of a little work published by Henon and
Mouton Fontenelle. They had at first no other object than to read their
manuscript to the Athenzum at Lyons, of which they were members.
They were earnestly solicited to print it, and published it in 1802. The
authors speak of birds only. They describe an infinity of methods
practised by others, and compare them to their own, which, without
doubt, are preferable, but too slow to satisfy the impatience of ornitho-
logists.

The book from which I have just quoted seems to have been

THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF TAXIDERMY. 13

the only reliable text book known at that period, and with the
exception of certain modern improvements in modelling and
mounting, contains a mass of—for that day—valuable elementary
information. In fact, the French and German taxidermists were
then far in advance of us, a stigma which we did not succeed in
wiping off until after the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Although, as I have just said, the French and Germans
excelled us in the setting up of specimens, yet their collections
did not, in all cases, exceed ours in point of interest or magni-
tude, for the old taxidermists had been at work prior to 1725, at
which date it is recorded that the museum of Sir Hans Sloane
(the nucleus of our British Museum collection) contained the
following number of specimens: Mammals, 1194; birds, 7538;
reptiles, 345; fishes, 1007. A gradual increase appeared by
1753, when the figures stood: Mammals, 1886; birds, 1172;
reptiles, 521; fishes, 1555. A great proportion of these were,
however, not stuffed specimens, but simply bones and prepara-
tions of fleshy parts in spirits. Nothing shows the gradual
rise and progress of taxidermy better than the history of the
British Museum, which, under the then name of Montagu House,
was opened to the public by special ticket on Jan. 15, 1759.
Soon after its opening the natural history collections appear to
have claimed more interest from the public, for in 1765 we had a
very good collection of butterflies, and in 1769 the trustees
acquired, by purchase, a considerable collection of stuffed birds
from Holland. The restrictions on visitors were, however,
vexatious, people of all classes being hurried through the rooms
at a tremendous speed—vide Hutton, the Birmingham his-
torian, who visited it in 1784, and relates how he would fain
have spent hours looking at things for which only minutes were
allowed. From this period up to 1816 (at which date the
valuable ornithological collection of Col. Montagu was pur-
chased for the nation at a cost of £11,000) the additions to the
natural history galleries were not many, probably owing to the
troublous times; however, when we had succeeded in breaking
the power of Napoleon and restored peace to Europe, naturalists
and taxidermists found that the public had then time and
inclination to devote themselves to their collections or works.
Accordingly, during the next twenty years many works (in-

14 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

cluding those before noted) were written on taxidermy, the most
notable being by Swainson, Brown, and that eccentric genius
Waterton, whom we may call the pioneer of our present system
of mounting, and who, in his usual caustic style, pointed out the
very inferior way in which specimens were then mounted. At
the end of his “Wanderings in South America” appeared a
treatise on Taxidermy, but, as he decried the use of asenical
preparations, and mounted his birds without wires in a fashion
peculiar to himself, his system did not find favour in the eyes of
the school of rigid stuffing, who had not then worked out the
present happy compromise between his style and theirs. His
patience must have been inexhaustible; indeed, the Rev. J. G.
Wood, who know him well, has told me of many instances in
which he spent days in scraping out the hands and feet of the
larger apes until he got them as thin as paper, and also of his
delight when he invented the kid-glove substitute for a peacock’s
face, much to the astonishment of the reverend gentleman. Of
course, all these works on the preservation of natural history
objects and the labours of collectors directed the public mind to
the contemplation of natural history.

The British Museum at this time also—relieved of a few
of the restrictions on admission—became more popular, and
in 1836 we find the natural history collections were as follow:
Mammals, species 405; birds, species 2400; constituting alto-
gether in specimens the sum total of 4659. Of reptiles we
could boast—species 600, specimens 1300; fish 1000 specimens.
These figures did not contrast favourably with the Paris
Museum as in the days of old for now Paris stood: Mammals,
species 500; birds, species 2300 ; grand total of specimens 6000.
Of fish the French had four times as many as we (and beat
us, proportionately, in other sections), while we were far in
advance in this class of the Vienna and Berlin Museums.
In shells (not fossils), London and Paris were equal and much
superior to Berlin and Leyden. In 1848 an extraordinary
increase (marking the great interest taken in taxidermical
science) had taken place; we now had added to the British
Museum since 1836, 29,595 specimens, comprising 5797 mammals,
13,414 birds, 4112 reptiles, 6272 fish.

In mammals ana birds we held the proud position of having

THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF TAXIDERMY. 15

the finest and most extensive collection in the world, while in
reptiles and fish we were again beaten by Paris. In proof of the
srowing interest taken in natural history, we find that in 1860
the number of visitors to the natural history department
was greatly in excess of all the other departments; and at the
present time the attendance has greatly increased, as also
the objects exhibited, a fact patent to all who will take the
trouble to visit the British Museum, or to inspect the official
catalogues published from time to time, a synopsis of which
cannot at present be given owing to their extent and variety ;
but we can assume, I think, that we have as complete a natural
history collection as is to be found in any of the museums of
the world.*

Though taxidermy flourished, as we see, for some years
previous to the Great Exhibition of 1851, yet that decidedly
gave a considerable impetus to the more correct and artistic
delineation of animals, especially in what may be called the
grotesque school instituted by the Germans, which, though
it may perhaps be decried on the score of misrepresenting
nature in the most natural way possible, yet teaches a special
lesson by the increased care necessary to more perfectly render
the fine points required in giving animals that serio-comic
and half-human expression which was so intensely ridiculous
and yet admirable in the studies of the groups illustrating
the fable of “Reinecke the Fox,” which were in the Wurtem-
burgh Court, class XXX., and were executed by H. Ploucquet,
of Stuttgart. These groups, or similar ones, are now to be seen
in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham.

In nearly all of these groups the modelling and the varied
expressions of hope, fear, love, and rage, were an immense
step In advance of the old wooden school of taxidermy;
specimens of which are still to be found in museums—stiff,
gaunt, erect, and angular. Copies of those early outrages
on nature may still be seen in the dreary plates of the any-
thing but “animated” work of “poor Goldie,” who. as Boswell
said, “loved to shine” in what was least understood.

* Some idea of the extent of the National Natural History Collections may be gathered
from the pages of the recently-published British Museum “ Catalogues,’’ 1874-82, where, in
many instances, the number of specimens of a certain o der of birds contamed in the
eeu falls very little short of the ascertained number of species for the whole of the
world.

16 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

From this era the English artists, having had their eyes
opened by the teachings of the foreign exhibits of 1851,
steadily gained ground, and the Wards having the sense to
employ, in the first instance, foreign artistic workmen,
rapidly pushed to the front, until the finest animal study
of ancient or modern times was achieved by one of them—
the “Lion and Tiger Struggle,” exhibited at Paris, and after-
wards at the Sydenham Crystal Palace. This, and one or
two analogous works, carried the English to the foremost
ranks of zoological artists; and now that we embellish our
taxidermic studies with natural grasses, ferns, &., and with
representations of scenery and rockwork, in the endeavour
to carry the eye and mind to the actual localities in which the
various species of animals are found—an advance in art not
dreamed of fifty years ago—and also correctly model the heads
and limbs of animals, we still hold our own, and are as far
advanced in taxidermy as any other nation.

CHAPTER: Il.
Drcoying AND Trapping ANIMALS.

THE decoying and trapping of birds, &c., is a somewhat delicate
subject to handle, lest we degenerate into giving instruction in
amateur poaching; but the application of my direction I must
leave to the reader’s own sense of fitness of time and scene, and
object to be snared. And now, before launching into my
subject, one word in season. Observe as a golden rule—never to
be broken—this: Do not snare, shoot, nor kill any more birds
or animals than you absolutely want—in fine, do not nll for
killing’s sake, or snare in wantonness. Let all you do have
reference to some object to be attained, either to procure
specimens wanted for a collection, or, in cases of necessity, for
food. Bear this in mind, for, without sympathy with creatures
fashioned in as complex and beautiful a manner as ourselves,
we can never hope to be true naturalists, or to feel a thrill
of exquisite pleasure run through us when a new specimen
falls to our prowess. How can we admire its beauty when
alive, or feel a mournful satisfaction at its death, if we are
constantly killing the same species of bird for sport alone P
Another thing: kill a wounded bird as quickly and humanely
as possible, which you may always do by pressing its breast
just under the wings with your finger and thumb, bearing
the whole weight of the palm of the hand on the sternum
or breast-bone, and gradually increasing the pressure until
life is extinct. This plan suffices for even the larger birds,
provided you can find a means of holding them firmly while
you employ both hands in the manner previously indicated.
Again: if collecting eggs, be content with half the sitting
Cc

18 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

of a nest, and if you know of a very rare nest of eggs, do
not take them all in your acquisitive greed. If you see a rare
bird, on common land, you may as well secure him as let -
“Jack Smith” make him up in a sparrow pie; but if the
bird is on preserved land, or in a retired spot where no one
is likely to harry it, do think a minute before pulling trigger,
and ask yourself three questions: 1. Will this bird be likely
to stay if unmolested? 2. Is it hkely to havea mate? 3. Will
it nest here? If you can answer any of these questions in
the affirmative, why, “don’t shoot, colonel;” for think of the
aid to science, and your own satisfaction, if you can discover
anything new in its habits, or verify any doubtful point. Many
rare birds would nest here if undisturbed, and come again
with additions. The Hoopoe, or golden oriole, for instance,
and many other rare birds, would nest, and, indeed, do nest
here when allowed.

An interesting account of the appearance of the great bustard
in Norfolk, and the pains taken through the kindness of Lord
Lilford to provide it with a mate, appeared in the Field of
April 8, 1876. But alas! everyone is not so considerate, and
we have but a select few of such self-sacrificing people.

I presume no notice is required how to set the first trap
on our list—I mean our boyhood’s old favourite, the brick
trap, or the sieve and string, both very well in their way
in hard weather; but a notice may be required as to the
uses to which the next simplest trap, or springe (the horse-
hair noose), may be applied. For the very few people who
do not know how to set it, I will, in the manner of Col. Hawker,
who did everything at the time which he wished to explain
in writing, proceed to make one. Here, then, I have a black
horsehair about two feet long; I double it, holding it between

a Qe soe

Fic, 1.—Loop IN WIRE.

the right-hand finger and thumb, leaving a little loose loop
of about half an inch long; from this point I proceed by
an overhand motion of the thumb to twist it up; on reaching

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. 19

the bottom I make a small knot to prevent its unrolling; then,
pushing the knotted end through the eye of the loop, I thus
‘form a loose noose. I then attach a piece of wire to the
free end by a twisted loop (see Fig. 1). With about half
a dozen of these springes coiled in an oval tin box I am ready to
snare any small bird whose haunt I may discover. Birds
which are nesting can easily be caught by placing one noose in
the nest and others round the edge or mouth, making fast the
end wires to any contiguous branch or twigs. Moorhens or
water-rails, which swim or run through the constantly fre-
quented tracks which they have made in dense undergrowth
or rushes in bogs, may be captured by attaching these nooses
to a string stretched across—indeed, a writer in the Feld, of
July 8, 1876, says, speaking of Turkestan :

Ducks are caught by rather a clever arrangement with horsehair
nooses attached to a string, which is stretched over the ditches and
canals used for irrigation, and so close to the water that the ducks are
eompelled when swimming under the string to stretch out their necks,
when they are easily caught in the hanging nooses.

Also a useful plan for catching plovers or snipes, which
haunt the edges of streams having a narrow margin between
the bank and the water, is described by him as used for
catching quails:

One method is simplicity itself: a hair noose is fastened to a lump of
clay well worked together ; a number of these appliances are scattered
about the lucerne fields, which the quails are fond of frequenting ; the
bird caught in the noose is prevented from flying away owing to the
weight of the lump of clay and its getting easily entangled in the grass.

Wheatears and ortolans are caught by suspending a hair
noose between two turves placed on end and touching each
other in the form of the roof of a house; to this shelter the
birds constantly run on the approach of danger, or even,
apparently, through timidity, on the gathering of storm clouds.

With this springe, also, thrushes and similar birds are described
as being snared by Mr. Gould (in his “ Birds of Great Britain”),
who, giving Mr. Box as his authority, says:

The thrush is a great source of amusement to the middle, and of
profit to the lower, classes during its autumnal migration. Many families
of Liege, Luxemburg, Luneburg, Namur, parts of Hainault, and Brabant

c 2

20 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

choose this season for their period of relaxation from business, and
devote themselves to the taking of this bird with horsehair springes.
The shopkeeper of Liege and Verviers, whose house in the town is the
model of comfort and cleanliness, resorts with his wife and children to
one or two rooms in a miserable country village to enjoy the sport he
has been preparing with their help during the long evenings of the
preceding winter, in the course of which he has made as many as from
5000 to 10,000 horsehair springes and prepared as many pieces of flexible
wood, rather thicker than a swan-quill, in and on which to hang the birds.
He hires what he calls his ‘‘ tenderie,’’ being from four to five acres of
underwood about three to five years old, pays some thirty shillings for
. permission to place his springes, and his greatest ambition is to retain
for several years the same tenderie and the same lodgings, which he
improves in comfort from year to year. The springes being made and
the season of migration near, he goes for a day to his intended place of
sojourn, and cuts as many twigs, about 18in. in length, as he intends
hanging springes. There are two methods of hanging them—in one the
twig is bent into the form of the figure six, the tail end running through
a slit cut in the upper part of the twig. The other method is to sharpen
a twig at both ends, and insert the points into a grower or stem of
underwood, thus forming a bow, of which the stem forms the string
below the springe ; and hanging from the lower part of the bow is placed
a small branch, with three or four berries of the mountain ash (there
called ‘‘sorbier’’); this is fixed to the bow by inserting the stalk into a slit
in the wood. The hirer of a new tenderie three or four acres in extent
is obliged to make zigzag footpaths through it, to cut away the boughs
which obstruct them, and even to hoe and keep them clean. Having
thus prepared himself, he purchases ore or two bushels of mountain
ash berries, with the stalks to which they grow, picked for the
purpose after they are red, but before they are ripe, to prevent falling
off: these he lays out on a table in the loft or attic. The collection of
these berries is a regular trade, and the demand for them is so great that,
although planted expressly by the side of the roads in the Ardennes,
they have been sold as high as £2 the bushel; but the general price is
5 francs. We will now suppose our thrush-catcher arrived at his
lodgings in the country—that he has had his footpath cleared by the aid
of a labourer, and that he is off for his first day’s sport. He is
provided with a basket, one compartment of which holds his twigs bent
or straight, another his berries; his springes being already attached to
the twigs, he very rapidly drives his knife into a lateral branch, and
fixes them, taking care that the springe hangs neatly in the middle of the

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. DL

bow, and that the lower part of the springe is about three fingers’ breadth
from the bottom. By this arrangement the bird alighting on the lower
side of the bow, and bending his neck to reach the berries below,
places his head in thenoose. Finding himself obstructed in his movements,
he attempts to fly away; but the treacherous noose tightens round his
throat, and he is found by the sportsman hanging by the neck, a victim
of misplaced eonfidence.

The workman, who at this season earns a second harvest by this
pursuit, carries on his industry in wilder districts, or he frequently |
obtains permission from his employer to set springes in his master’s
woods. In this case he supplies the family with birds, which are highly
appreciated as a delicacy, especially when almost covered with butter,
with a few juniper berries, and some bacon cut into small dice and baked
ina pan. The rest of his take he sells at from 5d. to 10d. per dozen. |

No person who has not lived in the country can imagine the excitement

9?

among all classes when the ‘‘ grives’’ arrive. If the morning be foggy,
it is a good day for “‘grives’’; if bright, bad “‘tenderie’’! The reason
is obvious. When the birds arrive in a fog they settle at once in the
woods; if bright, they fly about, seeking the most propitious place

for food.

It appears that redwings and fieldfares are caught by this
method also, as well as a few ring-ousels and blackbirds.

“ Stonehenge” says that the springe just described was used
for snaring woodcocks, in the following manner :

It used to be the constant practice on all the hill downs in these parts
to place cut underwood or furze, about a foot in height, to a very great
extent along the ground, in the shape of a letter V, at the apex of which
an opening would be left, where a hair noose or springe would be set,
which seldom failed to yield the pot-hunter a nightly supply, as the cock
would run along the side of the brushwood feeding, not taking the trouble
to top over it, until he was led into the snare; but this plan is now,
owing to the scarcity of cocks, when compared with former years, very
seldom practised.

Ptarmigan are said by Daniels, in his “ Rural Sports,” to be
led up to springes in nearly the same manner, stones being
substituted for furze.

Another mode of making a springe, which is a capital plan for
catching almost any bird, whether it be a percher or a runner, is
this: Procure an elastic wand (hazel or osier makes the best)
of about 3ft. 6in. long, to the top of which tie a piece of twisted

92, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

horsehair about 3in. in length; to the free end attach a little
piece of wood of 2in. in length, by the middle, cutting one end to
an obtuse point, flattened on the top and underneath. Just
underneath this little crosspiece attach two horsehair springes,
at right angles; next cut a little fork, or rather angle piece,
from a tree, one end of which is to be quite 4in. long (to drive
in the ground), the other end about 3in., measuring from
underneath. To set this trap, push the long wand into the
ground until about 3ft. of it is out; then, at a distance of 2ft.,
drive in the fork piece, until only $in. clears the ground; next
bend the wand down in the form of a bow, and bring the
pointed end of the crosspiece under the peg, or fork, planted in
the ground at the other end. The free end is now a little
elevated, while the middle is held very lightly on the point of

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Fie, 2.—‘‘ SPRINGE,’? OR SNARE FOR BIRDS.

the catch, and its opposite end rests lightly on the ground.
On the “ticklish” setting of this everything depends. Next
place some blades of grass or light moss so as to hide the
fork piece at the back and sides, taking care that no small
sticks interfere with the proper working of the trap; strew
some suitable seed or bait on the grass or moss, and then
carefully place one horsehair noose in such a manner as to
trap a bird should it merely hop on the crosspiece, and the
other noose arrange so as to catch it by the neck should it
attempt to seize the bait or to pass. In either case it
dislodges the crosspiece, which instantly flies up, suspending *
the bird by the neck or legs in one or both of the nooses. The
appearance of the set trap before the grass or moss is
arranged is as represented in Fig. 2, which I have drawn from -

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. es

a trap set for that purpose. Sometimes this trap (or properly
springe) is set with another fork placed at right angles to the
other, and sufficiently distant from it to just catch the opposite
end of the crosspiece, and though, perhaps, this plan allows it to
be set a little finer, it has many disadvantages.

Yet another modification of the same springe. The wand or
spring-stick, crosspiece, and nooses as before, but instead of the
simple catch, use a complete bow, with both ends stuck in the
ground. At some little distance from this drive in a straight
piece of stick ; next procure a piece of stick with a complete
fork or crutch at one end. To set it, draw down the spring-stick
and pull the crosspiece under the bow by the top side farthest
_ from the spring-stick. Now hold it firmly with one hand while

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Fic. 3.—‘‘SPRINGE’’ FOR SNIPE.

you place the forked stick with its crutch pressing against the
opposite upright stick, and bring its free end against the lower
end of the crosspiece, and adjust both as finely as you can.
Finally, arrange the nooses in sucha manner that if either of
them or the crutched stick is touched the latter falls, and
releasing the crosspiece, the spring-stick flies up, and the bird —
with it. To see the setting of this at a glance, vide Fig. 3
(showing only one noose, however), which I have “cribbed” from
a tail piece of Bewick’s, putting it a little out of drawing to show
it up.

The next simple trap to be considered is evidently the pit-fall,
used only, however, for large and fierce animals, and varying
in construction in different countries. For descriptions of
methods of baiting for and catching such animals as lions,

24, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY

leopards, tigers, elephants, &c., consult almost any book on
African or Indian field sports.

Of poisons or intoxicants for capturing birds or animals, I do
not intend to treat, as they are better left to gamekeepers and
poachers.

Dead-falls, such as the “Figure of 4 trap,” are easy to make,
and useful for lulling small animals. The materials required
are simply three ordinary pieces of wood, a small piece of string,
or, better still, wire, and a large, heavy, flat paving stone, or
slate. Having procured three pieces of wood of half an inch
square by one foot long, we call one the “upright,” which is
simply brought toa point at one end, somewhat like a chisel.
The second is the “slanting stick,” which should be cut to about

Fic, 4.—‘‘ Figure or 4’’ TRAP.

Sin. long, having a nick in it about half an inch from one end,
about half way through its depth; the other end is brought
to a chisel point on its upper surface; the third, which is the
“foot” or “ bait stick,” has a square notch, the thickness of the
upright, cut in it, about three inches from one end; the inner
end of this notch is relieved a little, so as not to bind on the
upright too much. Within half an inch of the other end
another notch is cut, but at right angles to the last, that is
to say, this last notch is cut on the top, while the other is
cut at the side; the outer or top notch also slopes inward.
At the inner or side notch end drill a little hole, through which
place a piece of pointed wire to receive the bait. The appearance
of the three sticks when set is best explained by Fig 4; a is the

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. 25

upright, B the slanting stick, and c bait or bottom stick. To
set it, take the upright in the left hand, chisel point up, pick
up B with the right hand, place it with its notch fitting on the
top of A, and keeping the slanting stick pressed down firmly,
you hold the two in proper position. This has relieved the left
hand entirely, which now is used to pick upc; place the side
notch of this on the upright a, slide it up until its end nick is
caught by the point of B; a sufficient leverage, as it were,
being attained on this, we can hold the whole of the trap now
with the right hand. By grasping B with the fingers of the
hand in opposition to the palm, while the thumb presses it down
on the top, the left hand, being at liberty, is used to drag the
stone and to raise one end to fall on the top of B; the weight of
the stone now sets the three parts in opposition to each other.
An animal touching the baitin the slightest manner is sufficient
to destroy the nice balance of the whole affair, and down it
comes with a run. The sizes given—from a trap I have just
set—are, of course, for small animals only, but it may be enlarged
or decreased to any extent, at the pleasure of the operator.

As “Stonehenge” and “High Elms” have introduced some
improvements, I may as well quote the former:

The Figure of 4 trap is composed of a large square piece of stone or
slate propped up in a peculiar manner with three pieces of wood, which
are arranged in the shape of a 4.

In examining this figure it will be seen to consist of a perpendicular
limb or upright, of a horizontal one or stretcher, and of a short slanting
stick, as the third is called. The upright is usually cut about half an
inch wide, shaved to a thin edge at top, but ‘‘ High Elms”? recommends
it to have a forked foot to keep it from twisting, and a notch init to
prevent the stretcher slipping down. The slanting stick bas a notch
cut init half an inch from its upperend to receive the top of the upright,
while its lower end is shaved off to fit in a notch in the upper surface
of the front of the stretcher. Lastly, the stretcher has this notch in
front, and another notch cut in its side by which itis caught by the
upright and held in its place. A bait being tied to the external end of
the stretcher, and a stone placed so that it will lie flat on the ground,
the whole is ready for setting, which is effected as follows: Raise the
stone, and support it by the notched end of the slanting stick held
in the left hand, the notch itself looking downwards, then place the
upright with one end on the ground and the other in this notch, and

26 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

let it carry the weight of the stone, which will have a tendency to tilt
up the slanting stick still held down by the left hand; finally, hitch the
middle notch of the stretcher in the upright, with its front notch facing
upwards, then bring the lower end of the slanting stick down to this
front notch, drop it in, and the trap is set. Of course, it requires that
each part shall be carefully adapted to the others, but when the trap is
seen set it will be readily understood, practice being, however, required
to set it properly. I quite agree with “High Elms’’ that the footed
upright is an improvement; but I am inclined to doubt the advantage
of the double notch between the upright and the stretcher. I have tried
both, and I cannot find that there is any great superiority in his plan;
but, perhaps, though I have exactly followed his directions as given in
the Field, I may have omitted some point of practical importance.
In setting the Figure of 4 trap, the height of the upright and the size and
weight of the stone will be proportioned to the animal for which it is
set. Ido not like the trap myself, as it cannot be concealed so well as
the steel trap, and, indeed, has no advantage except in cheapness.
Dozens of them may be set in the woods, and if stolen little harm is
done, as the cost is barely a penny apiece if made in large num-
bers. I have also known pheasants caught by the head and killed in
them, the flesh with which they are baited being often attractive to
tame-bred birds, which usually are fed with more or less of it in their
rearing.

Mr. G.S. Purden has informed me that he has succeeded in
capturing birds alive with this trap by hollowing out the ground
where the stone falls.

Another “deadfall” for taking capercailzie in Norway is
described by Mr. Yarrell in his “ British Birds :”

Where the trees grow thickly on either side of a footpath, two long
pieces of wood are placed across it; one end of these rests on the
ground, the other being raised a foot and a half, or somewhat more,
from the surface, and supported by a piece communicating with a
triangular twig, placed in the centre of the path, and so contrived that
on being slightly touched the whole fabric falls; a few stones are usually
placed upon the long pieces of wood to increase the rapidity of the drop
by the additional weight. Birds running along the footpath attempt
to pass beneath the barrier, strike the twig, and are killed by the fall of
the trap.

Taking birds by means of bird-lime is my next considera-
tion. Bird-lime is made either from boiled oil or from holly-

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. PAP

bark, but the making of itis not “worth the candle,” it being
so easily bought from any professional bird-catcher.

To those who wish to make their own, I commend the follow-
ing: Take half a pint of linseed oil and put it into an old pot,
or any vessel that will stand the fire without breaking.
The vessel should not be more than one-third full. Place it
over a slow fire and stir it until it thickens as much as required.
This can be ascertained by cooling the stick in water and trying
if it will stick to the fingers. When sufficiently boiled, pour
into cold water, and it will be found ready for use.

I have submitted the foregoing to a practical birdcatcher and
maker of bird-lime, and he has “passed” it as correct, only
adding that the oil takes somewhere about four hours to slowly
boil before it becomes sufficiently tenacious for use. Holly-bark
he does not believe in,as he says it takes too long to make;
but that is no reason why we should pass over bird-lime made
from this substance. The “ Hncyclopeedia Britannica” says :

It is usually prepared by boiling holly-bark ten or twelve hours, and when
the green coat is separated from the other it is covered up for a fortnight
in a moist place; then pounded into a rough paste, and washed in a
running stream till no motes appear. It is next put up to ferment
for four or five days, and repeatedly skimmed. To prepare it for use,
a third part of nut oil or thin grease must be incorporated with it
over the fire.

Bird-lime can also be made from many other plants, but the
best quality is made by either of the two methods mentioned

above.
The “ Edinburgh Encyclopedia” says further that-—

When bird-lime is about to be applied to use, it should be made hot,
and the rods or twigs should be warmed a little before they be dipped in
it. Where straws and cords are to be limed it should be very hot, and
after they are prepared they should be kept in a leather bag till used.
In order to prevent bird-lime from being congealed by cold, it should be
mixed with a little oil of petroleum; and, indeed, before the common
kind can be used at all, it must be melted over the fire with a third part
of nut oil or any thin grease, if that has not been added in the prepara-
tion. The smaller kinds of birds are frequently taken with bird-lime,
which is one of the most eligible modes in frost or snow, when all sorts of

298 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

small birds assemble in flocks, and which may be used in various ways.
Put the bird-lime into an earthen dish, with the addition of one ounce of
fresh lard to every quarter-pound of bird-lime, and melt the whole gently
over the fire. Take a quantity of wheat ears, with a foot of the straw
attached to them, and, having warmed the lime, that it may spread the
thinner, lime about six inches of the straw from the bottom of the ears.
Scatter a little chaff and thrashed ears over a compass of twenty yards;
stick the limed straws into the ground, with the ears inclining down-
wards, or even touching the surface; traverse the adjoining places
in order to disturb the birds, and make them fly towards the snare, and,
by pecking at the ears of corn, they will become so entangled with the
limed straw as to be easily taken by the hand. The lime may also be
applied to cords, rods, and twigs, especially when it is intended to
entangle the larger birds, such as snipes and fieldfares, and for this
purpose the following mode may be adopted: ‘Take the main branch of
any bushy tree, with long, straight, and smooth twigs, such as the
willow or birch, clear the twigs from every notch and prickle, lime the
branches to within four fingers of the bottom, leaving the main bough
from which the others rise untouched by the composition, and then place
the bush where the birds resort. For small birds two to three hundred
single twigs, about the thickness of a rush and three inches in length,
may be stuck in sheaves of flag and corn. In hot and dry weather the
twigs may be placed around the rivulets, ditches, and pools to which the
birds come for drink, covering the waters at the same time with brush-
wood, so that they can have no access to quench their thirst, except at
the spot where the twigs are fixed. For this purpose the rods or twigs
should be about a foot in length, limed to within two inches of the
thickest end, which is stuck into the bank in such a manner that they
may lie within two fingers’ breadth of the ground, and as the birds do
not alight at once upon the place where they are to drink, but gradually
descend from the higher trees to the lower, thence to the bushes, and
lastly to the bank, it is useful to fix a few branches about a fathom from
the water in a sloping direction, with a few lime twigs fastened upon
them on which the birds will as frequently be caught as on those which
are placed nearer to the water. The best time for this sport is from ten
to eleven in the forenoon, from two to three in the afternoon, and about an
hour before sunset, when the birds come to the watering places in flocks
before they retire to roost.

The application of bird-lime is of ancient origin, and is
practised in many countries. Pennant gives an account of how
to take small birds by liming twigs around a stuffed or tethered

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. 29

live owl. I have heard of this plan being adopted, but have not
tried it myself. From the curious manner in which small birds
usually mob an owl, I should fancy it would succeed.

According to Folkard’s “ Wildfowler :”

There was also a method much in vogue previously to the invention
and discovery of decoys, of taking wild fowl with lime strings made of
packthread or string, knotted in various ways and besmeared with bird-
lime ; these were set in rows about fens, moors, and other feeding haunts
of the birds, an hour or two before morning or evening twilight. This
plan was to procure a number of small stakes, about 2ft. in length,
sharpened to a point at the nether end, and forked at the upper. These
were pricked out in rows about a yard or two apart, some being placed
in a slanting direction, and each stake siding one with another, within
convenient distances of 4yds. or 5yds., so as to bear up the strings,
which were laid upon the crutches, and placed loosely about 18in. above
the ground. The lime strings were thus drawn from stake to stake in
various directions, and lightly placed between the forks at the top of the
stakes, some rows being higher than others; and in this manner the
whole space occupied by the stakes was covered with lime strings, as if
carefully laid in wave-like coils, or placed in different directions, the ends
being secured to the stakes with slip-knots, so that upon a light strain
the whole of any string which might be touched by the bird became
instantly loose, and, sticking to the feathers, the more it struggled to
free itself, so much the more the string twisted about it, and thus the
bird was quickly entangled, and became an easy prey. In this manner
numbers of wild fowl of the largest species were taken at night at the
moment of sweeping over the ground at very slow flight, just before
alighting; and it would appear that this method of fowling was par-
ticularly successful in taking plovers, which generally alight on the
ground thickly congregated together.

A similar method was employed for taking wild fowl with lime strings
placed over the surface of rivers and ponds frequented by those birds,
and apparently with remarkable success. For this purpose it was neces-
sary to procure a waterproof bird-lime wherewith to dress the strings,
which were knotted in a similar manner to those employed for taking
birds on land. The strings so prepared were in serpentine coils from
stake to stake, the stakes being forked at the top, and of similar form
to those last described, but of sufficient length to reach the bottom of
the water and obtain a firm fixing in the mud. Some of the stakes were
placed on the banks of the water or in any manner so that the lime

30 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

strings could be drawn across and about the surface in different direc-
tions, resting here and there on some or other of the stakes or any
boughs or overhanging trees, in such a way that the birds, when in the
act of alighting on the water at night, might strike against the lime
strings and become therein entangled.

The principal secret of success in this and the preceding device was
that of placing the lime strings in shaded places over the most assured
haunts of the birds; and it was only obtainable on dark nights, or in
good shade, for whenever there was sufficient light for the birds to see
the least sign of the snare spread for them the fowler had no chance of
making any captives. (And be sure to take this caution not to use these
strings in moonshine nights, for the shadow of the line will create a
jealousy in the fowl, and so frustrate your sport.) And as wildfowl in
their descent, just before alighting on the water, diverge from their
accustomed angular figure, and spread themselves more in a broad front
line, a whole flight sometimes comes swooping into the fowler’s snare all
at once. :

A method of trapping, with the assistance of bird-lime, might,
I think, be tried with some chance of success. It is to insert
a piece of fish in a cone of paper well smeared with bird-lime,
and to throw down a few of these prepared cones in places
accessible to gulls, herons, and such birds, who, in attempting to
seize the fish, would be effectually hoodwinked, and thus easily
secured.

Hawking, by which birds are captured by trained falcons, is of
the highest antiquity. Pennant mentions that the Saxon King
Ethelbert (who died in 760) sent to Germany for a cast of
falcons to fly at cranes (herons?). As this sport has now fallen

into disuse, I must refer my readers for particulars to Blaine, ~

Daniel, Freeman, Harting, Captain Dugmore, and to occasional
articles by one or two modern falconers in the columns
of the Field.

The infinite variety of nets used in the capture of various
birds requires almost a chapter by itself; but it will suffice for
the present one if we mention those most generally used, or the
most striking varieties. First, then, comes the ordinary “ clap-
net” of the London and provincial bird-catchers.. The “Hdin-
burgh Encyclopedia” says, with regard to clap-nets:

Birds are also taken with nets during the day, and especially in those

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. ob

seasons of the year when they change their situation ; in the month of
October, for instance, when the wild birds begin to fly, and in March,
when the smaller kinds assemble for pairing. They are chiefly on the
wing from daybreak to noon, and always fly against the wind. The
birdeatchers, therefore, lay their nets towards that point to which the
wind blows. The nets employed in this way are generally 12zyds. long
and 23yds. wide, and are spread on the ground parallel to each other, in
such a manner as to meet when turned over. They are provided with
lines, fastened in such a way that, by a sudden pull, the birdcatcher is
able to draw them over the birds that may have alighted in the space
between those parallel sides. In order to entice the wild birds to alight
amongst the nets, call birds are employed, of which there must be one
or two of each of the different kinds which are expected to be caught,
such as linnets, goldfinches, greenfinches, &c. Besides the call birds
there are others denominated flur birds, which are placed upon a
moveable perch within the net, called a flur, and which can be raised or
depressed at pleasure, and these are secured to the flur by means of a
brace or bandage of slender silk strongly fastened round the body of the
bird. The call birds are deposited in cages at a little distance from the
nets, and as soon as they see or hear the approach of the wild birds,
which they perceive long before it can be observed by the birdcatcher,
they announce the intelligence from cage to cage with the greatest
appearance of joy, and they proceed to invite them to alight by a
succession of notes or short jerks, as they are termed by the birdcatcher,
which may often be heard at a considerable distance. The moment that
the call is heard by the wild birds they stop their flight and descend
towards the net, and so great ‘s the ascendancy and fascination of the
call birds that they can induce the others to return repeatedly to the nets
till every bird in the flock be caught.

Being somewhat afraid that this description would not meet
all the practical requirements of the case, and knowing myself
but little or nothing of this mode of birdcatching, I thought it
advisable to interview a practical man. Having at last suc-
ceeded in capturing a specimen of the genus homo, species
birdcatcher, I prevailed upon him (through the medium of a
tip) to impart his stock of birdcatching lore, and to cut me
patterns of play-sticks and pegs, and also to correct my rough
sketches when necessary.

The sum and substance of my interview is as follows: The
nets, which are of two pieces, are each about twelve yards long

a4 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

by two-and-a-half yards wide, and are made with a three-quarter
mesh of what is technically called two-thread. The staves
at each end, to which the nets are permanently attached,
are made of red deal, ferruled and jointed at the middle, in
the manner of a fishing rod, for the convenience of carriage.
The length of each when put together is about five feet six
inches, being thus shorter than the width of the net. This,
it will be readily observed, allows for the bagging of the net
—an important particular, as, if the nets were strained tight
with no allowance made for bagging, the birds would flutter
along the ground until they got out at one end or the other.
As it is, they roll themselves up in the meshes, and effectually
entangle themselves while attempting to escape.

A strong line, called the top line, made of clock line, passes
the whole length of each net, and is protracted some feet past
the staves at either end. A similar line runs along the bottom
made of three-thread or whip thread. This is called the bottom
line. There are then two unattached cords of some strength,
called the pull line and the forked line, which latter is attached,
when required for use, to the two staves nearest the birdcatcher,
at the intersection of the top line.

Hight pegs are used, made of hard wood, generally ash, four
of which are called the “chief pegs.” The whole of the pegs
are notched, for the convenience of attaching a line.

The method of laying the clap-net is best described with
the aid of a drawing (vide Fig. 5).

The first thing to be done is to lay down the right-hand
net, and to drive in the two chief pegs where shown, namely,
at the bottom of the staves, to which they are attached by
a loop of strong cord, acting as a hinge. The two end pegs
are then driven in the ground at some little distance from
and in an exact line to the chief pegs. The bottom line is
then made fast at each end, as also the continuation of the
top line. The two pegs, lines, and staff thus form a triangle
at each end. The other net is then laid in such a manner
that when both are pulled over, one net shall overlap the
other to the extent of six inches. It is then turned back
and pegged down in the same way as the right-hand net.
The next operation is to tie the forked line to each top end

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FIG. 5—PLAN AND METHOD OF SETTING CLAP-NET.

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. 35

of the staves, a nick being cut in each for this purpose. Exactly
in the centre of the forked lime the pull line is knotted, at
the other end of which the birdcatcher stands at varying
distances, according to the bird he wishes to catch; for instance,
for linnets or goldfinches, thirty to forty yards; for starlings a
greater distance is required; or to capture these wary birds
a better plan is to place the nets in one field while you retire
into another, bringing the pull line through an intervening
hedge. 7

Cages containing birds are dispersed about on the outer
edges of the nets, the best, or call birds, being placed farther
away; in fact, my informant thinks that if all the cages were
placed a moderate distance away from the nets it would be
better, as he has found that the usual red or green cages have
been the means of “bashing ”’—.e., frightening—the wild birds
away from the nets.

“When doctors differ, who shall decide ? ”

On mentioning the above to another birdcatcher he gave a
huge snort of dissatisfaction, and roundly swore that my man
knew “nought about it,” for he always set his cages as near
the nets as possible; “for don’t it stand to reason,” quoth he,
“that if you set your cages fur away, your ‘call birds’ will
*tice the wild ’uns down round ’em? an’ they won’t come
near your nets.”

An important actor in the performance is the “play-bird,”
which is a bird braced by a peculiar knot or “ brace,” as shown in
Fig. 6, on an arrangement called the play-stick.

The “play-stick” is resolvable into three parts, Fig. 7 being the
ground peg, formed of a piece of hard wood about six inches
long, having a round hole bored through close to the top,
through which the “play-line” passes. Immediately underneath
is a square slot for the reception of a piece of brass tube beaten
flat at one end (Fig. 8), while the other end is left open for the
reception of the “ play-stick” (C, Fig. 9), simply a rough twig or
piece of hard wood, upon which the bird is tied by the “ brace”
(Fig.6)—which is constructed, as shown in drawing, by doubling
apiece of string, tying a knot in the centre and then joining
the ends. The head and body of the bird is thrust through,
so that a loop catches it on each side and in front of the

D2

36 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

wings, the legs and tail being thrust through the other, one
loop coming on each side of the body behind the wings. A
swivel is attached at one of the knots, and, ‘by another piece of
string, is made fast to the play-stick near its end. The bird
is thus perfectiy free so far as the wings and legs are con-
cerned.

Fic. 6.—Birp Brace. Fria. 7. Fie. 8.
Detail showing Complete, with Swivel Grounp Pra. TUBE OF PLAY-STICK.
Formation of Knots. attached.

The “ play-stick,” as a whole, is represented in Fig. 9, which
shows the bird in repose, with the end of the stick (C) resting
on the ground, the play-line passing through a hole in the
ground peg (A), while the part marked B works in the slot in the
same.

iN
PLAY tt ! £

— inh B “

S77 ==

a7 | 2 —
iy, 5 = 2=
A, LAY STICK ;

hl WEEE Dany, A Ahly Athy yay sey Bosna aia Nut ya theca

Fic. 9.—‘‘ Fuur”’ orn ‘‘ PLAY-STICK.”’

A little food and water are put down by the play-bird’s side,
to which it addresses itself in its intervals of rest. Directly
birds appear, the play-line is smartly pulled, which has the
effect of jerking the play-bird upwards, while at the same time
it flutters its wings to regain its perch. This motion is

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. BY

mistaken by the wild birds as a natural proceeding; they
accordingly alight around the play-bird, to assist it in feeding.
The pull-line of the net is then smartly jerked, which causes
the forked-line to fly inwards, and, acting on the hinged pegs
and top and bottom lines as by a lever, the staves rise from
the outside, become perpendicular, and finally fall over, inclosing
all within the open space in the nets.

The “play-bird” is alway placed on the left hand of the
birdeatcher, about two yards into the net. Sometimes more
than one play-stick and bird are used; all are, however, played
by the same string. The best birds are, however, contrary to
my expectations, not used, as the constant pulling up and
down, to say nothing of the worry of the falling nets, very
soon kills the poor little “play-bird.” From Michaelmas to
Christmas would appear to be the best times for catching.

Many rare birds not calculated on by the operator, are
procured in this way. I allude to hawks, which constantly
dash at the call, or play-birds, of the netsman. I remember
seeing, taken in a lark net on the racecourse of Corfu—one of
the Ionian Isles—a most beautiful male specimen of the hen
harrier (Circus cyaneus, Macg.); and here in England I have
received, within the last few years, one great grey shrike
(Lanius excubitor, L.), four or five hobby hawks (Falco subbuteo,
L.), a dozen or more merlins (Falco csalon, Tunstall), and a
great number of sparrowhawks, and kestrels, all captured by
this method.

Draw-nets are those used by fen-men and others at night for
taking lark, snipe, plover, &c., by dragging a long net of a
certain construction over the fields and swamps. The actual
originator of this method of capture as applied to snipe and
such birds, appears to have been Mr. Daniel himself (vide
“Rural Sports,” vol. 3, p. 179).

Glade nets, which are nets stretched in narrow glades or
ridings in woods from tree to tree, are used chiefly for taking
night-flying birds, such as woodcocks, or wild ducks. Folkard
thus describes their use:

The proceedings connected with the use of glade nets appear to be
very simple. These nets are of lengths and breadths proportioned to the
places in which they are suspended. They are simply pieces of fine

38 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

thread netting, edged with cords adapted to the extent of the lint. The
glade net so formed is suspended between two trees, directly in the
track of the woodcock’s flight. Both the upper and lower corners have
each a rope attached to them which, as regards the upper part of the
net, is rove through sheaves, iron rings, or thimbles fastened to the
trees on either side at the top of the glade at a moderate height, varying
from ten to twelve or fifteen feet. The falls of the two upper ropes are
joined or so adjusted that they form a bridge, to the central part of
which a rope is attached of several yards in length, which the fowler
holds in his hand in a place of concealment, and thus commands full
power over the net, being able to drop it down suddenly and intercept
the flight of any birds which may attempt to escape through the glade;
or he can draw it up as suddenly from the ground to a perpendicular
position. A stone, of about 5lb. weight, is attached to each of the lower
cords of the net, so that when the fowler lets go his controlling rope the
weight of the stones forces the lower part of the net down in an instant
with a strong fall, and, at the same time, they draw up the upper part
of the net. The fowler having stationed himself in such a position
as to command a full view of the glade in which his net is placed,
beaters are employed to flush the cocks from their retreats ; immediately
on one or more fiying in the direction of the fowler a signal is given, and
just as the bird approaches the net it is suddenly let down or drawn up,
when the woodcock, flying forcibly against it, is immediately ensnared.
The instant the birds have struck the net the fowler lets go another
rope, which is generally looped to a stake within reach of his arm, and
the whole net, with the birds entangled, then drops to the ground.
In forcing themselves forward in their endeavour to escape they
form the net into a sort of bag, which makes their capture more
certain.

Nets are in some parts of the world set under water to pro-
cure wild fowl. I remember, when in Norfolk, a gannet being
brought in by one of the fishing boats; the bird had become
accidentally entangled in one of the nets whilst attempting to
rob it of some fish.

Small nets of a few yards long, made of fine black silk, with
a small mesh, are used in some parts of the country for taking
kingfishers. These nets are stretched across a small water-
course or the arch of a bridge in such a manner that, a little
“slack” being allowed, the bird is taken to a certainty in
attempting to pass. So fatal is this net when skilfully set, that

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. 39

I know one man who adds several pounds to his income in the
course of a year by taking kingfishers in this manner.

For the netting of hawks by a contrivance called the bow
net, which was formerly used in England, see Blaine’s “ Encyclo-
pedia of Rural Sports.”

Many birds (notably sea and rock birds) are to be procured by

descending the rocks attached toa stout line. But this highly
dangerous work had better not be attempted by the tyro. For
an ancient but interesting account of rock fowling in the Orkneys,
see Pennant’s “Arctic Zoology,” page 29. The same system is
still adopted on many parts of the coast. In fact, I recollect
(when some years ago I visited the Isle of Wight on a collecting
expedition) seeing two men with ropes and an iron bar going to
the top of the “ Bench” (a famous place for sea fowl), and while
one man was let down over the edge of the cliff his fellow
remained at the top to answer the pull of the “bird-line” and
look after the safety of the “man-rope” and iron bar. So
fascinating did this appear to me that, having been “ between
heaven and earth” once or twice before, I volunteered to “go
below;” but I found that the fowlers did not care for the risk,
or the loss of time, and booty, involved in letting an amateur
down.

It was, indeed, a wonderful sight. I crept as closely as I
dared, and lying on my breast looked over the cliff. Hundreds
of feet down, the sea, lashed into breakers by the breeze, crept
up the steep black rock walls, or tumbled over the half-hidden
crags; and yet, though you could see the white war of waters,
but the faintest murmur of this battle between land and sea
could be heard—hbelow and halfway up, the puffins and guillemots
were sitting in rows, or flying off in droves as little black specks
on the white foam.

Here I learned that they often baited fish-hooks with offal or
pieces of fish, for the purpose of catching the gulls, and this ~
brought to my mind the quantities of robins, thrushes, and such
birds I had seen caught by fish-hooks baited with worms and
pegged down in the olive groves of the Ionian Sea. .

I notice that Pennant mentions that the lapwing is decoyed
into nets by the twirling of looking glass. I have seen exactly
the same thing myself on the Continent applied to the taking of

40 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

larks. A cylinder of wood, inlaid with pieces of looking-glass,
is fixed between two uprights, and made to revolve by means
of a small crank and wheel, to which a line is attached. The
netsman, retiring to some little distance, keeps the cylinder in
constant motion by pulling the line, at the same time keeping
up a soft whistling noise with his mouth. The larks flutter
over the twirler, and seemingly dazzled, descend on the ground
between the nets which are then pulled over in the usual manner.

Steel traps are of many shapes and sizes, and are best pro-
cured ready made from a good firm, though I have known a few
country blacksmiths who could turn them out decently. As
everyone knows this, the ordinary “ gin,” or tooth trap, used for
capturing rats or other animals and birds, no description is, I
think necessary, further than to say that the springs should be
highly tempered, and that the teeth should not be too long.
These traps can be set in various places with or without baits—
in the water, on the ground, up a tree, or on a post; but post-
traps proper, which are chiefly useful, when set unbaited, for
catching hawks, are made with an arm and spring at right
angles to the plate, so that they may be fastened to the post
which supports them. In setting these traps great care and skill
are necessary; and in giving directions how to do this properly,
I cannot do better than quote “Stonehenge,” who says :

First lay the trap on the ground, then mark the outline of it, allowing
half an inch clear all round; cut away the turf to this pattern, and in
the centre dig a hole deep enough to receive a strong peg and the chain
which fastens the trap to it, which will thus be entirely concealed; drive
in the peg, arrange the chain neatly upon this and in the channel for the
spring, and then set the trap in its place, temporarily propping up the
plate by a piece of twig, which can finally be withdrawn by a string;
take care so to cut away the turf that the jaws are only just below the
level of the ground. Having done this, cut a very thin slice of the turf
which was removed to make way for the trap, leaving little more than
the grass itself with a ragged edge, and lay this gently on the plate, and
withdraw the prop. Then cover the spring in the same way; and,
lastly, put some more shreds of grass or leaves over the jaws themselves,
but in such a way that the former will not be caught between the teeth
when the trap is sprang. When the keeper can do all this so neatly that
the trap cannot be discovered by the eye at two or three yards distance,

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. 41

and yet will be sprung by half an ounce weight being placed upon the
plate over and above what it has already, and without leaving anything
between the jaws, he may be considered a master of his craft. All this
should be done with strong leather gloves on the hands, and with as little
breathing over the trap as possible. The object of these precautions is
to avoid leaving any scent behind, which might alarm the vermin, who
are always suspicious of any place where they have reason to believe man
has been at work.

Daniel, in his “ Rural Sports,” says:

Otters are taken in an unbaited trap, for they reject every kind of bait,
This trap must be placed near his landing place, which will be found by
carefully examining the edges of rivers or ponds, either by his spraints,
his seal, or the remains of fish (for in whatever place he eats his plunder
he always leaves the tail or hinder parts of the fish undevoured). The
trap must be set in and covered with mud to prevent his seeing it; the
instant the trap ‘‘strikes,’’ the otter plunges into the water with it,
when its weight, preventing his rising to the surface, soon destroys him.
The trap will seldom be drawn more than twenty yards from the spot,
and with a grappling iron is soon recovered. if the place where he comes
out of the water cannot be discovered, upon the ground where the
remains of fish are left, cut a hole near the edge of the water, and place
a trap or two upon a level with the ground and cover it over carefully
with moss.

This aqueous method of trapping, is also recommended for
taking all birds of the crow tribe. The bait in this case is an
egg, so secured that on the bird walking along a prepared
pathway to seize the delicacy he springs a concealed trap, and
fluttering into deep water drowns by the weight of the attach-
ment.

Another method of setting the trap on land for the taking
of some animals, which, says Daniel, speaking of the marten
(now a rare animal in most parts of England), is a sure way
of catching this destructive little animal in a park or covert
which is railed in, is to cut a grocve in some of the posts or
gate posts, in which set an unbaited steel trap, and as they
constantly run along the posts and pales early in the morning to
dry themselves, in leaping up from the ground upon the place
where the trap is set, they are sure to be captured.

Fish is recommended as bait for weasels, polecats, &c.,

42 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

although I think the best way of trapping such animals is
to form an enclosure of brushwood, &c., in which peg down
some live bird, leading two narrow pathways from it from
each end and exactly opposite each other, in each of which
place an ordinary steel trap, unbaited, concealed in as skilful
a manner as possible. The animal running along one of these
pathways, to seize his prey, is inevitably trapped. Be sure and
have two openings, or this plan will not succeed. Cats may
be trapped in this manner.

St. John, in his “ Highland Sports,” mentions that if a wild
cat, or fox, can be killed, and the body placed in the usual haunts
of its kind, well surrounded with traps, curiosity or some such
feeling will impel them to visit the “dear departed,” and in
walking round they often succeed in springing the traps, and
remaining as mourners in a fashion they did not intend.

Hawks may be trapped by first capturing their young, and °
pegging one or more to the ground, and surrounding it or them
by concealed traps. This cruel but highly effective way succeeds
by reason of the old birds seeing or hearing their young, and
attempting to release them.

If part of a bird or animal killed by a hawk can be found, a
good plan is to allow it to remain, surrounding it also with
concealed traps, as they usually return to finish their meal, and
that sometimes after the lapse of days.

The “ box trap” is used for catching many animals for which
the ordinary gin is used; but the advantage which it possesses
over the latter is that it captures all animals alive, which, in the
case of a hare or a rabbit accidentally getting in, is of conse-
quence, as it may be released unhurt, whereas the ordinary
steel trap, if accidentally sprung by them, would have killed or
maimed them to a certainty. These box traps can be bought
ready-made at many places; but, for those who wish to make
one themselves, I must refer them for plans and description to
Col. Hawker, or “Stonehenge.” Almost anything does to bait a
gin or box trap with—bits of flesh, fish, offal, half-cooked red
herrings, &c.—and it is a generally understood thing that if
half-putrid flesh or entrails of any animal are rubbed over
traps or the thorns or bushes placed as entrances to traps, hares
and the like will seldom go near. |

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. 43

Of course, a very small trap must be used for small birds, and
baited either with seeds, bread, worms, or a small piece of fat
meat, which latter is a most tempting bait for the birds of the
genus Parus (titmice).

There are several other made traps, such as the trap cage; the
best of which has a bird as a decoy partitioned off from the
actual trap. This is a useful little trap in some seasons, and is
well known, being easily procurable at any of the bird fanciers’.

Mr. James Hiam, well known in Worcestershire for his
“ Notes on Natural History,” sends me the following description
of his method of trapping bullfinches:

I find the best way to trap bullfinches is to procure a caged bird,
also what is known as a trap-cage, putting the tame bird in the lower
part, placing a bunch of blackberries or privet berries in the top part;
and hanging the cage against @ wall or tree cut of the reach of cats. I
have reserved a stock of bunches of blackberries by inserting their stems
in water, grape-fashion, for a succession of food for bait. I have also
caught scores, if not hundreds, on bird-lime, but this injures their
plumage and is somewhat troublesome, especially to anyone not accus-
- tomed to handle it. I have also caught them in a bat fowling net at
pight out of thick hedges. I find a trap cage or cages best, for bull-
finches generally go in small parties, and I have taken two out at once
rom two separate cages, while others waited round and were caught
afterwards.

The well-known and easily imitated call of the bulifinch at this season
of the year (autumn) appears to have a greater attraction—for what
reason I cannot say—than at any other period; there is also a great
difference in individual call birds. The best should be selected. When
fresh caught, bullfinches are best placed in a low kind of box cage
about six inches deep, with wires only cn one side. Such cage may be
easily made out of a soap box from the grocer’s, giving them a good
supply of canary and hemp seed and water. If they refuse to eat the
seed, which sometimes happens, give a few blackberries or such other
food as they feed on at the time; the seed of the dock is always a
favourite dish in the winter, and the probability is in a day or two they
will take to the seed, which should be strewed over the bottom of the
cage.

The nightingale trap (perhaps not quite so well known) is a
compromise between the bow net and the spring trap; it is
useful for taking most insectivorous birds, is easily made

44, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

by anyone possessing a little mechanical ability, and is to be
bought cheaply at most of the bird shops. As I have been asked,
however, by many correspondents in the country, where such
things are to be procured, they are informed that in the classic
retreat of the Seven Dials—that is to say, in the street running
through from Charing Cross to Bloomsbury—are to be found
many bird fanciers’ shops where the nightingale trap can be
procured for something under a couple of shillings.

In setting all of these traps be sure to touch them with the
hands as little as possible, especially if setting a baited trap.
Gloves are recommended to be worn, scented with musk when
baiting for stoats, weasels, &c., and with vervain or valerian
if baiting for cats.

I will proceed now to the consideration of decoys. Decoys are
of two classes, fixed and mechanical, or those easily removable
and natural. Of the former the most important is what is called
a decoy for wild fowl, viz., a large tract of land and water speci-
ally fitted up with nets of the sorts most suitable for taking
ducks and similar birds, and near which it is unlawful to fire a
eun. For a thoroughly exhaustive and interesting article on
decoy ponds, see Folkard’s “ Wild Fowler,” pp. 44—94.

Some singular and highly original methods of catching birds
are described by ancient and modern authors. Pennant, in
his “ Arctic Zoology,” vol. u, page 550, describes a quaint but
doubtful method of decoying wild geese in Siberia; he also, -
at page 311, records how immense numbers of willow grouse
are taken by a curious mode of netting.

Folkard also mentions an ingenious way of capturing wild
fowl in their own element by the aid of calabashes. This,
however, I think, “must be seen to be believed,” though I am
bound to confess that it is partly corroborated by other writers.

Of the lasso or the “bolas,” used in South America for
capturing certain animals and birds, no description need be
given, as this method of trapping is only to be performed by a
person trained from childhood to ride and throw the lasso. The
same remark applies to the use of the blowpipe (see Bates’s
“ Amazons”), and the Australian “boomerang” and “throwstick.”
Regarding the use of the blowpipe, I see that an American
author on Taxidermy, who has written a very good book on the

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. Ad

subject—albeit he has, perhaps unwittingly, cribbed my title
of “ Practical Taxidermy ”—appears to have attained remarkable
proficiency in the use of this weapon, and describes also his
method of making it, thus:

The blowpipe is of great service for collecting warblers and other
small birds. It should be made by encasing a long glass tube in wood,
to prevent breaking. The ordinary glass tubes used by glass-blowers
make good blowpipes, which should have a diameter of in. and be not
less than 6ft. long.

To encase a-pipe with wood, take two strips of straight-grained pine,
and plane or ‘‘gouge’’ out a half-round groove the full length of each,
glue them together, and wire firmly over the glass pipe. When the glue
is dry, remove the wires, and plane the wood round until it has a
diameter of 13in.; if smaller it will sag, and not do good shooting.
Putty balls should be used, and blown with a quick puff, which is
easily acquired by practice. The putty is thickened with whiting
until the pellets will roll hard, but they should not be dry enough
to crumble.

With this novel gun I have killed as many as fifty-six warblers in less
than a day, and spoiled but few specimens in killing.

Rowland Ward, also, in his “ Sportsman’s Handbook,” appears
to favour the use of the blowpipe, and very correctly says at.
page 9:

The implement is so simple and so easily constructed that the price of
it is inappreciable. About 3ft. length of any straight metal or wooden
tubing, 2in. diameter, through which a pellet the size of a marble may be
thrown, will serve well, but an even longer tube may be chosen. The
pellet should be of clay or any putty, rolled in the hand to easily pass
through the barrel without too much windage. It should not touch the
mouth, but be lightly placed just in the orifice, by stopping which with
the thumb the tube can be conveniently carried loaded, muzzle up, ready
for the most rapid use. To propel the pellet the puff must be sudden and
powerful. There is a proper way of effecting this. When a practitioner
first begins to use the blow-pipe, it is a common error to eject the breath
only direct from the lungs; he should acquire the habit of inflating his
cheeks, so as to make a storage of wind, as it were, for each shot; that,
added to the breath from the lungs, gives a force which will sometimes
astonish him. The hand follows the eye in aim, and practice will often
develop unthought-of proficiency.

The catapult is also a first-rate weapon in a skilful hand for

46 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

procuring small birds. I must confess I cannot use it as well as
some young friends of mine, who knock over nearly every sitting
bird they aim at, and even now and then are successful with
such difficult shots as at swallows on the wing; a novice, on
the contrary, nearly always succeeds in stinging his fingers
and missing the object aimed at.

I remember also, when a boy, using a very effective weapon,
which I should describe as a catapult gun. It was, if I recollect
aright, fashioned similarly to a cross bow, the bolt, however, from
which was ejected from a little wash-leather bag by means of
very powerful india-rubber springs, which being released by a
trigger delivered a bullet or small shot from a tube with amazing
force and precision. I do not knowif such guns are made now,
but I should imagine that anyone with a little ingenuity could
construct one for himself.

All these appliances, with the well-known air-gun, are chiefly of
use for collecting the smaller birds with a minimum of noise.
There are several small collecting guns made which do the work
required in a much more thorough manner. Messrs. Bland, gun-
makers, of Birmingham, some time since showed me an elegant
little double-barrelled central fire gun, which seems to be just
the thing for the purpose. Messrs. Clarke, of Leicester, also
make a small single-barrelled central fire -410-bore collector’s
gun, but as before observed, they are only fit for small birds at
short ranges.

I have lately procured a smail walking-stick gun °410-bore,
central fire, with a removeable stock, which I have found of great
service in collecting small birds—bringing down swifts and
swallows flying, at moderate ranges.

Many birds, especially males, in the breeding season, are
taken by decoying them into nets or snares by tame or wild
birds of the opposite sex; in fact, advantage was wont to be
taken of the pugnacity or devotion of the Ruffes when “ hilling,”
by previously setting springes or nets on their battle-ground,
into which said snares they danced, when courting or fighting
{see Daniel, vol. i1., p. 212).

Poachers also sometimes take cock pheasants by bringing an
armed gamecock into the woods and hiding themselves, while
the domesticated bird challenges and gives battle to the unarmed

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. 47

wild one. The boldness of cock pheasants during their breeding
time is wonderful; many instances having come under my notice
of wild pheasants coming from the woods to do battle with
aviary ones, and also with farm-yard “roosters.”

A highly interesting account of the ludicrous actions and
insensibility to fear of the capercailzie, and blackgame, when
courting (and through which they are easily shot), is given by a
writer on Norway in the Field of March 27, 1875; and this
brings us to the greatest of all aids for the procuring of
specimens—I mean the shot-gun and rifle. So much of success
depends upon being a clever marksman, and also upon having a
good general knowledge of woodcraft, that although for instruc-
tions in guns and shooting I refer the reader to Col. Hawker,
Daniel, Blaine, ‘ Stonehenge,” Folkard, Greener, “ Wildfowler,”
and many others, yet a few words on some peculiar, and in
some cases well-known, methods of decoying birds within gun-
shot, may not be out of place.

The stalking-horse was, no doubt, the earliest decoy or shield
under which the ancient fowler got near his birds with the cross-
bow or gun. It was sometimes a mere framework of wood,
covered with painted canvas to represent a horse or cow, or was a
real animal trained to feed and move in a natural manner in the
midst of the fowl. In the first instance, the fowler carried the
framework in front of him, and made his shot through an
opening; in the second case he gently urged the animal on,
hiding behind, and making his shot under the belly, or over the
back. For ancient methods of stalking, see Gervase Markham;
for a modern method, see “ Bustard Shooting in Spain,” in the
Country of Jan. 21, 1875, and current pages of the Meld.

Decoying birds by imitating their notes or cries is an art
which the collector must acquire. Many mechanical calls for
wood pigeons, curlews, and other birds are made. One call,
which I do not think is made or used in England,* is a Greek
idea for decoying thrushes. Jt is a whistle formed from two
discs of thin silver or silvered copper, each the size of, or a little

*Since writing this I find there are now sold to boys, for the large sum of one-halfpenny,
whistles formed in tin, of almost similar construction to those described. I never yet found
anyone to make them “‘speak’’ properly; boys not knowing how to modulate or inspire the
eee Ehave now tried one of them against my silver whistle, and I cannot say which has

e better tone.

48 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

smaller than, a “graceless” florin, or say an inch across; these
discs are—one fully concave, and the other slightly convex, both
have a hole in the centre and are soldered together by their
edges in the manner shown in Fig.10. The concave part is placed —
in the mouth, pressing against the teeth, and by inspiring the
breath and modulating the tones with the closed or open hands,
as the case may be, a very perfect imitation of the song-thrush’s
note is the result. This, the arriving or newly-arrived birds

Fic. 10.—DrEcoy WHISTLE FOR THRUSHES, &¢.

hear, and, imagining it proceeds from the throat of one of
their species, who, entirely at his ease, is letting the ornitho-
logical world know how excessively overjoyed he is at his safe
arrival, alight in the trees which surround and conceal the
treacherous imitator, and quickly fall a prey to the ready gun.
So infatuated are they, that enormous quantities are killed by
this method early in the season; in fact, I knew one person
who shot one hundred and four, besides other birds, to his own
gun in one day.

Quails may be called from a distance if the sportsman hides
himself and imitates with his mouth their peculiar cry, “ More
wet, more wet.”

There are many other birds which come to call in addition to
quail. Woodpigeons and doves will sometimes be attracted to
an ambush by making a soft cooing noise with the mouth and
the hollows of both hands, but the most successful way of
procuring both of these birds is to build a hut with boughs in
the hedge of a field to which they resort, in which hut the
shooter hides himself, keeping perfectly quiet, and not attempt-
ing to shoot until the birds have begun feeding, as woodpigeons,
or doves, when they first alight “ have their eyes all about them,”
the slight rustle even of the gun being brought to the present, is
enough to scare them, and a snap shot at a flying dove is rarely

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. 49

successful when you are penned and cramped up in a little
bough hut. Pea, tare, and barley fields, when they are first sown
in the spring, and pea and corn fields, after getting in the crops
in the autumn, are their especial haunts, though they do
not despise turnip leaves and acorns. Salt marshes are also
especially favoured by all the pigeon family in quest of salt,
of which they seem to be inordinately fond. Fresh water rivers
in hot weather are also sure spots to find them; and a stuffed
pigeon is a good decoy in some seasons, if placed in front of a
place of concealment.

Perhaps it may be as well to mention that often, while lying
in wait for wild pigeons, you will observe the advent of one
or two tame ones, or even a flock from some neighbouring
farmyard, and, as some of these pigeons are almost certain
to closely resemble the wild stock dove (Columba cenas, L.),
some little discrimination is required to distinguish the two
species.

The Gannet or Solan goose (Sula bassana, Hewitson) is said
to be taken by the strange device of floating a plank out at
sea, to which a fish is attached, in such a manner that, on the
bird dashing down on the half-submerged plank, it strikes
itself with such violence as not unfrequently to break its
neck or breastbone. On mentioning this to Mr. Frederick
Ryland, he assured me that he has in some instances observed.
the marks of the bird’s bill, which had indented the plank—a
pretty conclusive evidence of the extraordinary force of its
descent.

Many other birds besides pigeons are attracted by “stales,”
which was the ancient name for a representation of the living
bird by stuffed specimens or wooden images; knots and
godwits, says Daniel (vol. i., p. 214), were attracted into nets
by this mode. Gulls and terns I have often found attracted
by a stuffed bird, or, when one can be shot, should it be left
to lie on the water, or propped up on land, as if alive, the
others almost always hover around it. Sheep’s lights thrown
on the water is another good decoy for gulls. Ducks are
sometimes attracted by dummies of indiarubber sold at some
of the shops for that purpose, but the best modification of
this is the French “hut system,” described at length, in his

E

50 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

usual amusing style, by the once-renowned Col. Hawker. A
more singular way still, of decoying these birds to the gun
is by the American fashion of “toling,” a lucid description
of which I append, culled from the pages of Folkard’s “ Wild-
fowler :”

There is one system of fowling practised in America which is as curious
in performance as it is interesting. It is probably one of the most
remarkable methods ever invented, and approaches the nearest to the
system of decoy as practised in England of any of the arts employed by
the people of a foreign country for the capture of wildfowl. The
method alluded to is termed ‘‘toling.’? I am unable to trace the origin
of the term, unless it simply implies a death knell, for such it assuredly
assumes to those birds which approach within range of the secreted
sportsman.* This singular proceeding is said to have been first introduced
upwards of fifty years ago near Havre-de-Grace, in Maryland; and,
according to traditional testimony, the art was accidentally discovered
by a sportsman whilst patiently lying in ambush watching a paddling of
wild ducks, which were a little beyond the range of his gun. Whilst in
a state of doubt and anxiety as to whether they would approach near
enough to be shot, he suddenly observed them raise their heads and swim
towards the shore apart from his ambuscade; and, whilst wondering at
the cause of so strange a proceeding, his attention was directed to a fox
which was skipping about on the shore, and evidently enticing the ducks
to approach. This accidental discovery of so weak a point in the nature
of the feathered tribe led the sportsman to turn it to advantage, and
thence arose the curious art of ‘‘toling.’’ To practise it successfully
the sportsman requires simply the services of a dog, which he uses in a
similar way to that of a “‘ piper,’’ employed at an English decoy.

For the purpose of ‘‘ toling,’’ the American sportsman erects blinds or
screens on the margin of some lake, the resort of wildfowl; when any
birds are in sight upon the water, he, with his dog, takes up a position
behind the screens, and by throwing small bits of wood or pebbles up and
down the shore, he keeps the dog in active motion so as to attract the
attention of the birds, and induce them to swim towards the shore within
a few yards of the ecreens, when, if they do, the sportsman immediately
discharges his fowling piece at them, and sometimes killa large numbers
at ashot. The principal things to be observed are, a strict silence, and
to keep the dog constantly in motion, and all the time in sight of the

* The word “ toling’’ may be explained as a corruption of ‘“‘tolling,”’ z.¢., enticing.

DECOYING AND TRAPPING ANIMALS. 51

ducks. The little animal should be encouraged to skip and bound over
_ the rocks and stones in front of the screens, and to flourish his tail about
with playful vivacity. He must never bark, for that would alarm the
fowl and cause them to fly away immediately.

Red or chestnut coloured dogs with long bushy tails are best for the
purpose of ‘‘toling’’; the nearer they approach a fox in colour and
appearance the better.

Tubs may be sunk on the seashore into which the shooter
gets at the approach of night (or even a “skip” or basket
may be used to sit on) to wait till flight time to procure
specimens; but having myself sat in a marsh at night between
a river and the sea in Norfolk more than once for several
hours during a very severe winter, 1 cannot recommend this
as a torrid amusement—indeed, the melancholy “sough” of
the sea, and the pale glitter of the stars in the half-frozen
pools, whose dead and dry sedges rustle in unison to the
icy blasts rushing from the dead white north, make even the
most hardy long for the old armchair by the cozy fireside.

A writer in the Zoologist some years ago appeared to think
that iodine was a species of enchanter’s wand in rendering
your presence unknown to wildfowl. I have never tried it,
having but little faith in cunning nostrums concocted for the
taking of either birds or fish; but as he is a gentleman of
standing and great experience, I wiil quote his words from
which I drew my inference :

A cormorant once perched himself on my back as I lay concealed on a
rock enveloped in a drab driving coat, which so closely resembled the
rock in colour that even he was deceived, and, taking my back as the
highest pinnacle, accommodated himseli accordingly; neither did he
‘discover his error till my hand grasped him by the legs. I have frequently
had cormorants and shags perched around me within a tew feet; but
their suspicions seemed generally to be aroused by human smell, unless
iI had rabbed iodine on some part of my clothes.

The landrail or corncrake, whose peculiar rasping cry we
hear in the grass or young corn in the spring of the year, is
easily called to the gun by rubbing one notched bone over
another, or, better still, using that peculiar instrument of
torture worked at fairs, and called a “scratchback ”—the same

E 2

52 PRACTICAL ‘TAXIDERMY.

which, in the palmy days of Greenwich or Charlton fairs, was
retailed to the cry of “ All the fun of the fair for one penny!”

In bringing this chapter to a close, let me not omit to mention
that all shot birds should immediately have the mouth, palatal
slit, and nostrils, stopped with tow or cotton wool, to prevent
the blood from running out and soiling the feathers; then,
if possible, always wrap each specimen separately in paper,
smoothing the feathers in their proper places before doing so.
Also, never carry a shot bird by its neck, as the weight of the
bird’s body depending from the neck must stretch the latter
beyond its fair proportions.

I have here briefly glanced at a few of the many ways of
taking birds and beasts; to have described them all would have
required a special rales double the size of the present one. I
think, however, I have said enough for all practical needs;
but in case any reader should require fuller information, I
must refer him to such articles as he will find week by week
in The Field, Land and Water, or the American publication,
Forest and Stream. Good text books, also, on Trapping, &c.,
are W. B. Lord’s “Shifts and Expedients of Camp Life,” Captain
Darwin’s (“High Elms”) ‘Game Preservers’ Manual,” Jefferries’
“ Amateur Poacher,” ‘“Gamekeeper at Home,” &c. For details.
as to the hunting and scientific shooting of foreign large game,

with directions as to the vulnerable spots to be aimed at, I must:

again refer the reader to articles from the pen of such men
as Sir Samuel Baker, G. P. Sanderson, “Smoothbore,” “The Old
Shekarry,’ Gordon Cumming, Jules Gérard, C. J. Andersson,
Emil Holub, F. C. Selous, &c., all of whom have either written
books on sporting, or whose articles are still to be met with in
late numbers of The Field.

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SKINNING KNIVES.

(OUBLANIP PIB es ICICI.
NECESSARY TOOLS.

A BAD workman, it is said, always quarrels with his toois. if this
be so, it is equally certain that a good workman, though he may
make shift with indifferent implements of his craft, yet always
prefers the best and most labour-savying tools he can procure.
The chief point of difference, however, between the skilled and
unskilled workman is, that the former may and often does get
the best results with the fewest possible tools, while the other
must surround himself with dozens of unnecessary things before
he can “doa stroke.” This being so, I propose to point out to
my readers in a few words, and by means of drawings, how very
few tools are required to skin and set up a bird or small animal.
My remarks will, therefore, be addressed as much to the amateur
as to the tyro desirous of becoming a professional; in fact, I
wish it to be understood that I write as much to educate the one
as the other.

The first and almost indispensable tool is the knife (I say
almost, because I have known a person begin and finish a small.
bird with a pair of scissors); nearly any small knife will do to
make the first incision, but experience has shown the most useful
shape to be as in Fig. 11, which is the skinning knife; the blade,
it will be observed, is long and narrow, 3in. to 4in. along the
cutting edge, and half an inch across; the handle, which should
be of box, hgnum vite, or any hard wood susceptible of a high
polish, is 33in. in length, exclusive of a half-inch brass ferrule;
the shape shown is the most comfortable and handiest to work
with. Fig. 12 shows a broader and stronger knife, five-eighths cf
an inch across, having a somewhat differently shaped hard wood

56 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

handle, as the knife is intended for heavier work. ‘Fig. 13 shows

Fiz. 14,—Scissors, No. 1 pattern.

a broad strong blade, one inch
across, and of an entirely diffe-
rent character; this, which is
useful for the rough, large
work, to be hereafter men-
tioned, has a perforated tang, to
which two half rounded pieces
of hard wood should be bolted.
Length of blade and handle, ©
4in.each. My reason for having
all of these handles of polished
hard wood is, that blood and
dirt will the more easily wash
off. All of these knives are
best procured at the leather
sellers’, for the reasons that,
first, the shapes drawn are
always in stock; secondly, they
are manufactured of the finest
and toughest steel; and third-
ly, their expense is trifling.
The handles, however, are
usually of soft wood, unpolished,
and had better be replaced at
the turner’s. The knives when
first purchased are about 4in.
long in the blade; for skinning
I think them pleasantest to use
when ground or worn down to
3in. or 34in.; this, however, is &
matter of individual taste.

I have, since the above was
written, found that some dealers
in leather and shoemakers’
“orindery” sell knives of
varied and serviceable patterns
—other than those described—
all of which have hard wood

NECESSARY TOOLS. 57
handles. Dissecting knives and scalpels, to be procured at any
surgical instrument maker’s, are also very useful for fine work.
“Transfixion” knives are of service when engaged upon very
large animals, and here also come in the post-mortem hooks.

The next most important tool is the scissors, two pairs of

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Fie. 15,—Scissors, No 2. pattern.

which should be procured, one pair long and fine, 53in. or 6in. long
(see Fig. 14), for use in small and delicate work connected with
birds; the other about 4in. long, of a different shape and much
stouter and stronger (see Fig. 15). These are used for general

work upon larger birds or small mammals.
For still heavier work connected with mammals, and especially

_ a
— —_—

58 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

with fish, I prefer a pair of small spring shears, 6in. to Tin.
long, similar to those used by gardeners for grape-pruning.
Fig. 16 brings us to a really indispensable adjunct to the

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Fic. 165.—BELL-HANGERS’ PLIERS.

taxidermist’s kit—the compound or bell-hangers’ pliers; these
plers are as the ordinary holding ones at the top, but have a
cutting plane fixed lower down (those with flat, not raised, cutters,
are to be preferred)*; the figure gives a good idea, but the grip

€9— 3855S ~~ 5. NG NE Sane eee Fi

Fic. 17.—Cuttina NIPPERS.

should not be quite so broad as they are usually made; from
Sin. to 10in. is the most useful size. The 10in.is rather large,
but is, perhaps, the best for professional needs.

Fig. 17 shows the ordinary cutting nippers, 4in. to 5in. long,

* These pliers are sometimes made with a nick at the intersection of the joint to forma
cutting plane for thick wires.

‘SUMITG UHLVIT—'6L ‘OWT

“ST “OTA

“SUUddIN DNILLAD HONIWyA-

NECESSARY TOOLS. 61

useful for cutting fine wires or pins, in situations where the use

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Fic, 20.~Tow Forcers.

-plers in having an obtusely rounded

of the other pliers is impracticable.
Remarks as to grip as before.

Both of these articles should
be of the best workmanship and
materials. Buck, of London, and
Stubbs, of Warrington, may be
recommended as good makers.

I lately procured a very handy
little pair of cutting nippers of
elegant workmanship, used chiefly
by watchmakers, and made in Paris.
These are excellent for delicate work
or for cutting very fine wire or
entomological pins (see Fig. 18).

I now figure a most necessary
little pair of pliers for dressing the
feathers of birds. These are also
used by watchmakers, are of neat
construction and differ from most

Fic. 21.—STUFFING [RonN,

point (see Fig.19, A and B). These,
which I call “feather pliers,” are,
in conjunction with a small, thick,
round, camel-hair brush (used by
artists for “washing in”), indis-
pensable for “feathering up” birds,
a process to be described later on.
Fig. 20 is the next, and I fancy I
hear some reader exclaim, ‘ What
on earth has a goffering-iron to do
with taxidermy ? 7) dereply:) Dhis
shaped tool is wanted for artfully
conveying small morsels of tow, &c., Be the
necks and hollow places of birds’ skins. It
may be easily made in this wise: Procure as
small and fine a pair of goffering-irons as.
you possibly can, and have them drawn out.
and brought to a fine yet obtuse point by

62 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

some smith, and you thus get a finished tool for about half
what it would cost to make outright. Length, when finished,
should be somewhere about 10in.

A large and a fine crooked awl with handles, a file, and a
rough stone from the leatherseller’s, are other things to procure,
and these, with the ten tools previously particularised, some tow,
wool, wire, eyes, and a needle and thread, a pot of preservative
paste, and a piece of wood or a wire for a stuffing iron, are all
that the amateur or the professional requires to skin and stuff a
small or medium-sized bird or mammal. Cost of the stone and
tools (which, with ordinary care, will last for years) should be
within the reach of all.

The “stuffing iron” mentioned above is best made, if wanted
for small birds, from the broken steel of a wool comber’s “devil,”
about nine inches long, fixed in a bradawl handle of about four
inches, or, if for large birds or mammals, the iron may be made
from a broken fencing foil, to any size between twelve and thirty
inches, with suitable handle. In either case the smallesét end is
driven into the handle, and the top is filed across with a smooth
nick, to push in, but not to retain the tow. See Fig. 21.

This, I would point out to the non-professional reader, is a
much more satisfactory way of getting thoroughly efficient
tools than going to the expense of ordering a box of “bird-
stuffing implements,” at a cost of many pounds and finding
ene half of them unnecessary, and the other half worthless.

CHAPTER IV.
PRESERVATIVE Soaps, POWDERS, ETC.

HAVING skinned a zoological specimen, we require, as a matter
of course, to anoint the inside of the skin with some preserva-
tive, for the purpose of arresting decomposition and general
decay, and also defending it from the ravages of insects for an
indefinite period. Many things will partially cure a skin; for
instance, rubbing it with dry earth and exposing it to the sun,
as I have done with some success when hunting abroad; chalk
also will do, if nothing else can be procured. I have at the
present moment a raven’s head cut off by a rifle ball, cured only
with chalk, and which is now, after a lapse of twenty years, in as
good a state of preservation as need be. Still we require other
aids than sun and chalk to properly preserve our specimens,
especially in our usually cold, damp climate; and if we ask what
is the sine quad non, a chorus of professional and amateur taxi-
dermists shout out, “Arsenic, of course.” I propose to show
the fallacy of this, being quite of the way of thinking of
Waterton, who says, “It (arsenic) is dangerous to the operator
and inefficient as a preservative.” I will, however, give everyone
a chance of doing exactly as he pleases by jotting down three
different recipes for arsenical soaps. The inventor of the first of
these appears to have been one Béceur, of the now world-
renowned Metz. Beéccur appears to have flourished about the
year 1770, and his formula is still commonly used. It is com-
pounded as follows :
No. 1.—Bécew’s Arsenical Soap.
Camphor, 5oz. Salt of tartar, 120z.

Powdered arsenic, 2lb. Lime in powder (or powdered
White soap, 2lb. chalk), 4oz.

64 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Cut the soap into small slices as thin as possible, put them into
a pot over a gentle fire with very little water, stirring it often
with a wooden spoon; when dissolved, add the salts of tartar
and powdered chalk; take it off the fire, add the arsenic, and
stir the whole gently; lastly, put in the camphor, which must
first be pounded in a mortar with a little spirits of wine. When
the whole is properly mixed together it will have the consistence
of paste. It may be preserved in tin or earthenware pots, well
closed and cautiously labelled. When wanted for use it must be
diluted with a little cold water to the consistence of clear broth;
the pot may be covered with a lid of pasteboard, having a hole
for the passage of the brush, by which the liquor is applied.
(There appears in this formula to be an error in giving 12oz. of
salts of tartar, which should, I think, be reduced to 20z.; also
the proportion of arsenic and soap is clearly excessive with
regard to the quantity of the lime or chalk.)

Swainson appears to have used a composition somewhat
different from the preceding. He describes it as follows :

No. 2.—Swainson’s Arsenical Soap.

Arsenic, loz. Distilled water, 6drms.
White soap, loz. Camphor, 2drms.
Carbonate of potash, ldrm.

This mixture should be kept in small tin boxes; when it is to be
used moisten a camel-hair pencil with any kind of spirituous
liquor, and with it make a lather from the soap, which is to be
applied to the inner surface of all parts of the skin, and also to
such bones as may not be removed.

The next formula is of my own arrangement; I have used it,
and have found it quite equal to any of the other arsenical pre-
parations, which is not saying much for any of them.

No. 3—Browne’s Arsenical Soap.

Arsenic, 1lb. Soft soap, 2lb.
Whiting (or powdered chalk), 3lb. Camphor or tincture of musk, Zoz.

Place the arsenic in an old saucepan (which is not to be used for
any other purpose whatever); put the whiting over it, next pour
sufficient water over 1t to make it into a thick paste, then add
the soft soap, stir the whole well together, add a little water,
and place on the fire to boil, adding from time to time water

PRESERVATIVE SOAPS, POWDERS, ETC. 65

sufficient to render the whole mass of the consistence of gruel.
When it boils up it is sufficiently well done; take it off the
fire, and place outside in the open air to cool, as the fumes, if
given off in a close room, are highly prejudicial to health.
When nearly cold, stir in the camphor, previously pounded to
a fine powder by the addition of a few drops of any spirit—
spirits of wine, gin, rum, turpentine, &c. If musk is used it is
sufficient to stir it in the mass, or loz. of pure carbolic acid
(previously melted) may be substituted for either the camphor
or musk. The reason for stirring in the camphor, musk, or
earbolic acid, when the arsenical paste is nearly cold, is twofold
—first, to prevent the inhaling of the metallic fumes, which
readily attack the lungs; and secondly, to prevent the said
fumes or heated air carrying off with it the volatile essences of
those drugs. The quantities given are sufficient to fill two six-
pound Australian meat tins, which form capital receptacles for
arsenical paste, and should be soldered up, only to be opened as
required for use. As this quantity is, however, perhaps too
much for the amateur, the proportions may be decreased, and
what is not in actual use had better be soldered up in the tins
just referred to, and which may be found very useful, besides,
for such purposes as paint pots, &c. Carefully label this
preparation “Poison,” and place it out of the reach of children.
I have given the foregoing formule, not because I have the
slightest faith in any of them, but simply for the benefit, or
otherwise, of those persons who elect to use arsenical prepara-
tions in defiance of the teachings of common sense, and in
deference to the prevailing notion that arsenic is the only poison
extant which has extraordinary preservative powers. This I
flatly deny, after an experience of more than five and twenty
years. Let us dissect the evidence as to the claim of arsenic to
be considered as the antiseptic and preservative agent par
excellence. Its advocates claim for it—First, that it dries and
preserves all flesh from decay better than anything else
known; secondly, that if the skin is well painted with arsenical
soap no moth or maggot will be found totouchit. This, then,
is all that is wanted—immunity from decay and protection
from insects. Now I maintain that arsenical mixtures are
not only most dangerous, but quite useless also for the purpose.

B

66 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Arsenic is simply a drier of animal tissue to a certain extent,
but so are hundreds of other agents not so dangerous. It
is also perfectly useless as a scarecrow or poison to those bétes ©
noirs of the taxidermist, the larve of the various clothes and fur-
eating moths of the genus Tinea, or the larve of Dermestes
lardarius, murinus, and other museum beetles. They simply
laugh arsenic to scorn; indeed, I believe, like the Styrian arsenic
eaters, they fatten on it. I could give many instances. Of
course, when you point out to a brother taxidermist—rival, I
mean; there are no brothers in art—the fact that somehow this
arsenical paste does not work the wonders claimed for it, he
replies, “Oh! ah! yes! that specimen, I now recollect, was done
by a very careless man I employed; he never half painted the
skin.” All nonsense! Men, as well as masters, lay the
“preservative” on as thickly as they can. Verbuwm sap.! A
great outcry is being made at the present day as to arsenical
wall papers and ladies’ dresses—very properly so; but did it
never strike any taxidermist—they must read the papers some-
times, even if not scientific men—that if it was dangerous to
live in a room, the paper of which contains a barely appreciable
quantity of arsenic, it was also dangerous to work all day
in a shop amid hundreds of specimens actually reeking with
arsenic, and giving it off when dry, and when handled, in the
form of dust? Painted on the skin while wet is bad enough;
but what shall we say to those—well, we will not use harsh
terms—who calmly tell you that they always use dry arsenic.
Incredible as the statement may appear to the scientist, yet it
is true that I have seen a man plunge his hand in the most
matter-of-fact way into a box containing dry arsenic, and coolly
proceed to dust it on askin. What is the consequence of this
to the user of wet or dry arsenical preparations? Coughs,
colds, chronic bronchitis, soreness of the lips and nose, ugly
ulcers, brittleness of nails, and partial or complete paralysis. I
knew a man who formerly used dry arsenic, whose constitution
was thoroughly broken up byit. Again, an amateur of long
standing called on me some time since, paralyzed in one hand—
the doctors could make nothing of him. I said at once, “ You
have been using quantities of arsenic, and probably dry?” Much
astonished, he said ‘“‘ Yes;” and he had never mentioned this

PRESERVATIVE SOAPS, POWDERS, ETC. 67

fact to his numerous doctors, who worked, of course, in the dark,
when, by a course of antidotes taken at first, he might have
been saved.

Used alone, arsenical paste is worse than useless for animals,
causing them to “sweat” at once in certain places, and pre-
venting your pulling them about, as you must doif modelling;
again, if used for fur, you seldom or never can relax by that
crucial test of a good preservative, 7.e..—plunging in water.

Yet one question to the advocates of arsenic. If it possesses
the chief advantage claimed for it, why use camphor in museums
under the idea that it drives away moths? Perhaps it will
be as well to point out secundum artem the pros and cons
for the use of arsenic.

ARSENICAL PASTE.
Advantages claimed. Disadvantages.

A perfect dryer of animal tissue. Will often ‘‘ sweat’’ skins,
. especially those of mammals, for
which it is useless.

Keeps all things free from attack Is not of the slightest use for
of insects. this purpose.

Easier to make and use than any Denied.
other preparation.

Gives off poisonous fumes when
hot.

Deposits metallic arsenic when
drying.

Gives off poisonous dust when
thoroughly dry.

Causes colds, coughs, &c., which
turn to bronchitis, paralysis, &c.

———————

Having now summed up in the case of Common Sense versus
Arsenic, I challenge contradiction to any of my statements,
and ask, Why use a dangerous and inefficient preservative
agent, when a harmless preservative, and that quite as good
a worker and dryer as arsenic, will suffice? I have invented
a soap for which I claim those advantages, and as to its
deterrent principle re insects, | am convinced that it is quite
as good as the other, for is there any one thing known—com-
patible with clean-looking work—that will prevent the ravages
of the maggots in birds’ skinsP I answer, No!—if we except
one thing, too dangerous to handle—bichloride of mercury,
£ which anon. Let me whisper a little fact, and blow the

F2

68 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

poison theory to the winds: The real secret of success is to
case your specimens up as soon as practicable, or to keep
them always in full light, not poking them away in obscure
corners, which the Tineide and other pests lOve ne light
as the Father of Evil is said to hate holy water.

My Preservative formula is as follows :

No. 4.—Browne’s (Non-poisonous) Preservative Soap.

Whiting or chalk, 23)b. Chloride of lime, 2oz.
Soft soap, 1lb. Tincture of musk, loz.

Boil together the whiting and the soap with about a pint of
water; then stir in the chloride of lime (previously finely
pounded) while the mixture is hot; if this point is not attended
to, the mixture will not work smoothly; when nearly cool, stir
in the tincture of musk. This will about fill a 6lb. Australian
meat tin. Caution: It is not necessary to hold the mouth over
the mixture while hot, as chlorine is then rapidly evolved. This
mixture has stood the test of work and time, and I therefore
confidently bring it to the notice of the public as completely
superseding the arsenical paste or soap for small mammals
and all birds; indeed, numbers of persons, totally unknown to
me, have written to me about its advantages.

One says: “I have followed the bird-stuffing now for several
years in connection with another trade, but I have never seen
anything to touch it before. I have quite given up arsenic, and
can get on fine without it, and only wish that I had known the
grand secret before.”

Another: “Your recipe for preservative unction (non-
poisonous) is simply invaluable to taxidermists. I have been.
trying for a long time to make a non-poisonous unction, but. ©
never fairly succeeded; always had a doubt as to their efficacy,
prejudice had something to do with it.”

A third says: “I have tried your recipe, and am well
satisfied of its qualities for preserving skins, having tried
Swainson’s, and Bécceur’s, and yours, and after a twelvemonth
have relaxed the skins, and give my favour to yours as a
toughener of the skin.”

None of the above correspondents are known to me, and their
opinion was sent unasked. Those people I do know who are

PRESERVATIVE SOAPS, POWDERS, ETC. 69

using it are perfectly satisfied, as I myself am after a constant
use of it for the past seven years. I find that skins dressed by
it are not “burned,” as some people may think, but relax most
perfectly after a lapse of years by any method, even by the
water process spoken of hereafter. I do not think it any
better or worse than the arsenical preparations for preventing
the attacks of insects, but the addition of tincture of musk
(a lasting perfume) has seemed to me to be a great gain.
One person wrote to me stating his opinion that the ime unduly
corroded the wires used in setting up. I believe this might
happen in cases where the mixture was used in a more fluid state
than directed, namely, as a paste of a creamy consistence. I
know of no evil effects produced. Of course the mixture, if kept
exposed, dries up in time, and is then best wetted with a little
warm water, into which a few drops of tincture of musk have
been stirred. Where there is more fat or flesh than usual, say,
on the inside of the wings, or on the leg bones, or inside the
mouth, a small quantity of carbolic acid wash (Formula
No. 16) will be found useful to dilute the preservative paste.
Carbolic acid, however weak, must not be used on the thin
parts of the skin of small mammals or birds, as it dries and
shrivels them up so quickly as to seriously interfere with subse-
quent modelling.

Though many insects eat the skin itself, yet how is it possible
to guard against insects which attack the feathers only of birds
(as the most minute species of the little pests do) by an
agent which professedly cures the skin only? JI remember once
seeing the most comical sight possible, a stuffed cock and hen
entirely denuded of feathers by thousands of a minute tinea,
their dry skins only left; they were as parchment effigies of
their former selves. Difficult as the matter is, I yet hope to
show both amateurs and professionals how to considerably
increase the chances of preservation. It is this: After using
the soap, and having the mammal arranged or bird stuffed ready
for “ cottoning,” brush over the whole of the feathers, legs, toes,
and beak, with the following preparation :

No. 5.—Waterton’s Solution of Corrosive Sublimate.

To a wine-bottleful of spirits of wine add a large teaspoonful

70 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

of corrosive sublimate; in twelve hours draw it off into a clean
bottle, dip a black feather into the solution, and if, on drying,
a whiteness is left on the feather, add a little more alcohol.

Care must be taken not to handle the bird more than abso-
lutely necessary after this operation, for reasons which I will
give below when speaking of the following recipe, which I have
extracted from a little book professedly written by a well-known
taxidermist, though I believe he knew nothing at all about it
until it was published.

The preparation referred to, which should be labelled “ Dan-
gerous! Not to be used!” is as follows:

No. 6.—Gardner’s Preservative.
Arsenic, 60z. Camphor, loz.
Corrosive sublimate, 30z. Spirits of wine, 3-pint.
Yellow soap, 20z.

“Put all these ingredients in a pipkin, which place over a slow
fire, stirring the mixture briskly till the several parts are dis-
solved and form one homogeneous mass. This may then be
poured into a wide-mouthed bottle and allowed to stand till
quite cold, when it will be ready for use. Of course, these
quantities may be increased or decreased according to the size
of the animal to be operated on; but the proportions here given
must be preserved.” Did it ever occur to. the gifted author of
this that stirrmg camphor and spirits of wine briskly over a
slow fire would be as quick a way as could be invented of sum-
moning the fire brigade; also, that nine ounces of poison to
eleven ounces of other ingredients, well worked into the hands
-at different times, as it must be, when handling or returning
skins painted with it, would not tend to lengthen the life of the
learner? Corrosive subimate being a mercurial preparation—
i.e., bichloride of mercury—I ask any chemist amongst my
readers what effect three ounces of that dangerous preparation,
six ounces of arsenic, yellow soap, and spirits of wine would
have upon the constitution ? Would it not be readily absorbed
through the hands into the system P and next comes salivation,
and then—the last scene of all!

Yet another little treat for the amateur desirous of com-
mitting suicide under the transparent pretence of studying
taxidermy. This, which I have culled from the pages of

PRESERVATIVE SOAPS, POWDERS, ETC. 71

“Maunders’ Treasury of Natural History,” is, by a fine irony,
entitled Bullock’s “ Preservative” Powder:

No. 7.—Bullock’s Preservative Powder.

Arsenic, 1lb. Camphor, lb.
Barnt alum, 1]b. Tincture of musk, }oz.
Tanners’ bark 2lb.

** Mix the whole thoreughly, and after reducing it to a powder
pass it through a sieve. Keep in close tin canisters. This
powder is more particularly adapted to fill up incisions made in
the naked parts of quadrupeds and the skulls of large birds.
It has been strongly recommended to us, but, being perfectly
satisfied with our own, we have never tried it.” With regard
to the foregoing composition I have a few words to say, which
are these, that the reason I have copied it is that I have
met with it in more books than one, and I wish therefore to call
special attention to it, that it may be labelled ‘ Dangerous,”
and that anyone using it will do so at his peril. Fancy
shaking arsenic up in a sieve, and afterwards dusting it in
con amore! Really, if people will use poisons, and others
put themselves to considerable pains to invent the most deadly
compounds for them, is it not criminal carelessness that such
things should ke published without a word of warning as to
their character or effects ?

Powders, as a rule, being made of astringents, dry the skin
too quickly (especially if a bird is being operated on) to
perfectly shape the specimen. As they are useful, however,
to fill up and quickly dry cavities in the wings, and such like,
of large birds, &c., and in some cases even to prepare a skin °
for future stuffing, I will give a powder of my own composition,
the chief point of merit of which consists in its being harmless
to the user, and also that it has been tried on a large bird’s skin,
which it so effectually preserved and toughened that, eighteen
months afterwards, it was relaxed and stuffed up better than
the usua! run of made skins:

No. 8.—Browne’s Preservative Powder.

Pure tannin, loz. Camphor, loz.
Red pepper, loz. Burnt alum, 80z.

Pound and thoroughly mix, and keep in stoppered bottles or canisters.

fp PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

The foregoing preparation, though perfectly efficient for small
mammals (say up to squirrel size) and for birds, is not sufficiently
strong to penetrate the skin and thoroughly fix the hair of the
larger mammals. For this purpose the oider taxidermists used
a wash or powder, composed of equal parts of alum and nitre
(saltpetre). This had the double disadvantage of rendering the
specimen cured by its aid almost dripping with humidity in
damp weather, and efflorescing with the double salts around the
eyes and mouth in dry weather. Alum alone was frequently
used by those unaware of its peculiar property of deliquescing
in heat as well as in humidity.

I have, I believe, at last succeeded in arranging the proper
proportions, and in substituting, for the worse than useless crude
alum, the alum ustum or burnt alum, which is not affected by
moisture (at least to any appreciable extent). The proportions
are:

No. 9.—Browne’s Preservative Powder for Skins of Mammals.

Barnt alum, 1)b. | Saltpetre, 1b.
Pound and thoroughly mix.

This, well rubbed into the skin and fleshy parts of mammals,
is a certain and thoroughly trustworthy cure, and will penetrate
through skin a quarter of an inch or more thick, fixing the hair
or fur in amost admirable manner, and has the double advantage
of being harmless to the person using it, and beneficial even if it
gets on the outside of the skin of the specimen; indeed, it should
be rubbed in on the fur side if the specimen is at all “high”
when brought in. In all cases it is a good plan to thoroughly
rub the outside of the ears, eyelids, nose, and lips, with this
composition before skinning. I consider this the greatest boon
to the animal preserver ever invented, and those to whom I
have imparted the formula are loud in its praise, as witness the
dozens of letters I have received from all parts during the last
seven years.

If the proportions given are adhered to, no crystallisation of
salts will take place around the eyes and mouth. Should this,
however, happen from any cause, a stiff brush dipped in olive
cil may be used to remove it and prevent its reappearance.

After the mammal is stuffed and mounted, it may be washed

PRESERVATIVE POWDERS, WASHES, ETC. 73

over with Waterton’s Solution (previously given) or the following,
which ought to preserve the specimen from the attacks of
insects :

No. 10.—Preservative Wash.

Corrosive sublimate, loz. Tincture of camphor (or musk),

Methylated spirits, 1 quart. loz:

This solution must be kept im a bottle, carefully labelled
“Poison,” and when used is not to be touched with the hands,
but laid on with a brush.

It constantly happens that parts of the bodies of animals—
notably their fore and hind limbs, and their heads even—are
required to be preserved for some considerable time for purposes
of modelling their contour or muscles; it then becomes
necessary to find some preparation which will keep large pieces
of flesh sufficiently sweet and firm to model from. For the first
edition, I had written to a scientific friend as to the preparations
now in use at the various hospitals for the preservation of
subjects, &c., to which he answered:

As far as I can glean from various sources, the medical profession
has only within the last few years attempted to preserve whole bodies.
Parts have, of course, been preserved in alcohol of some kind until they
have literally crumbled away. At St. George’s Hospital they use s
preservative fuid, invented by the hospital porter (dissecting-room
porter). The subjects are kept in a slate tank filled with the fluid. To
show the efficiency of this fluid, I might mention that the first subject
arrived much decomposed some months since, but is now quite fresh and
sweet. The muscles inevitably lose a little cf their colour in the pre-
paration, which is all the change as yet observed. At Gny’s is used a
preparation of glycerine and arsenic, but at the present moment I do not
recollect the exact proportions. At King’s College, the method invented
by Sterling, of Edinburgh, is used. All other hospitals have the old
methods in vogue, such as preparaticns of arsenic.

Since then, I have had occasion to go more deeply into
the subject and have used some of the formule which follow,
viz., rectified spirits, Moller’s Solution, and various preparations
of lime.

Messrs. Medlock and Bailey’s bisulphite of lime (calcium) is
most highly recommended by analytical experts for preserving
large joints of meat and fish; and, indeed, the experiments

74, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

conducted under scientific and Government supervision have
abundantly proved its value. Its price is not great. For large
joints the following is the formula:

No. 11.—Messrs. Medlock and Bailey's Formula.
Bisulphite of lime, 1 gall. | Common salt, + pint.
Water, 2 to 4 galls.
The following, taken from the “ Year Book of Pharmacy for
1880,” appears to be a very efficient formula; like all the rest of
such formule, it contains a certain percentage of arsenious acid :

A new Preserving Fluid.—The Prussian Secretary of State for
Education has caused the publication of the following compound and
method of its application, discovered by Wickersheimer, the Preparator
of the Anatomical Museum of the University of Berlin, who had at first
patented the compound, but was induced to renounce his patent claims:

No. 12.—Wickersheimer’s Preserving Liquid, No. 1.

In 3000 parts of boiling water dissolve 100 of alum, 25 of sodium
chloride, 12 of potassium nitrate, 60 of potassa, and 10 of arsenious acid,
let cool and filter. To every 10 litres * of the filtrate add 4 litres of
glycerine and 1 litre of methylic alcohol.

Its application differs with the special objects to be preserved. In
general, the objects must be impregnated with it. If the objects are to
be preserved dry, they are soaked in the liquid from six to twelve days,
and afterwards dried in the air.

Ligaments, muscles, and other animal objects remain perfectly soft
and movable. Hollow organs, as lungs and intestines, should be filled
with the liquid previous to immersion in it; after being taken out, and
before drying, it is advisable to inflate them with air. Injecting the
liquid into a corpse will preserve the latter completely, and the muscular
tissue will always retain the natural colour of fresh corpses. To preserve
the outward appearance of the latter, they should be well impregnated
externally and enclosed in air-tight cases ; this is only necessary to pre-
serve the exact original appearance; if it is not done, the body will keep
equally well if thoroughly injected, but the exterior will gradually
become somewhat dry and dark coloured. Plants may likewise be
preserved by this liquid. +

* A gram = 15444 grains troy; a litre = a little more than 12 pints.

© expensive a preparation is, I think, sufficiently well replaced by salt, corrosive

BR ese and distilled water (see Formula No. 27). M. Decandolle exhibited, some

ears since, a branch of a coffee tree which had been perfectly PRG for fifty years.

Tt was then pointed out that the efficacy of such solutions (saline) depended on their being
boiled and applied to the plants hot not boiling).

~-

en

PRESERVATIVE LIQUIDS, WASHES, ETC. 75

The following is a modification of the above, useful for com-
parison as to relative strengths for injection and immersion :

No. 13.—Wickersheimer’s Preserving Liquids, Nos. 2 and 3.

For Injecting. For Immersing.

Arsenious acid ee 4 ae: 16 grams. 12 grams.
Sodium chloride... aed oe 80 _;, COs
Potassium sulphate tei ae PANO ee 54 150- ;;

¥ Nitrate ... a os 2DE 15% Ue) 5

54 Carbonate 900 ete 20 9 15 ”
Water ve ih fia We 10 litres. 10 litres.
Glycerine... ae tea jad 4 ,, al op

Wood naphtha ne <, ce; 3 litre. 2 litre.

My friend, Dr. Priestley Smith, surgeon to the Birmingham
Hye Hospital, has kindly given me his formula for a process
which most admirably preserves delicate parts of animals.
Having been enabled to give him some eyes of rare animals
and fishes (whales and sharks), he showed me the process
which is now fully explained in the following extract from
the British Medical Journal of Jan. 10th, 1880:

PRESERVATICN OF OPHTHALMIC SPECIMENS.

Several friends and correspondents have asked me to refer them to a
description of the method which I employ for the preservation of oph-
thalmic specimens, examples of which were exhibited in the annual
museum of the Association in Cork last summer. I published an
account of it in the Birmingham Medical Review for July, 1878; but,
as several improvements have been effected since that time, I shall be
greatly obliged by being allowed space in this journal for a brief de-
scription of my present method.

No. 14.—Priestley Simith’s Formula.

The following are the solutions, etc., employed: 1. Miiller’s Fluid—
viz., bichromate of potash 1 part, sulphate of soda 1 part, water 109
parts; 2. Hydrate of chloral and water, 1 in 20; 3. Glycerine and
water, 1 in 4; 4. Glycerine and water, 1 in 2—i.e., equal parts; 5.
Glycerine-jelly—viz., best French gelatine 1 part, glycerine 6 parts,
water 6 parts, soak the gelatine in the water until swollen, then heat
and add the glycerine, add a few drops of a saturated solution of car-
bolic acid, and filter hot through white blotting-paper; 6. A thick
white varnish made by mixing oxide cf zinc with copal varnish in 2
mortar.

76 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

The eyeball is placed, immediately after excision, unopened, in
Miiller’s Fluid for about three weeks, light being carefully excluded. It
is then frozen solid by immersion for a few minutes in a mixture of
finely powdered ice and salt, and immediately divided into lateral
halves by means of a sharp-edged table-knife. The portion to be
mounted is then placed in chloral solution for some weeks, in order to
remove the yellow colour; light being still excluded, and the fluid
being changed until it is no longer discoloured by the bichromate. The
Specimen next lies for twenty-four hours or longer in the weaker
glycerine solution, and is then transferred for a similar period to the
stronger glycerine solution, after which it may be mounted in the jelly
without danger of shrinking. A specimen-jar being two-thirds filled with
melted jelly, the half-eye is placed in it, the concavity upwards. When
every interstice is filled, it is turned over (care being taken to avoid the
inclusion of an air-bubble), and held in a central position in contact
with the bottom of the jar. When cold and firmly coagulated, the
jelly 1s coated over with white varnish. A few days later, when the sur-
face of the varnish is firm, this again is thinly coated with a film of jelly,
and thereby preserved from the ultimate danger of cracking. The jar is
fixed with glue into a suitable wooden stand. The gelatine which
yields the strongest and most colourless jelly is that manufactured by
Coignet and Co., of Paris, obtainable in packets, and known as the
‘*gold-label’’ variety. ‘The specimen-jars, admirable both as to mate-
rial and workmanship, have been made expressly for me by Messrs. F.
and C. Osler, of Broad Street, Birmingham, from whom they may bo
obtained in any number.—PRIESTLEY SMITH, Birmingham,

Glycerine retards fermentation and decomposition to a re-
markable degree. It combines readily with alcohol or water.

Boracic acid in small quantities mixed with a solution of
saltpetre, z.e, 1 to 50, is stated to be of service in the pre-
servation of flesh.

Previously salted meat cannot be preserved this way; salting
evidently removes the phosphates. Action of boracic acid
would, no doubt, set up acid phosphates, which are the prime
causes of the preservation.

A preparation of borax has been brought out by Mr.
Robottom, of Birmingham, who claims for it that it preserves
all animal and vegetable tissue, as well as being useful for
tanning skins. I shall refer to this preparation further on.

Carbolic acid (pure) will be found a valuable ally of the

a

an

PRESERVATIVE LIQUIDS, WASHES, ETC. 77

taxidermist. Calvert was the chief if not the only maker of the
pure preparation, which is soid in $lb. or Ilb. bottles in a solid
crystalline state, as if it were frozen. The bottle, with the
stopper temporarily removed, must be plunged in boiling water
to melt out as much as is required, to which must be added
many times its weight or quantity of water. This diluted
preparation will be found of infinite service in the hot summer
-months for pouring in the “gentle” infested throats or wounds
of mammals and birds preparatory to skinning. Diluted and
poured cn a little burnt alum or pure tannin, and the mixture
well shaken together, it forms an exceedingly strong preparation,
as well as a valuable one, for painting the noses or pickling the
tongues of animals before or after skinning. Two strengths
of this will be found very usefui. Thus:

No. 15.—Carbolic Wash, No. 1 (for Mammals).
Glacial carbolic acid, 20z. | Burnt alum or pure tannin, ioz.
Water, 1 pint.
Keep in stoppered bottle labelled “Poison,” and shake up
before using.
No. 16.—Carbolic Wash, No. 2 (for Birds).
Glacial carbolic acid, loz. | Water, 1 pint.

Keep in stoppered bottle labelled “ Poison,” and shake before
using. Carbolic acid is a caustic poison, and therefore must
be handled carefully.

It sometimes happens that the taxidermist, if in a large way
of business, is called upon to destroy the insects infesting, it
may be, the entire collection of heads or skins hanging in some
gentleman’s hall. No better or more effective way of doing
this is to be found than plunging them entirely in a bath
composed of :

No. 17.—Carbolic Acid Wash, No. 3 (“ Poison”).

Carbolic acid, 1]b. Sal ammoniac, 302.
Corrosive sublimate, 30z. Pure tannin, 402.
Hot water, 4 galls.

Mix this up in some out-house, or in the open air away from.
the house, if a fine day; and when the mixture is cold plunge
the heads or skins in, holding the former by the horns, and
_ stirring the latter about with a stick; in fact, allowing the
mixture to touch the hands as little as possible. |

78 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

It is, I believe, more efficacious if laid on hot than cold, but
the danger to health is greater. I venture to say that if there
is anything which will preserve objects for an indefinite period
it is corrosive sublimate. Deadly though it be, and dangerous
to work with, it has the advantage of being used as a finishing
preparation, and therefore need not, except in extreme cases,
be handled.

Instead of rectified spirits of wine, I have used with much
success as an exterior wash for valuable bird skins, the following :

No. 18.—Preservative Wash.

Pure sulphuric ether, 1 pint. | Corrosive sublimate, 6grs.

Keep in a stoppered bottle, labelled “ Poison,” and when used
apply with a brush. This is more rapid in its evaporation than
spirits of wine, but is very expensive. Of course, the more
rapidly any spirit evaporates, and deposits poison previously
held in solution, the better chance you have of not spoiling
your specimens.

PRESERVATIVE FLUIDS FOR FisHEes AND REPTILES.

I have lately given a great deal of attention to the preserva-
tion of fishes—and especially large ones—in some fluid which
should have four advantages :

1. Perfect preservation of the specimen—and which also, if a
foreign one, is consequently a long time in transit.

2. Its freedom from causing great shrinking or shrivelling of
the integument.

3. The points 1 and 2 being so well balanced that the speci-
men is ina fit state—after many months—either to be treated
as a specimen shown in fluid, or to be mounted by the process of
taxidermy.

4. The comparative cheapness and facility of carriage of the
preservative medium.

In trying to obtain all these advantages there seem almost
insuperable difficulties in the reconcilement of these diverse
conditions.

Dr. A. Giinther, F.R.S., the eminent ichthyologist and Chief
of the British Museum, recommends, in his new book, that pure

PRESERVATIVE FLUIDS FOR FISHES AND REPTILES. ay

or rectified spirits of wine (56 per cent. over-proof) be the only
thing used for fishes, for permanent preservation in glass jars
or tanks, and this even for ordinary fishes 3ft. to 4ft. in length,
or even up to 6ft. in length, if eel-like. ‘ Proof” spirit (con-
taining only 49 per cent. by weight of pure alcohol as against
84 per cent. contained in rectified spirit) is, says Dr. Gunther,
the lowest strength which can be used.
These will then stand as

No. 19.—Rectified Spirits of Wine (56 per cent. over-proof),
and No. 20.—Proof Spirits of Wine.

If a spirituous solution is absolutely required, I would substi-
tute for pure spirits of wine methylated spirit (alcohol con-
taining a certain percentage of impure gum or undrinkable
wood spirit) as being cheap and sufficiently good for some

purposes. It will not, however, bear any diluting with water; it
must stand, therefore, as

No. 21.— Methylated Spirit (undiluted),

or as e e
No. 22.—Alcoholic Solution, No. 1.
Methylated spirit, 13 pints. Burnt alum (pounded), 2o0z.
Distilled water, } pint. Saltpetre, 40z.

This, which is to be well shaken together, becomes milky at
first, but will soon fine down, and may then be decanted.

No. 23.—Alcoholic Solution, No. 2.
Methylated spirit, 3 parts. | Glycerine, 1 part.
Distilled water, 1 part.

Although turpentine will not preserve reptiles or fishes, yet,
struck with the perfect manner with which I was enabled to
preserve soft-bodied beetles for nearly a year in benzol or benzo-
line, I lately tried if this cheap and colourless liquid would be
of service for other subjects, with the result that I have now
some frogs (six or seven) in a glass jar containing benzoline
which have been immersed for over three months, and have
apparently undergone less change than if in spirits for the same
length of time. Whether they are likely to be permanently
preserved by this method I cannot, of course, yet determine, but
if so, it would be a great gain, owing to the brilliancy of the
liquid, its cheapness, and its advantages over all alcoholic spirit

80 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

in its less powerful action on the sealing wax or coating used
over the corks or stoppers of the glass preparation jars.

There is no doubt that pure spirits of wine will preserve
objects for a great length of time, but the cost is very serious to
most persons, or even to institutions of less importance than
the British Museum—added to which the strong spirit un-
questionably shrivels and distorts such objects as fishes and
reptiles, whilst, diluted to any appreciable extent, spirit will
not preserve anything for any great period. To obviate these
inconveniences chemists have invented more or less perfect
preservative fluids, the oldest perhaps of which is :

No. 24.—Goadby’s Solution, No. 1.
Bay salt,* 4oz. Corrosive sublimate, 4egrs.
Alum, 20z. Boiling water, 2 quarts.
Keep in stoppered bottle labelled ‘‘ Poison.’’
No. 25.—Goadby’s Solution, No. 2.

Bay salt, 2lb. Corrosive sublimate, 2ers.
Arsenious acid, 20grs. Boiling rain water, 1 quart.
Keep in stoppered bottle labelled ‘‘ Poison.’’

Note that, corrosive subliimate being a remarkably difficult
thing to dissolve, even in pure spirits of wine, it may not
be generally known that the addition of a saturated solution
of sal ammoniac, in weight about half an ounce, is sufficient
to dissolve many ounces of corrosive sublimate. Thus a solution
useful for some purposes is easily made as follows :

No. 26.—Browne’s Preservative Solution.

Saltpetre, 40z. Corrosive sublimate, 4oz.
Alum, 202. Sal ammoniac, 4oz.

Doiling water, half gallon.—Keep in stoppered bottle labelled ‘‘ Poison.’’

This, it will be seen, is a modification of Goadby’s Solution.

In the three preceding formule the corrosive sublimate must
be dissolved in a small quantity of spirits of some kind, or, as
explained above, by the addition of a strong solution of sal
ammoniac.

No. 27.—Saline Solution for bottling Fish and Reptiles.

Bichloride of mercury (corrosive Chloride of sodium (common
sublimate), 1 grain. salt), 90 grains.
Distilled water, 1 pint.

* “Bay salt’? is salt formed by evaporation of sea-water in shallow lagoons or “‘salt-pans’”
exposed to the rays of the sun.

PRESERVATIVE FLUIDS FOR FISHES AND REPTILES. 81

Intimately mix, set aside, let settle, and when clear, decant
and preserve in stoppered bottles. The following might also
be tried:

No. 28.—Camphorated Fluid for Preserving Fishes, &c.

To distilled water, sixteen parts, add one part of rectified
spirits of wine and a few drops of creosote, sufficient to
saturate it; stir in a small quantity of best prepared chalk,
and then filter. With this fluid mix an equal quantity of
camphor water (water saturated with camphor), and before
using, strain off through very fine muslin.

The bisulphite of lime (see formula No. 11, ante) would also,
no doubt, be excellent as a preservative for fishes if not quite
so much diluted. Chloride of zinc, much diluted, is recom-
mended as a good preservative.

Dr. Priestley Smith’s formula (see No. 14, ante) would do
exceedingly well for small specimens to be subsequently arranged
in glass-topped tanks, as at the British Museum.

Another formula, sometimes used in the medical schools for
preserving parts of subjects, and useful as a pickle for fish
and reptiles, is a preparation called Moller’s Solution :

No. 29.—Moller’s Solution.

Bichromate of potash, 2oz. | Sulphate of soda, loz.
Distilled water, 3 pints.

A saturated solution of chromic acid is also used for the
same purposes. The chief disadvantage which both this and
Moller’s Solution possess in common is their colour—a rich
golden one—which, of course, stains everything with which they
come in contact. This, however, is easily removable by the
Hydrate of Chloral formula (see Priestley Smith’s formula,
No. 14, Section 2, ante).

This last (Moller’s Solution) I have kept purposely until
the end, as it is the formula which, in my opinion, fulfils all
the four requirements stated in the opening paragraph, as
desirable in the preservation of the lower vertebrates. On
my appointment to the curatorship of the Leicester Museum
I had occasion to overhaul the “pickles” and prepare some
fresh specimens, and was very loth to use expensive spirits,

G

82 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

or even methylated, for large fish, and therefore tried many
things with varying results. At last I was driven back on
Moller’s Solution, and by its aid saved some specimens which
were slowly rotting in other fluids, and successfully “pickled”
such flabby things as sharks’ eggs, sea anemones, and large-
sized “lump fish.” It was then tried on common “ dog-fish,”
one of which came out limp, yet perfectly tough, and was
skinned as an experiment after a month’s immersion. One
day two large “topers” (a small species of shark), about six feet
long, were sent from Scarboro’. My taxidermist being very busy
at the time, I decided to give Moller a severe test and pickle
them. Accordingly—their viscera only being removed—they
were tumbled into a large tub containing 2lb. of bichromate
of potassa to 20galls. of spring water. This was on 13th Sept.,
1882; I looked at them on 17th July, 1883, and they were
perfectly fresh, quite hmp, wnshrivelled, and yet so tough as to
be capable of any treatment, even to being cast as models, or
“set up” by the taxidermic art; and this after the lapse of
ten calendar months—a time more than sufficient for even a
sailing vessel to come from any part of the world. I changed the
solution once, the total cost from first to last being one shilling
and fourpence. Had pure spirit been used, the expense would
have been many pounds, to say nothing of the great shrivelling
which would have taken place by now. I must therefore think
that Moler’s Solution is, for the purpose, one of the best things
ever invented.

PRESERVATIVE FLuIps FoR MoLuusca.

Generally speaking, pure alcohol is the best for this pur-
pose. Chloride of zinc would doubtless be of considerable
service, and I notice that Woodward, in his “Manual of the
Mollusca,” says that chloride of calcium, made by dissolving
chalk, or the purer carbonate—white marble,—in hydro-chloric
acid until effervescence ceases and a saturated solution is
obtained, is most useful as a preservative, as it “keeps the
specimen previously steeped in it permanently moist without
injuring its colour or texture; while its antiseptic properties
will aid in the preservation of matters liable to decay.”

LUTING FOR STOPPERS. 83

Possibly some of the beautiful preparations in the Fisheries
Exhibition of 1883 were prepared in this manner, and such
objects as the sea-anemones, with tentacles expanded as in life,
may have been instantaneously killed by osmic acid.

Lurinc FOR STOPPERS.

No doubt, every one notices how the ordinary wax, which
is used as a protective coating for bottles or “preparation”
jars, is attacked by the contained spirit in such a manner
as to be useless as a preventive of evaporation. Ordinary
sealing wax, “bottle wax,’ beeswax, or paraffin wax, being
useless, we are driven back on a very old recipe of the French
naturalist M. Peron, who claimed for it advantages which it cer-
tainly possesses :

No. 30.—“ Inthocolle” for Sealing Bottles.

Common resin. Yellow beeswax (or paraffin wax).
Red ochre (in powder). Oil of turpentine (turps).

The proportions of this luting are determined by putting more
or less resin and red ochre, or turpentine and wax, as the “ litho-
colle” is to be more or less brittle or elastic. Melt the wax in the
resin, then add the ochre in small quantities, and at each addition
of this stir the whole briskly round. When the mixture has boiled
' seven or eight minutes, pour in the turpentine, stir it round,
and set it near the fire to keep it warm some little time. To
ascertain the quality, and if it requires more or less wax, put a
little out on a cold plate, and note its degree of tenacity.

It is rather dangerous to prepare, and is best managed over
a@ gas jet or stove, so arranged that the flame does not rise
above the edge of the iron pot containing the composition;
if this is attended to, not much danger can arise, especially
if, in case of the composition firing, the ld of the pot be
immediately clapped on.

Apply with an old brush, or by repeatedly plunging the neck
of the bottle in the luting before the latter becomes cold.

I have used an application of glue with great success on
corks over spirits, by procuring the best glue, making it rather
thin, and applying it whilst hot in successive coats. It will

G2

84, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

not do, however, for non-alcoholic solutions, nor for glass
stoppers, from which it scales off when cold.

GENERAL REMARKS.

In all cases when “ pickling” animals it must be remembered
that the first pickle, whether alcoholic or not, is essentially
deteriorated by the bloody mucus and water which exudes
from the specimens, especially if large and “flabby; ” this, of
course, reduces the strength of the preservative medium. It
is well, therefore, to have from three to four different vessels,
in which the objects shall be successively immersed for several
days, or even weeks, until, coming to the final preparation
jar, they shall not stain the lquid in which they are ulti-
mately to rest.

By using the various strengths of each preservative fluid one
under the other, in which to steep the specimens, proper results
will be obtained, by the exercise of a little forethought and
judgement. Filtration through blotting paper or charcoal is
necessary from time to time, and expensive spirits may be
re-distilled when becoming too weak by constant use.

Large fishes must have small cuts made in the walls of
.the abdomen to allow the fluid to properly penetrate. In
cases where the specimen is not required for dissection, the
removal of the viscera facilitates the ultimate preservation.

If at any time it is necessary to throw away a quantity
of inexpensive spent liquor which may smell offensively, a
small quantity of the crystals of permanganate of potassa
will instantly deodorise a large quantity of fluid, and this
without adding to it any offensive scent of its own, as in
the case of chloride of lime or carbolic acid. The vessel must
be afterwards well rinsed out in clean water, as the potassa,
temporarily stains everything in contact a rich purplish red.

Some experiments which I conducted with benzoline incon-
testably proved to me its valuable properties. I experimented
on a Cornish chough—an old specimen, infested with maggots
or larve of the “clothes” moth. I immediately plunged
it in benzoline, took it out, drained the superfluous spirit off,
and rapidly dried it by suspending it in a strong current of

GENERAL REMARKS. 85

air. It took but a short time to dry, and, though the feathers
were very slightly clotted after the operation, yet, by a little
manipulation, explained hereafter, they soon arrived at their
pristine freshness, and all the insects which previously infested
it were effectually kiled. I afterwards found on another speci-
men—a short-eared owl—two or three larve feeding on the
feathers. I poured a little benzoline over them in situ, and
they fell off, apparently dead. I kept them for a day, and
by that time they were shrivelled and undeniably dead.

Here, then, we have the two elements of success—a perfect
destroyer of insects, and an agent not damaging, but positively
beneficial, to the feathers of birds when applied; added to which,
is the remarkable cheapness of benzoline. Caution—do not use it
near a candle, lamp, nor fire, as it gives off a highly inflammable
vapour at a low temperature; it also fills a house with a
peculiarly disagreeable odour, finding its way upstairs, as all
volatile gases do; so it had better always be used in the work-
shop or outhouse.

I have just discovered—and feel very “small” that I did
not do so before—that benzoline perfectly preserves birds “in
the flesh” for a considerable time. I tried it on arazorbill (Alea
torda, Li.), which I placed in a “ preparation” Jar, filled with
common benzoline at ls. per gallon. The bird was simply cut
under the wing to allow the benzoline to penetrate, and was left
for three weeks; at the end of which time it was taken out,
cleaned in plaster (as desbribed in Chapter XI.),and made a most
excellent taxidermic object! The advantages of this to the over- .
worked professional are obvious.

In very severe cases I have used turpentine (“turps”) with

xcellent effect; in fact, as a destructive agent for insects, I
prefer it to benzoline, having now mastered the hitherto fatal
objections to its use on birds’ skins. For the skins of mammals
there is nothing to beat it. This will be enlarged on in the
chapter on “ Relaxing and Cleaning Skins.”

In thus speaking of benzoline and turpentine as agents in the
destruction of insect plagues, I mean, of course, that the speci-
mens should be plunged into, or have poured over them either
benzoline or turpentine. This seems to have been lost sight of
by some former correspondents of mine, one of whom writes—

86 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

“In your toxicological section, I do not find any opinion on
atmospheric poisoning of acari, &c.

“Tf not giving you too much trouble, I should be glad to know
whether you think spirits of turpentine would be efficacious if
allowed to evaporate in a case of birds in which moths have
lately shown themselves.

“T am unwilling to have them taken out, in fact they have not
been cased twelve months, and I thought of boring a hole in an
obscure corner with bit and brace, and inserting a saturated
sponge, and then closing it again.

“ Waterton says— The atmosphere of spirit of turpentine will
allow neither acarus nor any insect to live in it Do you
believe this P”

My answer to him, and to all such correspondents, was that I
had repeatedly proved that all such little vermin did not care a
bit for the fumes of benzoline, nor of any spirits whatever, as I
had caused gallons of turpentine, &c., to be poured into large
cases containing specimens without producing the smallest effect,
unless it absolutely touched them, but that I had partly suc-
ceeded by introducing cyanide of potassium (deadly poison) into
small cases containing birds, through a hole bored for the pur-
pose; but it was objectionable—(1) on the score of its danger
to health, should the poisonous vapour escape; and (2) because
it deliquesced rapidly in any but the driest atmosphere, by its
affinity for damp, and, consequently, often caused mildew in
cases of birds, &c., into which it had been introduced. The
fumes of sulphur during combustion are, on the contrary, really
of service in destroying insect life, as evidenced in the fumiga-
tion of hospital wards, &c., but I cannot tell how anyone may
burn sulphur in specimen cases without half choking him-
self, and probably setting on fire the fittings and spoiling the
work altogether. It is also objectionable because it readily
discharges certain colours from fabrics, flowers, and birds’
feathers. My advice is, therefore, to pull to pieces any case
infested with insects, to burn all fittings not absolutely valu-
able,* and to drench with turpentine all specimens, together with
all the rockwork and fittings desired to be retained.

* T would indeed advise the destruction by burning of the birds themselves even, should
they be common specimens, cr easily replaced.

GENERAL REMARKS. 87

Crude creosote, in little pots or saucers, is a great deterrent to
the visits of insect plagues; it cannot, however, be exposed
openly, as its scent is overpowering and decidedly unhealthy
for use in private houses. In museums it does very well if
cased up.

With regard to camphor in museums, although it is so con-
stantly used, I consider it of no use asa deterrent. A small piece
of tallow candle is equally efficacious, and of late I have had much
more faith in insect powders, the best of which is, I believe,
compounded of the petals of the Russian tansy (Pyrethrum
roseum). This has certainly some principle contained in it not
obvious to our senses. Itis perfectly harmless to man, and to
domestic animals, but on insects its action is entirely different.
I cannot as yet discover whether insects eat it, or if its
smell overcomes them, whether it repels, or attracts them to
their doom. A series of experiments has left me just as much
in the dark as ever. Certain it is that I have never found insects
among skins over which it has been strewn. There is, however,
one slight objection to its use, which is that it stains light-
coloured skins, if at all greasy, with its fine, brownish-yellow
dust. This is, however, but a trifle, easily avoided, in face of its
unquestionable value. I have used it now for many years,
and have never had cause to alter my opinion as to its efficacy.
The best only must be procured, from some well-known whole-
sale house, price about 3s. per lb. That sold made up in small
quantities is generally adulterated and useless. No curator
should ever be without it, and a small quantity should always
be placed inside a newly-made skin. It can also be worked
up in many of the preservative pastes, or macerated in spirit
as a wash, for the inside of skins.

Baking or stoving maggot-infected specimens is recommended
by some authors, but I strongly object to it in the case of old or
valuable skins, firstly, because the heat can seldom be properly
regulated, unless in an apparatus specially constructed; secondly,
because heat sufficient to kill the larve is also sufficient to crimp
or twist some part of the plumage or render the skin, if an old
specimen, too crisp or tender for ultimate handling; thirdly,
because even a moderate degree of heat is sufficient to set free
the fat contained in the skin, and thus spoil the feathers.

88 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Perhaps the tyro may remark, ‘“‘ But in a preserved and stuffed
skin there ought to be no fat to ooze out.” Quite true, there
ought not to be, but as skins are usually dressed with arsenical
soap, the fat, instead of being dried up, is beautifully conserved,
ready to run out at the slightest provocation, or be drawn out
by the capillary attraction of the threads used in sewing up—
another hard knock for arsenical pastes!

Writing about pastes reminds me that no taxidermist should
be without a pot of flour paste, which is far better and more
‘cleanly than gum or glue for sticking in loose feathers, &c.
For a small quantity, sufficient to fill a jam-pot, take—

No. 31.—Flour Paste.

Good wheat flour, 2o0z. | Essence of cloves, 4 a teaspoonful.
Water, 3 pint.

Mix the flour with part of the water in a basin, being careful
to crush out all the lumps, and work it up smoothly to the con-
sistence of thick cream; add the remainder of the water, and
boil for a few minutes in a saucepan. Turn out into a jam-pot,
and when nearly cold stir in the essence of cloves; this latter
gives an agreeable odour to the paste, is not poisonous, and pre-
serves the paste indefinitely from turning mouldy. <A few drops
of carbolic acid may be used instead of the cloves; but in this
case the pot must be labelled “ Poison.”

Strong gum water may be made from gum, arabic, into which
a little powdered white sugar is stirred. Essence of cloves
prevents mould in this also, unless there be an excess of water.

A fine paste, useful for paper or photographic work, is made
from rice-flour.

“ Dextrine,” in powder, is cheap and strong, easily soluble in
cold water, but as a paste shows up on feathers, &c., much more
than wheat-flour paste.

Cement, for uniting broken bones or fossils, or to fix shells,
&c., on tablets, is, says the late Frank Buckland, made thus:

No. 32.— White Cement.

Beeswax, 1 part. Powdered plaster of Paris
Resin, 4 parts. (best fine), 5 parts.

Warm the edges (when possible) and use the cement warm.
I would advise the plaster being stirred into the other two

id ee

GENERAL REMARKS. 89

ingredients as wanted. The great objection to this and to all
the “‘coagulines” is that the edges of the specimen require
warming, which cannot always be done.

Another good colourless cement is—

No. 33.— White Cement, No. 2.

Gum tragacanth in powder, 1 part. | Gum arabic (acacia) in powder, 1 part.
Glacial acetic acid, a few drops.

When used, moisten the gums with a little of the acetic acid
diluted. )

Gum mastic dissolved in alcohol, and white shellac dissolved
in naphtha, are two other white cements.

Where, however, colour does not matter, take—

No. 34.—Brown Cement.
Common shellac, 4]b. | Spirits of naphtha, } pint.

Place them in a bottle in a warm situation on a closed stove,
or in a vessel containing hot water. Be careful of fire. The
edges of bones or undersides of fossils are smeared with this,
tied with string, and left for a day or so to unite.

The reader has now a repertoire of poisonous and harmless
preparations from which he may choose. As for myself, for the
preservation of birds, I pin my faith to formula No. 4, viz.,
my Preservative Soap for the inside of the skin, and a wash of
benzoline or turpentine liberally applied from time to time—say
twice a year—to the outside of all uncased or exposed specimens.
This, it will be seen, entirely does away with the use of any
poison, and yet is proved to be of the highest efficacy.

For those who do not object to expense nor to the use of a
poisonous preparation, a wash of Waterton’s Solution (No. 5),
or the sulphuric ether preparation (No. 18), can be substituted
for benzoline or turpentine. I mention the expense, because
only rectified spirits of wine, or pure sulphuric ether, will do for
birds; the methylated spirit, though of service for washing
over most subjects, is not so good when applied to the delicate
feathers of birds, as it leaves on drying a-certain impure
residuum behind it.

For mammals I recommend my formula of burnt alum and
saltpetre (No.9), followed by a wash of benzoline or turpen-

90 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

tine twice a year, or by any one of the mercurial preparations
given.

On a retrospect of this chapter it will, I think, be admitted
that, if I am adverse to the use of any poisonous preparations in
taxidermy, I at least point out the why and wherefore, as also an
alternative course, showing at the same time the benefits and
defects of both systems. I now, therefore, leave the amateur to
choose for himself—bearing in mind the time-honoured aphorism,
chacun a son gotit.

iJale 7

SKELETON OF PEREGRINE FALCON, E
SHOWING THE PROPER POSITION OF THE VARIOUS BONES. |

Explanation: A, skull; B, upper mandible; C, lower mandible; D, cervical vertebre (9);
E, humeri (sing. humerus): F, radius; G, ulna; H, carpus, or wrist; I and J,
metacarpal bones (3); i, ‘*‘ knuckle” joint; K, pollex (first digit, ‘or ‘““thumb’’); —
K? and Ks, second or ‘‘index”’ digit, and next or third digit; L, pelvis, or —
“‘ossa innominata”’ (ilium, ischium, and pubes anchylosed); M, femur; N, tibia;
O_O, fibula; P, metatarse, or ‘‘tarso-metarsus”’ (3, sometimes 4 bones); p, actual
“knee” joint; qg, ‘heel,’ or tibio-tarsal joint; .Q, hallux (first or “‘ big”’ toe), called
a omutholee a. the ‘“‘hind’’ toe; R, fourth (or outermost) toe; S S, sternum, or

reast bone.

CHAPTER V.

SKINNING AND PreserRvine Birps.

In order that this shall be a thoroughly practical chapter,
I will,in my method of working, copy the admirable plan of
my old sporting favourite, Col. Hawker, who, when wishing
to note down some difficult point, was in the habit of doing
with his own hands all things pertaining to the matter at
issue, because, as he said, he might not make mistakes when
subsequently writing upon knotty subjects intended for his
readers’ consideration. | i

I have, therefore, specially procured a starling, as I consider
this bird the very best for the amateur’s purpose, not only
on account of the toughness of the skin, but also because,
being a medium-sized bird, it presents no difficult points in
skinning, and with this bird before me I shall minutely instruct’
my pupil, pointing out each step that has to be taken and
each difficulty that is likely to arise.

As I shall have occasion constantly to refer to the various
parts of the skeleton, I now give an engraving of that of the
Peregrine Falcon, in order to help my explanations in the future
(see Plate IT.).

Having placed ready for use the skinning knife (see Fig.
11), the scissors (Fig. 14), and the cobbler’s crooked awl in
handle, a pot of preservative mixture, some cotton wool or
wadding, some tow, and a needle and thread; lay the starling
on its back on a piece of clean paper, the head of the bird
pointing from the operator; then seize the bird by the sides
of the head with the first two fingers and thumb of the left.
hand in opposition, the awl held in the palm of the right

94 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

hand, and a piece of wool between the right-hand finger and
thumb; then insert the point of the awl between the upper
and lower mandibles, and, having opened them, keep them
open with the first finger of the right hand, removing the
piece of wool which should have been previously placed there
by the sportsman (see instructions re shot birds, at end of
Chapter II.). Replacing it with the fresh piece of wool held
in readiness, plug the nostrils in the same manner. As even
this simple operation will have somewhat disarranged the
feathers of the head and neck, smooth them down with the
fingers, taking care, however, not to stretch the neck in doing
so. The next operation is to hold the left-hand wing with
the left hand, and with the fingers of the right hand break
or disjoint the bone of the wing as close to the body as pos-
sible, z.e., across the “ humerus” (E) (in the case of large birds, or
for some syecial purpose, this bone is often left intact, but
the amateur will be puzzled how to subsequently arrange it
in the skin if unbroken). Repeat this on the other wing.
For those whose fingers are not strong enough to do this
effectually, I recommend a small pair of flat-nosed pliers, some
sizes larger than the “feather pliers” (Fig. 19).

Large birds may have their wings broken at the humeri (E)
by striking them with a stick or hammer in such a manner
as not to break nor seriously disarrange the feathers; the
largest-sized pliers (Fig. 16) may also be used for this pur-
pose, but in that case a piece of clean rag should be folded
in the jaws of the plers so as to envelope the upper and
under surface of the wing, in order to protect the feathers
from injury. Practice will, however, point out the best method
of doing this. Next take hold of the legs with the fingers
and gently twist them out of joimt at the junction of the
tibia and femur.

Now, keeping the head of the bird toward you, part the
feathers away from each side of the sternum or breast-bone;
then with the knife held short in the hand, the point placed
exactly in the centre of the bird (calculating from the bill
to the tip of the tail), make the first incision just on the right
side of the breast bone down to the vent, taking care not tc
cut so deeply as to expose the intestines. Now turn the bill

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 95

towards your right, and gently lay hold of the cut edge of the
skin, which you see shining whitely in front of you; then with
the point of the knife—the cutting edge kept on the flesh—gently

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loosen the skin above, below, and downwards. Completely reverse
the bird, and repeat this for the other side. At this stage
the body may be held down, with the knife pressed on the

96 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

side of the breast bone, and thus the two first fingers of the
left hand may be advantageously employed—but in a very
gentle manner—to loosen the skin around the upper part of
the breast-bone from the inside, while the thumb regulates
the pull from the outside. All this must be done with the
‘feathers kept as much away from the flesh as possible.

Fig. 22 shows the appearance which the specimen should now
present.

The skin being, as it were, nicely “persuaded” from the
flesh (more being done by pushing than by pulling), the legs
begin to appear. Take hold of the one nearest to you with
the right hand, at the same time inserting the fingers of the
left inside the skin; then, by gently pushing up with the right
hand, free the legs sufficiently to show the second joint, where
it has been previously twisted or broken.

Laying down the knife, and picking up the scissors, force
their point underneath the joint, marked P in Plate IL, and
cut it completely off; it should then be clear of the flesh,
showing the skin on either side as if it were a stocking turned
inside out. Pull it gently by the claw back into its proper
position, and there leave it, and do the same by the other
leg, turning the bird again for that purpose.

Both the legs should now be entirely free, not holding to
the body at any point. Taking up the knife again, carefully
work with it down toward the tail, and as far round the
back as you can get with safety. Now let the bird rest on
its head, as it were, with the beak from you, and, placing
the fingers with the thumb on the back (which is now under-
neath), the middle finger on the root of the tail inside, flanked
by the first and third fingers keeping down the skin on either
side, cautiously insert the knife through the skin of the vent,
and cut that free, cutting upward in a slanting direction;
having done this, carefully cut away on the root of the tail,
at the same time freeing it wherever it sticks; then, when
nothing but one bone, that is to say, the last caudal vertebra,
holds it, slip the knife underneath and cut with a drawing
motion upward. The tail is now entirely separated from
the body. Now advance the fingers of the left hand and seize
the bottom part of the loosened body with the right hand, and

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. ‘oF

by pushing with the finger-nails, and occasionally using the
knife where the tendons hold the skin, gradually work up
the back, turning it round and round, and working very care-
fully until the place where the wings have been previously
broken is arrived at. Again lay down the knife, and taking
up the scissors, cut the wing nearest to you away from
the skin; do the same with the other side; and now the
only thing which holds skin and body together is the neck.
Taking the whole of the body in the hand, proceed
with the fingers of the other (using no knife) to gradually
cause the skin to leave its attachment at the neck. With
care work over the head by the same means, and here progress —
is stopped by the skin being held on either side of the face
by a little membrane; this is the inner skin of the ears. Re-
gaining the knife, slip the point underneath, and gradually
lift them out, cutting towards the flesh and not towards the
skin. This done, the skin will appear darker, immediately
above this point. These are the eyes; carefully cut on top
of them with a very gentle motion, until they are skinned
to where only a very thin membrane hides them from
view; arrived at this, the knife-point must be pushed gently
underneath, and an upward cut made, which, if carefully
done, entirely severs the eyelids from the retaining membrane,
The exact point shown in Fig. 23 is now reached.

After this sever the skull from the neck at the point where
the dotted lines A—B are shown in the drawing. This exposes
the brain without cutting off too much at the base of the
cranium, the shape of which is wanted for subsequent operations.

After the body is completely severed, proceed to pull the
tongue out (unless wanted for show) by placing the knife
on the other side of it in opposition to the thumb, give a
smart pull, keeping an even pressure on, and the tongue will
come out with little or no difficulty. Next enlarge the orifice
at the back of the head by cutting a triangular piece out
towards the palate or roof of the mouth, scooping the brains
out with the point of the knife, having a small piece of paper
in readiness to receive them. During this operation hold the
beak of the bird through the skin of the neck by the two
first fingers, and thumb, the latter being uppermost, the

PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

98

other fingers being employed in keeping the remainder of

the skin with the feathers out of harm’s way.

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Inserting the point of the knife at the back of the eye,
place the thumb on the eyeball and gently pull it out, taking

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 99

care not to let the point of the knife cut upward so as to
burst the eye, or the effect will be to liberate the dark-coloured
pigment or the vitreous humour, and thus wet or stain the
feathers. Having done all this, there will still remain some
little flesh at the back of the eye and the junction of the
mandibles, and this must be carefully cut away so as not to
dis-articulate the latter. The Preservative Paste now comes into
requisition, and with this the skull and orbits are well painted in-
side and out. A little tow, previously chopped by the medium
of a sharp pair of scissors, is now pushed into the empty skull,
with the “stuffing iron,’ which is a small piece of thick wire
(see Fig. 21). For large birds the tow forceps (see Fig. 20)
may be conveniently used.

Having neatly filled the head with the tow, proceed to put
a small piece of cotton wadding in each orbit. (Note, be careful
that tow only is pushed into the head, as if never so small
a piece of wadding gets into the cavity of the head it will
effectually prevent any subsequent mounting of the specimen,
as, singular though it may appear, a small piece of wadding
is more than a match for a pointed wire.)

During all this time the neck must be kept as short and as
little stretched as possible. In some birds a line of fat will be
observed extending from the neck to the back or even to the
breast, which must be as carefully as possible scraped off the skin
by using the edge of the knife, guided by the thumb. Having
done. this, paint the neck only with the preservative, and lay the
skin on the paper, back upward and tail from you; the under part
of the head in this position points upward. Place the thumbs
of both hands, their nails touching each other, at the back of
the head with the first two fingers of each hand placed in this
wise: fore fingers along the side of the face, second fingers
underneath on the top of the skin of the head; then, by gently
pushing with the thumbs and pulling or scratching, as it were,
with the other fingers, gradually force the head through until
the mandibles appear, as also the eyelids. Let go with the right
hand, still keeping the thumb of the left pressing against the
head; and, by gently working with the two first fingers of the
left hand outside the feathers, and by pulling the beak upward
and toward you with the right, the bird is returned to the posi-

; H

100 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

tion shown in Fig. 22. As the bird now hes, it is optional
whether the flesh is cleaned away from the root of the tail first
or from the legs and wings. I will, however, in this case take
the wing on myright. Place the right hand underneath, lift
the wing as far up into the skin as possible, and by holding it
tightly in that position with the finger and thumb of the left
hand, a ridge of skin becomes visible, running down each side,
and framing in, as it were, a little oval-shaped piece of flesh, 7.e.,
that lying between the “radius” and “ulna” The broken bone
and flesh of the wing is now toward you. Clean the flesh away
from this and then devote the attention to the before-named
oval-shaped piece of flesh. Putting the point of the knife down
on the right, lft and scoop away (using the greatest care
meanwhile) some small pieces of flesh. This by degrees reveals
the top of another little bone, from under which all the flesh to
be seen must be scraped away; anoint this freely with the
preservative, and return it to its normal position after tying a
small piece of strong thread through the loop of the bone (in
large birds a little tow should be placed in the cavity). If this
process is too tedious, or not quite comprehended by the amateur
—i.e., the clearing out of the flesh between the radius and ulna—
the smaller bone of the two—the radius (F, Plate II) may be
twisted or cut out entirely, leaving only the larger bone of
the two to clear of flesh. Sometimes—but this with large
birds only—the wing may be advantageously cut from the out-
side along its entire length underneath, the flesh removed, skin
dressed, and the cut carefully sewn up. Do the same by
the other wing, and then push the leg on the same side up
through the skin, pushing the skin down with the fingers and
thumb of the left hand, and pulling with the right, until you
have stripped the skin nearly down to the so-called “knee,” ¢
(not the proper knee, however, that being situated higher up—
(p, Plate II), or tibio-tarsal joint. At this jomt a bundle of little
“leaders,” or muscles, assemble; cut them away from around
the bone (without interfering with the joint, however), and they
will roll up with the flesh to the head of the bone previously
cut off at the proper knee joint, and can there be easily pulled
off. (In practice, it will be found that retaining the full length
of this bone—the tibia—is not desirable for subsequent

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 101

operations; it may therefore be advantageously shortened by
one-half.) Anoint with the preservative and neatly wrap a
piece of tow around the leg-bone (or tibia) to the supposed shape
of the flesh previously removed. Return the leg to its natural
position; and repeat the same on the other side. The tail is
now the only thing left which requires to be freed from flesh.
Keeping the beak still from you, push the tail, with the left
hand, as far up into the body as possible, then clear it of every
particle of flesh by scraping and cutting, taking care to cut
away the oil ducts or glands—usually full of a thick fat—and
being careful also not to cut away the attachment of the roots of
the feathers to the skin; anoint with the preservative, and
return. Several little streaks of fat in various parts of the
skin may now be seen, which must be carefully scraped away
The wing bones must now be tied nearly together by the pieces
of thread previously attached; the distance between them varies
with the size of the bird’s body previously removed (this
knowledge is, of course, gained by experience, but amateurs are
recommended to take careful measurements of this and other
analogous points). The whole of the skin of the back, body,
and throat is to be well anointed. Now take the forceps (see
Fig. 20), and form a little neck of tow on it, introduce it
into the skin, leaving the end of the tow resting against the
back of the head. Then insert some larger pieces of tow with
the fingers or tongs into the body, and when you have shaped
it as nearly as possible to the original body of the bird
—taking care to nicely observe the adjustment of the several
parts—neatly sew up the skin with a fine needle and thread by
an under stitch on the edges of the skin, drawing it tight after
two or three stitches; and thus proceed until the bottom is
reached, avoiding the common fault of sewing the feathers in
with the stitches. Some few ends of tow will possibly be
protruding from the lower part, which must be cut off before the
final stitch. The bird’s legs are tied one across the other, and
the wings pressed close to the body in the proper position; the
neck is also shortened, and a little narrow band of paper is cut,
and placed underneath the bird, brought round the butts of
the wings or shoulders, and pinned together on the top of the
breast; a needle and thread are inserted through the nostrils,
H2

102 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

the thread is brought round underneath the bird’s lower man-
dible, and is tied in a knot to keep the beak closed.

In the course of a week or so, when sufficiently dry, the
bandage is removed, and thus we have what is technically
called a “ skin.”

This is the loose body method of making skins; perhaps a
better plan is making a body—see farther on—on wire, which
should not come through the top of the head, or on a piece of
stick (a lucifer match with the top broken off will do for small
skins) coming into the base of the skull; this gives a great
support to the neck, and prevents the common fault of the skin
breaking away just above the shoulders.

If great nicety is desired—and neatness in making a skin is

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everything—remember particularly not to overstuff it; it will
really require just about half as much packing as you would at
first imagine sufficient to fillit. Be careful as to the set of the
wings, at the shoulders especially; and after having coaxed
every feather with loving care into its proper position, wrap the
whole skin in a sheet of wadding, leaving the ends open, and put
away in a secure place to dry. Another method of shaping
skins whilst drying is described by Mr. Batty, the well-known
American taxidermist, who makes a drying board for small
skins in the followmg manner (see Fig. 24): Procure a piece
of board of the length and width you require, on which nail
on edge #2-inch slips of wood two inches high at intervals
required; between these supports stretch stout cardboard in ©

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 103

the form of “gutters.” In these, padded in wadding, the skins
rest until dry.

Often blood and other substances clog and spoil the feathers
of a bird; how to remove these will be found explained in the
chapter on Cleaning Birds’ Skins.

In noting the sex of a bird—an important matter, only
managed in most cases by the aid of a little dissection—it will
be necessary to cut the body, after it is out of the skin, through
the ribs along the side close to the back, open it, and look upon
the kidneys (dark coloured masses apparently let into the hollow
of the back-bone at the narrowest part of the body) for the

Fic. 25.—STARLING PROPERLY MADE INTO A SKIN Witk LABEL ATTACHED,

sexual organs. Ifa male, there will appear just upon the upper
end of the kidneys, one on each side of the back bone, two little
oval-shaped bodies, usually of a dull white or light yellow tint (do
not mistake the supra-renal capsules—cuite yellow, small, and a
little higher up—for these). If a female, these two small oval
bodies will be replaced a little lower down by a string or bundle
of eggs, very minute in some seasons, but strongly marked and
large in the breeding season. It is sometimes difficult to tell the
sex—in young birds especially; but a good plan is to get a bird,
known by its plumage to be a male—say a cock sparrow—and a
female bird, and dissect out these organs, putting them in spirits
in separate bottles, the organs of each sex attached to its part

104 PRACTICAL TAXTDERMY.

of the bone and kidneys, and keep them for reference untill
experience teaches the way to readily decide sexes.

A label is attached to the legs, giving scientific and common
name of bird, sex, locality, and date, and name or initials of
collector. Thus:

No.1, STURNUS VULGARIS, L. |
(Starling).
Sex.—¢ Juv.
Colour of irides—Dark brown.
nA beak—Dark slate.
is legs & toes—Reddish-brown,
LEICESTER, 21/9 88. Collector, M3.

In the cases of such birds as the hawks, which have bare spaces
around the eyes (sub, and super-ciliary patches) and around the
base of the beak (cere), note down the colours of these parts
also. In the cases of rare birds the measurements of the
extreme length from tip of beak to tail—again from inner edge
of gape to vent, the bill and tail being measured separately
from those points—should be carefully taken, as also the
length of culmen, carpus, and tarsus, and set down in inches
and tenths, on the label, or in the note book, when the matter
becomes too voluminous. The reference number and name, in
the latter case, will be sufficient for the label, thus keeping
it very small. In ordinary cases, all information, excepting
name, date, and collector’s name, may be written on the back.
Part of the label may be printed ready for filling in.

Another plan of skinning a bird is to work upward instead of
downward, and by raising the skin on top of the breast and
throat to approach the neck, which is then cut off by slipping the
point of the scissors underneath. This gives room for one wing
to be loosened, and ultimately cut off, the other one then easily
follows as a matter of course, and by alternately skinning away
the back and the breast, the legs and the tail are arrived at, which

are treated as before described. This method is useful in cases -

where the lower extremities are badly shot or “high,” but is
otherwise cbjectionable, as, in any other but the most careful
hands, it is apt to stretch or split any delicate skin, in the .
attempt to get the shoulders out, but for which I should
have nothing to say against it. Curiously enough, however, it
is more practised by amateurs than by professionals.

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 105

One of the most important, however, of all methods of skinning
ever invented, is that known as skinning from under the wing;
it is perhaps more difficult to a beginner than the other way of
skinning, but its advantages are enormous. Supposing you have
a bird very badly shot, or one with its wing half torn off or
ripped underneath, as sometimes happens, you then, instead of
complicating matters by making an incision im another place,
take advantage of the ripped side and cut it open there. The
birds, however, for which this system is invaluable are sea birds,
or all birds having white or very light coloured breasts. To cus
such birds on the breast practically ruins them, for however welt
a sea bird’s skin may be cleaned, there still remains some little
greasiness between the roots of the feathers; and in spite of the
most careful sewing, the capillary action cf the thread used in
stitching up (aided, of course, by the position of the mounted
bird—breast downward) is sufficient to draw to the surface
whatever oily fat or grease remains in the skin; and though it
may not show for a few months, yet, sooner or later, a rust
coloured line of grease appears, and in spite of all cleaning will
reappear, and gradually spread over the breast, destroying the
beauty of perhaps a unique specimen.

To skin a bird from under the wing, select the worst side,
cr that injured the most by shot, &c., and laying the bird
with that side uppermost, make an incision from just above the
leg to just under the wing. Push the leg-bone up, and cut it off
with a pair of scissors; then work the skin away a little from
the back, and as much as possible from the breast, gradually
working your way until you see the wing-hone, which cut off.
Careful skinning brings you to the neck and windpipe, which
also cut off. The whole of one side of the bird is now skinned
out with the exception of the tail; come downward on the
opposite side to your incision, and across the breast until you
ean cut oif the remaining wing; having done this, keep skinning
downward until the leg is arrived at, and cut off. Nothing now
holds the skin to the body but the tail-bone, which separate.
Clean and finish the bird in the ordinary way.

I shall now suppose that, instead of making a skin (as previously
described), you desire to stuff the specimen with the ultimate
idea of its forming part of a collection mounted in the same

106 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

manner as the birds are mounted in the British Museum—
namely, on turned stands as perches; or, as is usual now, to
form a unit of a characteristic group mounted in a more artistic
manner in a shade or a case.

For the purpose of this lesson I have “relaxed” the original
starling we before made into a skin, and shall now mount it,
keeping to one bird, so as not to confuse the learner. .

In “setting up” a bird we require to use wires. The sizes
of wires are determined by gauges. Thus the smallest sized
wire made is that known as Gauge 28. This and the two
following numbers, 26 and 27, are only required for the humming
birds; 28 is, however, a good size for the least. 24 will be found
a good size for the smaller kinds of warblers and finches up to
canaries. 21 is a useful general size for a great number of
small birds, and will do for such a bird as the hawfinch. 19 is
a good size for thrushes and starlings, and will aiso do very
well for squirrels. 16 is a good useful size for many things
—will do for such birds as the landrail or pigeons. 18 is
a good size for such birds as parrots, and that or the next
largest size will do for owls. 12 will do for the larger hawks,
such as the peregrine falcon, &c., and for small dogs. 91s more
suitable for foxes and larger dogs. 7 will do for eagles. 5, 3,
and 1 approach so nearly to bars as to be fit only for the larger
animals.

As a rule, however, practice enables a person to use smaller
sized wires than appears possible to him at first. I would here
also recommend that ‘“ galvanised” be used instead of the
common “annealed” wire (never use “hard” wire) for all pur-
poses, excepting for large animals. Its advantages are very
great, as I can personally testify.

If you decide on mounting your bird on a turned stand, you
will, if not possessing a lathe yourself, have to call in the
assistance of a turner, who will, for a small sum, turn the requisite
stands, which may be either in mahogany, boxwood, ebony, or
ivory, according to your taste and the length of your pocket.
If, on the contrary, you decide to ultimately mount your speci-
men in a case or a shade, you had better provide yourself with
some wire of a suitable strength, and some tow, which latter
you will proceed to wrap round the wire to within a couple of

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 197

inches of one end—forming, in fact, an artificial twig, which
you may bend to any shape, riveting the unbound end through
a piece of wood of sufficient weight to balance the bird when
set up. Having, then, before you, as the first indispensable
adjunct, the turned stand or artificial twig (a natural one does in
some cases), the stuffing irons, file, crooked awl, pliers, scissors,
wire, tow, needle and thread, pins, and some fine darning
cotton, which is called “ wrapping cotton,” you proceed to busi-
ness thus: The bird being skinned, all the flesh cleaned out,
and well dressed with the preservative up to the point previously
described—leg bones being wrapped and wings being tied—lay
the bird down on a clean piece of paper. .

Having selected the wire of two sizes, of a suitable thickness,
the thinner for the body wire and the other for the leg wires,
cut the three, with the aid of the pliers, a little longer than the
body and legs respectively, pointing each wire at one end with
a file—not rounding the points, but leaving them with cutting
edges.

Taking up the thicker or body wire in the right hand and
some tow in the left, commence at about an inch from the point
to tightly and neatly bind on the tow in the shape of the neck,
and of nearly the same length that the neck was before being
cut off—that is to say, making the artificial neck somewhat
longer than tke neck of the skin (if properly taken off and not
abnormally lengthened) appears to be. The reason for this is
that the natural neck, being carried between the clavicles forming
the furculum or “merry-thought,” is bent downward and forward
between them when perching (see Fig. 22); hence the artificial
neck must imitate nature so far as that, when inserted in the skin,
it may be also bent forward and downward, and afterwards thrown
back on the body in a natural position. Of course, if a bird’s neck
is to be represented very short, as it will be in certain attitudes,
the artificial neck must be almost, if not quite, done away with;
indeed, the shortening of the neck of the mounted specimen
depends almost entirely on the absence of stuffing above the
shoulders. Be sure, also, not to stuff the skin too wide about
the shoulders; if so, the “butts” of the wings will never come
into place, nor allow the feathers of the breast to be brought
over them in a natural manner. It is exceedingly difficult to

108 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

instruct in these niceties of detail; close observation—note a
canary or any song bird at rest—added to experience, will alone
teach the amateur these points. To excel in mounting animals*
the arts of drawing and modelling from living examples must
be cultivated; the amateur taxidermist thus gains the requisite
knowledge to help him in his art.

Having shaped the neck to your own satisfaction, proceed
thence to form the body, by continuously wrapping the tow
round and round the wire, keeping the shape, however, somewhat
flat on the sides, full on the breast and back, and narrowest at
the lower extremity of the body, where it comes in between the
legs to the tail. About an inch of the wire should now be left
unbound, which turn up on the back of the false body to prevent
the tow slipping off; next take some cotton, which wind all over
the false body to keep the tow in its place, adding, as you go on,
small pieces cf tow, and binding them on where depressions or
faults appear. This being finished secundum artem, insert the
pointed end of the wire or false neck up the neck of the specimen,
pushing the point of the wire right through the skull until it
comes out at the crown of the head. Now gradually, by per-
suasive means, pull the skin over the false body; and lift the
starling up and observe what faults are apparent—possibly a
little difficulty exists at the shoulders, if so, press them in with
the thumbs, and then note if there are any apparently hollow
places; if so, fill them out with a little more tow. See that the
back is nicely sloped, that the breast is full enough, and especially
if it be even and narrow between the legs. Having cbserved all
these points with great exactness, proceed to nicely sew up the
skin with the stitch previously mentioned.

Then select two other pieces of wire of the right size, and
point them each at one end. (Note.—The wires are generally
a size or so stronger for the legs than for the body.) Taking
a wire in the right hand, open the claws cf the bird with ths
other, so as to expose the sole of the foot, into which push
the point of the wire, forcing it up the leg on its under side
between the skin and the bone—be careful how you pass under
the so-called “knee” joint. Pulling the leg now downward

* It may, perhaps, be necessary to warn the non-scientific that whenever I speak of
animals I include fishes, reptiles, and birds with the mammals.

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 109

and upward, that is to say, toward the breast, push the wire
right through the false body to the other side, until it comes
out under the wing on the side farthest from the leg. Witha
small pair of pliers turn the point downward, pull the wire at
the foot, and it is thus clenched and firmly fixed; do the same
with the other leg.

Remember that if the leg wires are not firmly clenched in the
made body, and are not perfectly stiff and tight, all your labour
goes for nothing. Now bring together the skin at the lower
part with your fingers, and push a small wire through the root
of the tail up into the made body.

Picking the bird up with one hand, bend the legs into their
proper position, bend the neck a little downward and backward
on the front, then forward and downward from the back of the
head. Place the leg wires through two holes bored in the cross-
piece of the stand, or through the natural twig, or wind them
yvound on the false twig and make them secure. Run a fine pin
(entomological pin, No. 2) through the shafts of the feathers
of the tail to cause them to dry in proper shape, then neatly
insert the eyes (putting a small piece of putty in the orbit
previously), bringing the eyelids over with a fine needle, being
exceedingly careful not to rip them, and not to have them too
staring, a very common fault with the amateur. See that the
wings are fixed in their right places with one or more pins or wires.
Place one pin in the centre of the breast and in the middle of
the back (all of these pins must be left half-way out), proceed
to nicely arrange the feathers in their proper places by the aid
of the crooked awl and feather pliers (see Fig. 19). Having
done this till it appears as nearly like the lving bird as possible
(which constant practice and close attention alone will enable
you to do), take the “ wrapping cotton,” and, having made a loop
on one end, fix it to the pin on the back. Bring it across to the
pin on one of the wings, and across in a zig-zag manner te
the other pins in the wings, binding down the back first. Then
attend to the breast and under tail coverts, taking care to bind
down more securely than the others those feathers which will
start up (usually the upper wing coverts). A careful binder
working properly will shape his bird by binding. Tie the
mandibles if they are wanted closed, and cut the wire off the

110 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

head, as it permanently ruffles the feathers if left until the
specimen is dry.

This is binding for a closed-winged bird; but for one whose
wings are to be thrown up, say a hawk on flight, the modus
operandi is slightly different; wire stays and card braces now
supplement “wrapping” cotton. The bird being opened on its
worst side is stuffed in the usual manner as far as getting the
neck up into the skull, the attached body is now bolted through
near the top of the cut by the wing, by a long wire sufficiently
strong to keep the bird suspended; this wire, being firmly clenched
on the opposite side of the body to the cut, has its free end, of
course, depending from the incision under the wing. The next
thing to do is to support the wings in the position necessary to
represent flight. For this purpose, point four wires sufficiently
long to extend the wings, and to come through the body to be
clenched. Two of these wires should be of a size thinner than
the other two. Select the wing on the side of the body farthest
from the cut, and enter the point of one of the thickest wires in
the wing at the end of the part called the ‘“metacarpus” (1,
Plate II); push it gently along between the bone and the skin—
meanwhile holding the wing with the left-hand fingers—along
the side of or between the “radius and ulna,” finally pushing it
into the body at the shoulder, and clenching it when it comes
through, which it should do under the opposite wing at the cut.
It is often very difficult or impossible to get the wire to go
through the “carpus;” it will suffice, therefore, if, after coming
along the metacarpus, it Just misses the carpus and enters
the skin again at the junction of the radius and ulna. If
properly managed, the wire will be snugly hidden in the skin
of the wing by the feathers of the parts along which it has
travelled.

Do likewise with the other wing, but this wire often cannot be
carried right through to the opposite side, and must therefore
be firmly secured in the body on its own side; next fix the legs
in the manner before detailed, or, as the bird is to be represented
on flight, the wires need only be entered at the tibio-tarsal joint
(gq, Plate II). Push a wire in the tail, and sew up the incision
under the wing. The bird has now its wings, legs, and tail
fixed, and the free end of the supporting wire is sticking out

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. ©° 111

from under the wing. Fix this wire firmly through the top of
a narrow strip of board at such a distance as to miss the
outspread wing; let this board also be long enough to allow of
one end being fixed in a vice or screwed to the edge of a table,
whilst the hawk or other bird clears its surface. The bird
being now “shaped up” a little, take the two thinnest wires
and enter the point of one in each wing at the end of the
fleshy part of the wing (really the bird’s middle finger), or
through the base of the first quill, an inch or so from the
other wire. This last wire travels along the outside of the
feathers under the wing, and is consequently not hidden at all
when pushed into the body: its use is to curve the wing upon
it into a graceful shape, and when the bird is sufficiently dry it
is pulled out, the first wire at the shoulder being quite sufficient
to bear up the wing when set. As, however, the wing feathers
start up here and there, and do not readily conform to all the
curves of the wires, the wiring and binding must be supple-
mented by “braces,” which are narrow strips of cardboard
pinned in pairs at intervals below and above the wing, and held
in position by pins running through both braces from the under
to the upper surface. For explanation of this see Plate I
(Frontispiece), a hawk properly “set.up” and “ bound” to repre-
sent it swooping on its prey.

Putty sometimes greases light-coloured skins around the
eyes; it will be well, therefore, to insert in its stead a little
“pipe” or modelling clay worked up stiff. (Clay will be treated
of in a subsequent chapter. It will be found useful for the
faces of some sea-birds and hawks, and indeed for the greater
part of the body and legs of large birds. The Cassowary in the
Leicester Museum has been worked up largely in this manner.)

Steel pins with black bead heads are first-rate helps to binding.
They are sold in various lengths, and being long, sharp, and
fine, quite supersede ordinary pins.

Audi alteram partem! Let us now take the evidence of
Waterton :

You will observe how beautifully the feathers of a bird are arranged ;.
one falling over the other in nicest order, and that, where this charming
harmony is interrupted, the defect, though not noticed by an ordinary
spectator, will appear immediately to the eye of a naturalist. Thus,

112 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

a bird not wounded, and in perfect feather, must be procured, if possible,
for the loss of feathers can seldom be made good; and where the defi-
ciency is great all the skill of the artist will avail him little in his
attempt to conceal the defect; because, in order to hide it, he must
contract the skin, bring down the upper feathers and shove in the lower
ones, which would throw all the surroundiag parts into contortion.

You will also observe that the whole of the skin does not produce
feathers, and that it is very tender where the feathers do not grow. The
bare parts are admirably formed for expansion about the throat and
stomach, and they fit into the different cavities of the body at the wings,
shoulder, rump, and thighs, with wonderful exactness, so that in stuffing
the bird, if you make an even rotund surface of the skin, where the
cavities existed, in lieu of re-forming them, all symmetry, order, and
proportion are lost for ever.

You must lay it down as an absolute rule that the bird is to be
entirely skinned, otherwise you can never succeed in forming a true and
pleasing specimen.

You will allow this to be just, after reflecting a moment on the nature
of the fleshy parts and tendons, which are often left in. First, they
require to be well seasoned with aromatic spices ; secondly, they must
be put into the oven to dry; thirdly, the heat of the fire, and the
natural tendency all cured flesh has to shrink and become hard, render
the specimen withered, distorted, and too small; fourthly, the inside
then becomes like a ham or any other dried meat. Ere long the insects
claim it as their own, the feathers begin to drop off, and you have the
hideous spectacle of death in ragged plumage.

Wire is of no manner of use, but, on the contrary, a great nuisance,
for, when it is introduced, a disagreeable stiffness and disarrangement
of symmetry follow.

The head and neck can be placed in any attitude; the body supported,
the wings closed, extended, or elevated; the tail depressed, raised, or
expanded; the thighs set horizontal, or oblique, without any aid from
wire. Cotton will effect all this.

A very small proportion of the skull bone—say from the fore part of
the eyes to the bill—is to be left in, though even this is not absolutely
necessary. Part of the wing bones, the jaw bones, and half the thigh
bones remain. Everything else—flesh, fat, eyes, bones, brain and
tendons —are all to be taken away. .

While dissecting, it will be of use to keep in mind that, in taking off.
the skin from the body, by means of your fingers and a little knife, you
must try to shove it, in lieu of pulling it, lest you stretch it.

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 113

That you must press as lightly as possible on the bird, and every now
and then take a view of it, to see that the feathers are all right.

That, when you come to the head, you must take care that the body of
the skin rests on your knee; for, if you allow it to dangle from your
hand, its own weight will stretch it too much.

That throughout the whole operation, as fast as you detach the skin
from the body you must put cotton immediately between the body and
it, and this will effectually prevent any fat, blood, or moisture from
coming in contact with the plumage. Here it may be observed that
on the belly you find an inner skin which keeps the bowels in their place.

By a nice operation with the knife you can cut through the outer skin,
and leave the inner skin whole. Attention to this will render your work
very clean, so that, with a littie care in other parts, you may skin a bird
without even soiling your finger ends.

As you can seldom get a bird without shooting it, a line or two on this
head will be necessary. If the bird be still alive, press it hard with your
finger and thumb just behind the wings, and it will soon expire. Carry
it by the legs, and then, the body being reversed, blood cannot escape
down the plumage through the shot holes.

As blood will often have issued out before you have laid hold of the
bird, find out the shot holes by dividing the feathers with your fingers
and blowing on them, and then, with your penknife or the leaf of a tree,
carefally remove the clotted blood, and put a little cotton in the hole.
If, after all, the plumage has not escaped the marks of blood, or if it has
imbibed slime from the ground, wash the part in water without soap, and
keep gently agitating the feathers with your fingers till they are quite
dry. Were you to wash them and leave them to dry by themselves they
would have a very mean and shrivelled appearance.

In the act of skinning a bird you must either have it upon a table or
upon your knee. Probably you will prefer your knee, because, when you
cross one knee over the other, and have the bird upon the uppermost,
you can raise it to your eye, or lower it at pleasure, by means of the
foot on the ground, and then your knee will always move in unison
with your body, by which much stooping will be avoided and lassitude
prevented.

With these precautionary hints in mind, we will now proceed to
dissect a bird. Supposing we take a hawk. The little birds will
thank us with a song for his death, for he has oppressed them sorely ;
and in size he is just the thing. His skin is also pretty tough and
the feathers adhere to it.

We will put close by us a little bottle of the solution of corrosive

114 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

sublimate in alcohol, also a stick like a common knitting needle, anc a
handful or two of cotton.

Now fill the mouth and nostrils of the bird with cotton, and place
it upon your knee on its back with its head pointing to your left
shoulder. Take hold of the knife with your two first fingers and
thumb, the edge upwards. You must not keep the point of the knife
perpendicular to the body of the bird, because, were you to hold it so,
you would cut the inner skin of the belly and thus let the bowels out.
To avoid this, let your knife be parallel to the edbodys and then you
will divide the outer skin with great ease.

Begin on the belly below the breastbone, and cut down the middle
quite to the vent. This done, put the bird in any convenient position,
and separate the skin from the body till you get at the middle joint
of the thigh. Cut it through, and do no more there at present, except
introducing cotton all the way on that side from the vent to the
breastbone. Do exactly the same on the opposite side.

Now place the bird perpendicular, the breast resting on your knee,
with its back towards you. Separate the skin from the body on each
side at the vent, and never mind at present the part from the vent to
the root of the tail. Bend the tail gently down to the back, and while
your fingers and thumb are keeping down the detached parts of the
skin on each side of the vent, cut quite across and deep till you see the
backbone near the oil gland at the root of the tail. Sever the back.
bone at the joint, and then all the root of the tail together, with the
oil gland dissected from the body. Apply plenty of cotton.

After this seize the end cf the backbone with the finger and thumb,
and now you can hold up the bird clear of your knee and turn it round
and round as occasion requires.

While you are holding it thus, contrive, with the help of your other
mand and knife, by cutting and shoving, to get the skin pushed up
till you come to where the wings join on the body.

Forget not to apply cotton; cut these joints through, add cotton,
and gently push the skin over the head, cut out the roots of the
ears, which lie very deep in the head, and continue skinning till you
reach the middle of the eye; cut the nictating membrane quite
through, otherwise you would tear the orbit of the eye; and after
this nothing difficult intervenes to prevent your arriving at the root,
of the bill.

When this is effected cut away the body, leaving a little bit of skull,
just as much as will reach to the fore-part of the eye, clean well the
jaw bones, fasten a little cotton at the end of your stick, dip it into

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 115

the solution, and touch the skull and corresponding parts of the skin,
as you cannot well get at these places afterwards.

From the time of pushing the skin over the head you are supposed
to have had the bird resting upon your knee. Keep it there still, and
with great caution and tenderness return the head through the inverted
skin, and when you see the beak appearing pull it very gently till
the head comes out unruffled and unstained.

You may now take the cotton out of the mouth., Cut away all the
remaining flesh from the palate, and whatever may have remained at
the under jaw.

Here is now before you the skin without loss of any feathers, and
all the flesh, fat, and unclean bones out of it, except the middle joint
of the wings, one bone of the thighs, and the fleshy root of the tail. The
extreme point of the wing is very small, and has no flesh on it, com-
paratively speaking, so that it requires no attention except touching
it with the solution from the outside. Take all the flesh from the
remaining joint of the wing, and tie a thread about four inches long
to the end of it, touch all with the solution, and put the wing bone
back into its place. In baring this bone you must by no means pull
the skin. You would have it to pieces beyond all doubt, for the ends
of the long feathers are attached to the bone itself. You must push
off the skin with your thumb and forefinger. Now skin the thigh,
quite to the bone, cut away all flesh and tendons, and bare the bone,
form an artificial thigh round it with cotton, apply the solution, and
draw back the skin over the artificial thigh; the same to the other
thigh.

Lastly, proceed to the tail, take out the inside of the oil gland,
remove all the remaining flesh from the root till you see the ends
of the tail feathers, give it the solution and replace it. Now take
out all the cotton which you have been putting into the body from
time to time to preserve the feathers from grease and stain.

Place the bird upon your knee, on its back, tie together the two
threads which you had fastened to the ends of the wing joints, leaving
exactly the same space betwixt them as your knowledge of anatomy
informs you existed there when the bird was entire, hold the skin
open with your finger and thumb, and apply the solution to every
part of the inside. Neglect the head and neck at present; they are
to receive it afterwards.

Fill the body moderately with cotton lest the feathers on the belly
should be injured. Whilst you are about the following operation you
must recollect that half of the thigh—or, in other words, one joint

I

116 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

of the thigh bone—has been cut away. Now, as this bone never
moved perpendicular to the body, but, on the contrary, in an oblique
direction, of course, aS soon as it is cut off, the remaining part of
the thigh and leg, having nothing to support them obliquely, must
naturally fall to their perpendicular; hence the reason why the legs
appear too long. To correct this, take your needle and thread, fasten
the end round the bone inside, and then push the needle through
the skin just opposite to it; look on the outside, and after finding
the needle amongst the feathers, tack up the thigh under the wing
with several strong stitches. This will shorten the thigh and render
it quite capable of supporting the weight of the body without the
help of wire. This done take out every bit of cotton except the
artificial thighs, and adjust the wing bones (which are connected by
the thread) in the most even manner possible, so that one joint does not
appear to be lower than the other, for unless they are quite equal the
wings themselves will be unequal when you come to put them in their
proper attitude. Here, then, rests the shell of the poor hawk ready
to receive from your skill and judgment, the size, the shape, the
features, and expression it had ere death and your dissecting hand
brought it to its present still and formless state. The cold hand of
death stamps deep its mark upon the prostrate victim. When the
heart ceases to beat and the blood no longer courses through the
veins, the features collapse, and the whole frame seems to shrink within
itself. If, then, you have formed your idea of the real appearance of
the bird from a dead specimen you will be in error. With this in mind,
and at the same time forming your specimen a trifle larger than life
to make up for what it will lose in drying, you will reproduce a bird
that will please you.

It is now time to introduce the cotton for an artificial body by means
of the little stick like a knitting needle; and without any other aid
or substance than that of this little stick and cotton your own genius
must produce those swellings and cavities, that just proportion, that
elegance and harmony of the whole, so much admired in animated
nature, so little attended to in preserved specimens. After you have
introduced the cotton, sew up the orifice you originally made in the
belly, beginning at the vent. And from time to time, till you arrive
at the last stitch, keep adding a little cotton in order that there
may be no deficiency there. Lastly, dip your stick into the solution
and put it down the throat three or four times in order that every
part may receive it.

When the head and neck are filled with cotton quite to your liking,

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 67

close the bill as in nature. A little bit of beeswax at the end of it
will keep the mandibles in their proper place. A needle must be stuck
into the lower mandible perpendicularly.

You will shortly see the use of it. Bring also the feet together by
@ pin, and then run a thread through the knees, by which you may
draw them to each other as near as you judge proper. Nothing now
remains to be added but the eyes. With your little stick make a
hollow in the cotton within the orbit, and introduce the glass eyes
through the orbit; adjust the orbit to them as in nature, and that
requires no other fastener.

Your close inspection of the eyes of animals will already have
informed you that the orbit is capable of receiving a much larger
-body than that part of the eye which appears within it when in life
So that were you to proportion your eye to the size the orbit is
capable of receiving it would be far too large. Inattention to this
has caused the eyes of every specimen in the best cabinets of natural
history to be out of all proportion. To prevent this, contract the
orbit, by means of a very small delicate needle and thread, at that
part of it farthest from the beak. This may be done with such nicety
that the stitch cannot be cbserved, and thus you have the artificial
eye in true proportion. | ;

After this touch the bill, orbits, feet, and former oil-gland at the
root of the tail with the solution, and then you have given to the
hawk everything necessary, except attitude and a proper degree of
elasticity—two qualities very essential.

Procure any common ordinary box, fill one end of it about three-
fourths up to the top with cotton, forming a sloping plane. Make
a moderate hollow in it to receive the bird. Now take the hawk in
your hands, and after putting the wings in order, place it in the
cotton with its legs in a sitting posture. The head will fall down;
mever mind. Get a cork and run three pins into the end, just like
a three-legged stool. Place it under the bird’s bill, and run the
needle, which you formerly fixed there, into the head of the cork.
‘This will support the bird’s head admirably. . If you wish to lengthen
the neck, raise the cork by putting more cotton under it. If the
hhead is to be brought forward, bring the cork nearer to the end of
the box. If it requires to be set backwards on the shoulders, move
back the cork.

As in drying the back part of the necx will shrink more than the fore
part, and thus throw the beak higher than you wish it to be—putting
you in mind of a star-gazing horse—prevent this fault by tying a thread

12

118 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

to the beak and fastening it to the end of the box with a pin or needle.
If you choose to elevate the wings, do so, and support them with cotton ;
and should you wish to have them particularly high, apply a little stick
under each wing, and fasten the ends of them to the side of the box with
a little beeswax.

If you would have the tail expanded, reverse the order of the feathers,
beginning from the two middle ones. When dry, replace them in their
true order, and the tail will preserve forever the expansion you have
given it. Is the crest to be erect? Move the feathers in a contrary
direction to that in which they lie for a day or two, and it will never fall
down after.

Place the box anywhere in your room out of the influence of the sun,
wind, and fire, for the specimen must dry very slowly if you wish to
reproduce every feature. On this account the solution of corrosive sub-
limate is uncommonly serviceable, for, at the same time that it totally
prevents putrefaction, it renders the skin moist and flexible for many
days. While the bird is drying, take it out and replace it in its position
once every day. Then, if yousee that any part begins to shrink into
disproportion, you can easily remedy it.

The small covert feathers of the wings are apt to rise a little, because
the skin will come in contact with the bone which remains in the wing.
Pull gently the part that rises with your finger and thumb for a day or
two; press the feathers down; the skin will adhere no more to the bone,
and they will cease to rise.

Every now and then, touch and re-touch all the different parts of the
feathers, in order to render them distinct and visible, correcting at the
same time any harshness or unnatural risings or sinkings, flatness, or
rotundity. This is putting the last finishing touch to it.

In three or four days the feet lose their natural elasticity, and the
knees begin to stiffen. When you observe this, it is time to give the legs
any angle you wish, and arrange the toes for a standing position, or curve
them to your finger. If you wish to set the bird on a branch, borea
little hole under each foot a little way up the leg, and, having fixed two
proportional spikes on the branch, you can in a moment transfer the bird
from your finger to it, and from it to your finger, at pleasure.

When the bird is quite dry, pull the thread out of the knees, take away
the needle, &c., from under the bill, and all is done.

In lieu of being stiff with wires, the cotton will have given a consider-
able elasticity to every part of your bird, so that when perching on your
finger, if you press it down with the other hand, it will rise again. You
need not fear that your hawk will alter, or its colours fade.

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 119

The alcohol has introduced the sublimate into every part and pore of
the skin, quite to the roots of the feathers. Its use is twofold: First,
it has totally prevented all tendency to putrefaction, and thus a sound
skin has attached itself to the roots of the feathers. You may take hold
of a single one, and from it suspend five times the weight of the bird;
you may jerk it, it will still adhere to the skin, and, after repeated
trials, often break short. Secondly, as no part of the skin has escaped
receiving particles of sublimate contained in the alcohol, there is rot
@ spot exposed to the depredation of insects; for they will never
venture to attack any substance which has received ccrrosive sublimate.

You are aware that corrosive sublimate is the most fatal poison to
insects that is known. It is anti-putrescent, so is alcohol, and they are
both colourless. Of course, they cannot leave a stain behind them. The
spirit penetrates the pores of the skin with wonderful velocity, deposits
invisible parts of the sublimate, and flies off. The sublimate will not
injure the skin, and nothing can detach it from the part where the alcohol
has left it.

” ”
* oe * * oS xo %

All the feathers require to be touched with the solution in order that
they may be preserved from the depredation of the moth. The surest
way of proceeding is to immerse the bird in the solution of corrosive sub-
limate, and then dry it before you begin to dissect it.—(Waterton’s
‘* Wanderings in South America.’’)

On reference to the instructions given previously, and those
last quoted, it will be seen that the two systems are diametrically
opposed to each other. I will, therefore, now point out the
objections to a general use of Waterton’s plan.

First, let me premise that I entirely agree with him in his
opening paragraph as to selecting, when practicable, a bird as
little damaged as possible; but I need not remind professionals,
or amateurs of some practice, how seldom these conditions exist,
especially in the instance of birds sent to them for mounting, by
people totally ignorant of the first principles of taxidermy.
Where a great number of feathers are missing, the loss must be
repaired by the insertion of similar feathers placed one by one
in position by the aid of strong paste, in which a little of the
corrosive sublimate preparation (see chapter on Preservatives,
ante) or carbolic acid has previously been stirred. He is also
quite right when he insists upon the specimen not being stuffed

120 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

as a round ball of feathers, as some tyros are in the habit of
doing, and also when he says that the bird must be well skinned.

With the next paragraph, as to the uselessness of wire, I
totally disagree, and for this reason, that, although I have
myself proved it possible—having many years ago followed
Waterton’s instructions—to mount a bird entirely without wire,
still it is at the best but an amateur’s “dodge;” and I can
fearlessly assert that 1t will not stand the test of work and
expediency. It is, in fact, impossible to dispense with wire, if
taxidermy is to be followed as a profession.

As to putting cotton wool between the flesh and the skin,
practice will enable one to do without this. To me it would
be a great nuisance, unless in the case of much grease, of
persistent bleeding, or clots of extravasated blood occurring.
All the rest of the instructions on skinning are sound and
practical, except where he advises the knee to be used instead of
atable. <A little reflection, or, better still, a trial, will convince
anyone that nothing can compare in practice with a table or
bench for comfortable working.

I do not hold, either, with the total removal of the skull. For
instance, how are you to exhibit the superciliary ridge which
gives so distinctive a character to the very bird Waterton selects
—the hawk—if you cut it away? I have tried both plans, and I
unhesitatingly say that you cannot give character to the heads
of the larger birds if you remove the skull (unless, of course, you
choose to model it up in clay, &c., as in the heads of mammals),
though I agree that you must free the skin from all its
surroundings. I have at the present moment several birds (set
up by a man in the West of England), in which the skulls have
been removed; the skin has shrunk in at the back of the head
and at the mandibles ; and in one instance—an osprey—the bird
has entirely lost its nobility and eagle-like appearance by the
removal of the ridge above the eye.

I cannot urge the advisability of making the body larger to
allow for shrinking, inasmuch as in the case of certain birds—
notably gulls—which should present an even surface on the
breast, the opposite effect will be produced if the false body is
unduly large, as then, in place of the evenness so desirable, a
division will appear in the centre of the body, which entirely

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 121

mars the beautiful symmetry of the sea-bird’s breast. No
perceptible shrinkage can, however, occur if the body is properly
made and packed; and here is shown the vast superiority of the
made body of well-wrapped tow over that made of loose cotton
inserted in the skin, bit by bit.

The eyes I prefer to insert in the larger birds after the speci-
men is dry, as then any little fault in the shape of the head is
easily rectified through the orbit, the eyelid, of course, being
previously relaxed (with cotton wool dipped in warm water) to
do this and to receive the artificial eye.

Waterton’s method of setting up birds may be dismissed in a
few words; itis impracticable for anyone but an amateur who
has unlimited time at his disposal, and who does not object to
spend about a couple of days over one specimen, and who has
also ample room for the large collection of different-sized boxes
he must accumulate.

In using the corrosive subliimate the student will do well to
carefully read the chapter on Preservatives, and then make up
his mind. I may here mention, however, that I should not
advise anyone to work on a bird previously saturated with a
solution of corrosive sublimate.

It has been said, De mortuis nil nist bonum; but, while fully
acknowledging the force of the remark, as also the great
scientific attainments and love for natural history which dis-
tinguished the illustrious traveller, I cannot allow anyone who
reads his entertaining works to be misled into wasting time in an
unprofitable manner.

Another way of setting up a bird may be described as follows:
Provide yourself with four wires—two of which are for the
legs, a long one for the body, and a shorter one for the wings;
let us suppose we have another starling in front of us. For
this bird take a suitable piece of wire about three inches long
(pointed at both ends), and bend it down at each end for the
distance of an inch, which of course leaves one inch in the middle
at a right angle to each end; this is called the wing-bearer.
Then place a little piece of tow inside the skin to fit along the
back, and on to the top of this lay the wing-bearer, pushing the
pointed ends down and into the hollows of the wing-bones
(which must be left nearly their full length to admit of this).

122 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Next take the body wire, also sharpened at both ends, and a
little longer than you require, and at a sufficient distance from
one end form with the pliers a loop similar to Fig. 1 (p. 18),
so that it comes about the centre of the projected body; one
end will thus be much longer from the loop than the other. Run
one end (the longest) right wp the body to come out at the crown
of the head (the head itself being previously stuffed), push it
through a sufficient distance, so that the looped end falls within
the incision of the skin; so soon as it is passed inside pull the
looped end down, and push its point through the root of the
tail; the loop should now, if accurately calculated, come just in
the centre of the body incision. Pack underneath the wire at all
points with little pieces of finely cut tow, not forgetting the neck.
The wire should now be protected from touching the bird on its
underside. Now take the leg wires, point them and pass them
up the legs as before described; when they appear within the
skin by the side of the legs, push the ends of each one through
the little loop on the body wire, and by the aid of the small
pliers and your finger and thumb twist them tightly up or down
the main wire. If properly done, the bird should be capable of
being lifted by one leg wire and should feel perfectly stiff and
firm. Proceed by the addition of cut tow to gradually form the
body, which, when arranged to your liking, sew up.

This, in contradistinction to the other method, is called the
soft body, and is not a plan which I at all recommend. Some-
times a cork is pushed on at the main or body wire to act in the
place of the loop; the leg wires are then pushed through and
clenched on the other side, and the skin is filled with cut tow as
before.

Another system of forming an artificial body for a bird is by
means of ‘“peat.”* Having provided yourself with one of these
bricks of peat, you cut it with a sharp knife to as near the
shape required as possible, having the natural body before you
as a guide, finally inserting it in the bird.

My objection to the use of. peat for this purpose is, first, the
dust and dirt caused by the waste pieces; and, secondly, the
fact that birds mounted on this system have a tendency to look

*“ Peat’’ is compressed vegetable fibre cut from old bogs, and is sold by the dealers, in
Gried cakes about 1 foot long by 6 inches by 2 inches. '

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 123

“wooden,” as, unlike a body formed of tow, that made of peat is
stiff and unyielding, and, therefore, after 1¢ is once in the skin, it
cannot be pressed into shape where defects appear, and is of
course not so easily altered. After a long and patient trial of
the peat body, I have become convinced of its many disadvan-
tages, and have of late years returned to my first plan—the body
made of well wrapped tow—nor do I think anything will compare
with it, for the reasons above stated. Peat in the case of very
large birds (ostriches, &c.) and mammals is useful, but for the
ordinary run of birds I decidedly veto its application.

Birds with larger heads than necks, such as ducks, &c.,
must be treated in one of three ways. First, after skinning
out the body, and cutting off the neck from the inside, cut
with the strong scissors a triangular piece away from the base
of the skull, from which extract the brain, and then compress
the sides of the face (mandibles) between your finger and
thumb from the outside, at the same time endeavouring to
“shp” the head (now somewhat elastic by the removal of the
base of the skull) through the neck. Do this whenever possible ;
but for those birds whose mandibles resist any amount: of
moderate pressure, of which the larger ducks, woodpeckers,
&c., are examples, the second plan must be adopted, which is to
cut (after the removal of the body) on the crest of the head of
a specimen—if a crested bird—or along the sides of the face
if failing in this particular; the head may then be carefully
skinned, leaving it attached as much as before directed, brains
cleared out, eyes extracted, &c., then painted with the preserva-
tive, head nicely stuffed with chopped tow, and returned in the
skin, and finally very neatly sewn up. If this latter operation
be well performed, and especially if the stitches are drawn tight,
the seam ought not to show.

A more tedious method is to extract the brain and eyes
through the roof of the mouth, or from the back of the head
(after the neck has been cut off), but neither of these plans will
bear comparison with “ slipping,” or with cutting on the crest,
or by the side of the head, as by these latter methods you do
not miss any flesh by the sides of the face in skinning out.
Let me give an instance. In the eider duck, the flesh of the
face is protracted along the sides of the bill; if, therefore, you

124, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

fail to open on the crown, or by the side of the face, you must of
necessity miss these, or have ten times more trouble in feeling
your way to it. If the processes by the side of the face are
entirely missed, the consequences are an unsightly and inartistic
shrivelling ; it is as well, therefore, to make a note of all birds
having such a pecuharity.

Amongst the birds which may be instanced as having heads
too large to pass the neck in the usual manner, we may place the
whole of the ducks, geese, and swans, though the heads of the
herons and divers, which appear to be as large and yet have as
small necks as the former birds, pass easily. Again, the head of
the great or crested grebe passes, while that of the little grebe
sticks. Of the three woodpeckers found in Britain, the heads of
the great-spotted and lesser-spotted will not pass the neck, but
the head of the other, the green woodpecker, the largest looking
of the three, will pass if care be taken. These things being
noted and borne in mind will save the tyro a considerable
amount of trouble.

In concluding this chapter, let it be noted as an unalterable
doctrine, that no white-breasted birds, sea birds especially, are,
under any pretence whatever, to be cut on their breasts. How
wany birds pass through the hands of the professional, spoiled by
a neglect or ignorance of this rule, 1t would be impossible to say,
nor are amateurs the only offenders in this particular. Grebes,
&c., which have wings hardly sufficient to hide the cut beneath,
can be cut on the back, between the wings, and skinned out
that way; and if the breast is, as it should be, fronted for the
“showpiece,” the effect, if skilfully done, is very fine. I have
lately given a great deal of attention to this method of skinning
from the back, having found it necessary in mounting young
birds which otherwise showed an unsightly cut on their naked
breasts. I found that the modelling was much truer and more
effective by this method, and therefore extended it to mature
specimens with the result that I now think no birds, excepting the
very largest, perhaps, should ever be opened on the breast. I am
quite convinced that if a person of any experience makes up
his mind never to skin a bird by any other way than by the side
or back, he will have no reason to ever regret his decision.
Should a bird be required for flight, undoubtedly the proper

SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 125

place to cut it is under the side; the suspending wire then comes
along the off side and is hidden by the wing. If the wings are
to be raised and the breast or side shown, cut it on the back;
if closed wings, the same; in either case the cut is perfectly
hidden, and is where it should be, out of the way of grease.

Perhaps it may be as well to state here that—contrary to my
usual custom of working from the lowest to the highest animal
form—I have written upon birds out of their proper natural
order; the reason being that birds are always selected because
of easiness of treatment for the student’s first lessons in
taxidermy, before his teacher allows him to “try his ’prentice
hand ” on the more difficult branches of the art.

CHAPTER Vi.
SKINNING AND PreseRvVING MAMMALS.

THE art of setting up quadrupeds in a natural and life-like
manner is of so recent a date that few, if any, of the manuals
on taxidermy do more than glance at it. True, they nearly
all give directions, in an off-hand way, as to the skinning of
mammals; but their instructions are so vague and meagre
that, though confessing that the subject is no easy one to write
upon, I yet feel that we may, perhaps, improve, in point of
detail, on what has gone before.

In accordance with my usual custom, I have procured an
animal—a fox—to illustrate my instructions, and, the learner
having got out the whole of the knives (previously figured) and
the whetstone, may proceed to work in the following manner: °

Measure the fox, as a preliminary, taking note of his length,
breadth, and fineness of limb; length and thickness of muzzle and
side of face; and, having aided the recollection by the use of the
callipers, and made all necessary notes, lay him on the skinning
table, back downwards, and, separating the fur on the stomach
at about two inches from the root of the tail, gently insert the
point of the skinning knife (keeping the handle well down) under
the skin, and continue the cut to within about ten inches of
the chest, between the fore limbs—that is to say, up to the first rib,
which may be felt with the finger and thumb. if an ordinary-
sized fox, this will allow the cut to be of about the same length,
viz., ten inches. Be very careful, in making this incision, to cut
the top skin only, and not that which retains the bowels.

Having done this, commence to clear away the skin from the
flesh on one side by using the point of the knife in a slanting

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SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS. 129

manner between skin and flesh. The fox being with its head
from you and directly to your front, the side which you naturally
begin on first would be the one on your left; turn the fox now so
that its head comes to your left hand instead of directly to your
front, and skin in the same manner on the other side, which is
now from you. The skin of a fox being very thin about this
part,.as indeed, nearly all over its body, you must be careful
while making your cuts to release the skin, not to push the point.
of your knife through. As you get along the side of the fox, use
your knife, point downward, cutting edge toward you, on the
inner side, and from you on the outer, with a scraping motion to
separate the skin from the body at the sides. No doubt, by this
time you will be somewhat troubled with a discharge of blood;
if so, use sawdust or silver sand, either of which will not dirty
the skin, but yet affords a good grip. (Plaster is very commonly
used instead of either, but, though a capital absorbent of
blood and grease, I object to it, except in the instances of white
or very light coloured furs.) Silver sand is, I think, the best of
all, as sawdust is apt to get into some furs, and it requires a
great deal of pains to get it out again. By a little management
of the point of the knife, and by undercutting slightly, you ex-
pose the thighs of the hind limbs. The fox lies still in front of
you with its head to your left. Changing your position, go to
the tail, and, seizing the foot nearest to you with your right.
hand, and the skin with your left, push and pull at one and the
same time until you expose the knee-joint, or rather—to speak
more correctly—the articulation of the “femur” or thigh bone
(i, Plate III.) with the two smaller bones (‘fibula ” and “ tibia”’),
which form the shank (& and J). Let go with your right.
hand, and by an arrangement of the fingers of the left—
difficult to describe—retain your hold of both the skin and flesh
of the leg, and re-commence skinning with the knife on each side
of the leg until you arrive at the hollow which lies behind, just
above the shank; this exposes daylight between skin and flesh,
and thus you may get your fingers between the two skins, and,
finding the articulation, or joint of the thigh (just mentioned),
you push the point of your knife in, and sever the liga-
ments, and then return the loose shank to its skin. Holding:
the fingers of your left hand underneath the skin—thumb and

130 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

bottom of the palm of the hand opposing—skin ovt the rest of
the thigh, which brings you just on top of the root of the tail.
Turn the fox in an exactly opposite direction, and repeat the
process; you will before doing this find yourself, perhaps,
restrained by the skin of the ventral orifice, which carefully cut
out; this frees the limb considerably. (I may mention that the
animal skinner must not be afraid of handling his subject; it is
not so pleasant nor so delicate an operation as skinning a bird,
and, consequently, does not require so fine a touch.) You will
now have exposed the tail at its back and front. Now double up
the fox, supporting it with your left hand, and get the whole of
the tail free at the root. Letting it rest on the table again, you
skin as far up the tail as you can go. The two thighs and part
of the back are entirely freed from the skin, but the tail still
holds at about three inches up. Now get a pair of common
pincers, such as are used for pulling nails out, and place them so
that the tail comes between their hollows; push this against the
part still unskinned; hold this firmly down on the table with
the left hand, and pull from the root of the tail with the right.
Very often the tail will not move past this point; in that case
there is nothing left but to cut it off at the root, and place the
latter firmly in a vice (after the animal is skinned out), and
taking both hands to the skin, cross the thumbs and two first
fingers, so as to obtain a good grip and yet prevent the skin of
the tail from turning inside out, and pull with all your might
(jerking it at the same time) until it shdes. Now free the skin
from the back, working round to the front. During this
operation the fox must be frequently turned to get round the
sides and back. The knife being held short in the hand and
guided near the tip by the fore-finger considerably facilitates
this. Endeavour as much as possible to keep all the flesh and
fat (if any) on the body, and not on the skin. Coming up now
to the fore limbs you will find the skin hold considerably between
them at the chest. This is the place where an amateur generally
runs his knife through, which, I need hardly say, is one of the
worst places in which this accident could happen. Having
released the chest, skin all away from the back and shoulder;
the fore-arm now appears, showing the articulation of the
humerus with the radius and ulna. Skin all round it until

SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS. 13s!

you come to the return of the fore-arm in precisely the same
manner as you have done with the hind limbs. This point is
not so easy to find as is that of the hind legs, but if you will
twist the leg you will at once see the point of junction, where
slip the knife in and cut off as before. Turn the fox, and treat
the other leg in the same manner. Arrived at the neck, skin all
round until you arrive at the base of the skull; you will then
become aware of two cartilaginous bodies standing up one on
each side—these are the ears. Having skinned a little on top of
these, with your finger and thumb raise them slightly and cut
them away from their attachment at their bases. Having freed
both ears carefully, skin on the top of the head and the side of the
face, until, at about two and a half inches from the ear, and in a
line with it, you find the eye, which holds by a thin membrane
at this point; carefully skin on the top until the eyeball shows
through, and very carefully free it from its attachment all
round, except at its lower angle, 1.e., that nearest the nose; do
the same with the other. Now skin a little more by the side of
the jaw until you find it firmly held by a return angle of skin;
there leave it attached. Turning the under jaw exactly upper-
most, skin along the bone toward the lip as far as you can get,
not, however, entirely relieving it from the jawbone at the side,
but only until a thin blue membrane appears, which take care
not to cut through; this is inside of the skin which comes
between the lower lip and the teeth.

The fox’s skin is now held to the body at five points, viz., the
lower corners of each eye, two; at each return of the jaw just
underneath, two more; and at the point of the junction of the
two lower jawbones close to the under lip. Procure a saw and
saw the head off, so as to expose the brain. On reaching the
flesh under the jaw, shp the knife up between on each side of
the jaw, which will have the effect of pulling out the tongue
attached to the body ; preserve the tongue for further operations.

With a small chopper, or a mallet and chisel, cut away
part of the bone by the palate, between which and the skull
bones the brains are included. This considerably assists the
removal of the brain. A large quantity of flesh still remains
at the top of the head, which must be cleanly removed, and the
eyeballs taken out. You will then find just underneath the

132 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

eye a bony ridge, running backward to the base of the skull.
Surrounding this is a pad of flesh, which hides the attachment
of the lower jaw with the upper. By digging underneath with
the point of the knife you remove all this flesh, taking care,
however, not to cut the attachments of the skin close by, which
you previously left, nor the ligaments which hold the upper to
the lower jaw. Both sides being served in the same manner, the
skull presents a tolerably clean appearance.

The ears are now nearest to the operator. (You will recollect
they have been cut off inside). All you can see of them,
however, are two shapeless masses of gristle surrounding a
small hole. On the sides of each—farthest from the head—you
must begin cautiously skinning, and by pushing your left hand
through the aperture of the skin of the body, assist this with
your finger and thumb, pushed into the ear from the outside,
until by skilfully working with the knife and left-hand fingers
you turn the inside skin of each ear to its very edge and tip,
until, in fact, each stands up inside the skin, completely
reversed.

The next thing which engages your attention is the near fore
leg, which you skin as far as you can go, in this instance to the
next joint, the one above the carpus or wrist joint. Repeat this
with all the limbs, in each case removing all the flesh from the
two bones (the radius and ulna of the fore limbs and the tibia
and fibula of the hind), which together form those parts of the
bones you leave in. If not done previously, now is the time to
remove the tail bone. Finally, rvb every part of the skin on
its inside, as also all the bones left in, with the preservative
recommended for mammals (No. 9), not forgetting to push some
up the hollow of the brush where the tail bone has been.

Turn your fox’s skin completely inside out, skull, leg bones
and all, until it comes to its normal position. Commence now
from the pad of each foot, and make an incision from near the
toes to the point where you left off. Skin round carefully and
as much underneath as possible, so as to expose all the flesh and
sinews, which clear from off the bone. Be sure to push your
knife well round on the top of the bones, which you may do
by feeling with the knife and keeping the pad uppermost. This
is for the purpose of freeing the attachment of skin all round,

SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS. 133

to prevent ultimate shrivelling. You may get nearly to the
points of the toes in this manner, the only places it should hold
to the bone being the top of the last joint and at the tips of the
toes; the actual pad, which you will find loaded with a thick
fat, must be trimmed as well as possible. Whilst doing all this
take notice of the points of attachment and shapes of sinews,
&c., which you remove, especially those of the hind legs.

It will be recollected that although we have returned the
head, nothing has been done to the upper lip or nose from the
outside. Accordingly the knife must be slipped the whole way
round, beginning at the nose and keeping as close to the teeth
as possible, in fact, on the very edges of the gums. This is
important. Skin away now from the bone of the upper jaw
on each side; having bared this, come back to the nose, the
cartilage of which skin until you arrive at the extreme tip; in
point of fact, skin it entirely out, which is best done by cutting
a portion off inside, and then carefully skinning the little
bit which is left until the extreme tip of the nostrils is
arrived at. This requires great care, as the black skin on the
top of the nose is extremely thin. This is the very worst place
in which a cut could be made; and, although the cutting
out of the nose could be done in five minutes, the tyro will
do well if he completes it in half an hour. This being satis-
factorily ended, free the flesh from the bone, except at the
attachment previously left at the corner of the eye. There is
now a smooth and shiny skin between the upper lip and the cut
you made to free it from the gums; this is the inner skin of the
lips; the knife must, therefore, be slipped between this skin and
the outer skin, and it must then be carefully separated the
whole of the way round, to the extreme edge of the upper lip;
this requires nice manipulation and great care. This inner skin
now hangs down from the inner lip, and forms a bag, the uses of
which will be seen hereafter. There still remains the inside of
the bone of the nose to be cleaned out with a pointed knife.
The lower lip is now attached only at the extreme tip; this
must be cut away from the gum at that place and the knife
pushed underneath, by the side of the canine teeth, to still
further free the skin.

The skin is now ready for stuffing, when you have thoroughly

we
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134. PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

rubbed the preservative into the cut of the pads, and around
the eyelids, outside the ears, mouth, nose, and vent, or any
damaged parts. If the skin is allowed to remain for a night
as it is, it will be all the better, as it allows time for the
preservative to penetrate. Throw the tongue into a pickle of
tannin and carbolic acid (see page 77, No. 15), and there leave
it until wanted.

It will no doubt have been observed that I have used several
tools not previously mentioned as necessaries; my reason is
that I assume no one who aspires to become an amateur work-
man fails to provide himself with such everyday implements
as saw, chisel, chopper, hammer, pincers, rule, &c., the only
tool not in ordinary use being the “callipers,” which are made
of various patterns, and are used to take measurements of
breadths and depths in situations where the foot rule is useless,
such as spherical and cylindrical bodies. The price of a pair
of callipers need not exceed Is.

When the skin is sufficiently penetrated with the preservative,
lay it on its back ready for stuffing. First take hold of the
bone of the nose and push the skull into the skin, so that it
comes through the orifice of the skin of the body. The back
of the skull bemg now toward you, proceed to push tow into
the cavity whence the brains were removed, also in the cavity
of each orbit, between the articulations of the jaws at the
sides of the face, and the lower jJaw—in fact, everywhere where
the flesh has been removed, forming it as well as you possibly
can to the shape which existed previously.

When you have modelled this as well as the nature of the
tow will allow, return the head through the skin to its first
position. Next cut four strong wires of suitable size, one a
little stronger than the others and somewhat longer than the
whole of your skin, including brush. Point this wire at one
end and make two loops in it (each similar to that in Fig. 1,
page 18); one loop to occur about 4in. from the tail, and
the other up in the chest, near the junction of the fore limbs.
Spread a sufficient quantity of tow inside the skin to run al
the way along the back and up the neck to join the head.
Enter the point of the wire through the orifice of the skin,
push it up the lower jaw into the hollow part of the skull, and

Ry,

SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS. 135

holding the head in the left hand, calculate so that the wire may
come through the skin at about the centre of the head, about
3in. from, and above each eye.

Bear in mind that the skull being somewhat thick, it is
the more necessary for your wire to have cutting edges, as
before explained. Having pushed the wire through three or
four inches, cut off the point with your large pliers (Fig. 16,
page 58) to prevent injuring yourself, turning down the re-
mainder to prevent the wire pulling through again. Push
the other end of the wire right up the brush, to do which
you must bend it back on itself about halfway up, straighten-
ing up as you proceed. Next take four wires, somewhat longer
than the legs, and pointed at each end. Push one of these
right up the foot in at the pad, along the back of the leg,
and up into the body, pushing it through its proper loop on
the body wire, and twisting it round and round the same
with your pliers until it is firmly attached. Fill the cut pad
with chopped tow, and nicely sew it up to its normal shape.
Do the same with the three remaining limbs. You should be
able now to lift the fox by any one of the leg wires, and find
it support the remainder.

Having by this time determined the shape which the fox
shall assume—that is to say, if standing, running, or springing
on its prey—commence by gradually filling up the neck with
suitable pieces of tow, bending the head and neck as you
wish; 1m point of fact, shaping as you go on. Next work down
the chest, and then fill up the skin of the limbs with smaller
pieces of tow, endeavouring to keep to the characteristic shapes
of the thin and thick parts (various stuffing irons of different
degrees of thickness will have to be used during the process).
Having filled up the fore limbs, bend them to their required
position and go to the hind, disregarding the body for the
present.

The hind limbs have more character in them than the fore,
and are, in consequence, harder to model; be the more careful,
therefore, to pay particular attention to the proper develop-
ment of these limbs, bending them into shape during work,
and keeping the thighs nice and thin, and distinct from the
body. All the limbs being shaped, model up the various parts

K 2

136 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

of the body, not getting it like a sack, as is too frequently
the case, but producing those fine flowing lines which are so
necessary to ensure the perfect model of a zoological speci-
men. Lift your work up from time to time, noting where
inequalities appear.

The fox being now fairly well shaped, sew it up with a
three-cornered skin (or glover’s) needle and strmg. A board
is now to be procured, of the necessary length and thickness,
in which holes are to be bored to receive the leg wires, which
are then clenched underneath. This operation, no doubt, will
knock the specimen somewhat out of shape, which, of course,
is easily remedied, and having brought up the lhmbs to their
proper position, you will now address yourself to the formation
of the head and face.

This latter will possess but little expression, owing to the nose,
&e., bemg cut out. To remedy this procure a cork, which push
into the cavity whence the cartilage of the nose has been removed,
roughly shaping it, and covering it over with a pad of putty,
pushing some also into the skin of the nostrils at the same time.
The inner skin of the lips is still hanging down as a bag. Fill
this up with sufficient putty to allow for shrinking, sewing it to
the outer skin.

The lips may now be adjusted in position by sewing the upper
to the under, if the fox is to be shown with a closed mouth, or by
driving in “needle points” in various positions, if the mouth is
to be open, until these parts set. Fill in the orbits with putty,
attending to the eyebrows, reproducing the various muscles
underneath, and insert the artificial eyes. All that now re-
mains to be done is to push two pointed wires down the back
of the ears, and run them along each edge, finally pushing them
in the skin of the head, where required; the two loose ends being
twisted together at the top keep the ears in position.

The tongue, if intended to be shown, must be removed from the
pickle, cut on its under side, and skinned completely out to the
tips and to each edge. All the included flesh must then be cut.
away, and replaced with putty, the cut sewn up, and it is then
ready to be inserted in the mouth in the required position, when.
modelled into shape.

The animal being stuffed and mounted to your satisfaction,

SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS. iB Y/

you must bear in mind, that although you have perfectly cured
the skin—turning it, in fact, into a species of leather—you have
not rendered it proof against the attacks of insects; it must,
‘therefore, be washed over with one of the preparations given in
Chapter IV. |

The preceding method of skinning and stuffing an animal is
given, not because it is the most scientific, but because it is the
most satisfactory to the learner, and is, indeed, the method
which obtains with the majority of taxidermists. Though
perfectly efficient as far as it goes, it yet possesses the disadvan-
tage of allowing a certain percentage of shrinkage, and that
caused solely by the yielding nature of the tow used to fill out
the places where the muscles formerly rested. To an educated
eye this defect is at once recognised by the uneven contour of
the cheeks, superciliary muscles, and various parts of the limbs,
and also by the generally “wooden” appearance of the specimen.

The system on which I will now give a lesson is far more
tedious in its application, but certain in its effects, being, in fact,
substituting hard for loose stuffing, and differing from the fore-
going in one essential particular, viz., the modelling of the head
and limbs with a medium of an unyielding nature. To illustrate
this, we will take another fox or similar animal. After skinning
it, as in the foregoing lesson, you will, instead of leaving the leg
bones in the skin, cut them completely out down to the claws,
which may best be done by skinning down as far as you can,
cutting the bones off at the last joint, then making an in-
cision above the pads, and slipping the bones completely out;
this allows you to work right down to the last joint of the
phalanges or toes, at which point you cut the bones free.

The head is now to be considered. When it has been cut off
as before, skin down to the eyelids, and instead of leaving them
attached at the lower angles, cut them completely away. Now
take the skin off all round the skull, until the return of the
skin of the side of the mouth is arrived at. Skin well under
the jaw to the very tip, and now begin under-cutting at the
sides, coming up to the return angle—keeping, however, well
to the side of the skin. By cautious working you can skin in
between the inner and outer skins until you can touch the tips
of the lower teeth at the point of the jaw with your fingers.

138 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Coming along from here by the side of the lower jaw, you skin
by undercutting almost to the inside of the mouth, taking care
not to cut the thin membrane which holds at the extreme edge.
Still working along the lower jaw, come right up until you can
cut out, just under the eye, the top end of the return. Leaving
it attached by a thin membrane to the upper jaw, skin down-
ward toward the nose, and, by undercutting and using great
care, completely skin up to the nostril, which sever. Do pre-
cisely the same with the other side. The nostrils bemg com-
pletely skinned out, the skin holds just below them. Place the
head on the table, standing on the base of its skull, the ears toward
you. Take the nostrils with the finger and thumb of the left
hand, and with the knife (the broad knife will be found most
useful here) very carefully work all round until you arrive at the
extreme tip of the inner skin of the upper jaw, which is now
turned inside out, and actually rests below the under jaw. Your
cuts must be made a hair’s breadth at a time to get to the
extreme edge. By this time the severed nostrils will have fallen
some little distance underneath the under jaw. See, now, that
the lips, both upper and lower, as well as the inner angles of
the mouth, are skinned inside to the extreme edge at every point,
or all your labour will be thrown away. This operation is one
of the most nice and difficult in the whole range of skinning
operations, and is equally difficult to describe. Cut out the
cartilage of the nose, slip out the tongue, and generally trim
the head in the usual manner, and well rub in the preservative.
Tf you should find too much of the inner angle left far i in
the mouth it may be cut off.

If the head were returned now it would be seen that the lower
edges of the inside skin of the mouth were the only points of
attachment, and even there only to the edge of the teeth all
around them.

The skull bone being now only attached to the saat literally
by the “skin of its teeth,” you have the whole bone exposed ts
work on.

Fill up the orbits and hollow bone oz the nose with any loose
pieces of peat, to give solidity to the next operation, which is,
to cut pieces of peat in an artistic manner to represent the flesh
of the cheeks, the chin, the top of the head, and the cartilage of

SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS. 139

the nose. When the whole of these pieces are shaped to their
required measurements, attach them by string or wire to their
neighbouring bones in the manner which occurs to you as being
the best. Having well secured them, go over the whole with
plaster of Paris, mixed with water to the consistence of a stiff
paste, merely smoothing it as it sets, up to the required shape
with abroad knife. The plaster will soon set, and may be further
rasped or trimmed into shape. Plaster alone may be used, but
my reason for making a substratum of peat is, that if the former
only is used it renders the head unpleasantly heavy. The great
advantage which this system has over the former is that, by the
unyielding nature of the medium, nothing can possibly shrink
or shift, and though this plan is, perhaps, more tedious, and
certainly requires more skill in its execution, yet it is, as a
matter of course, far preferable than trusting to tow alone for
the formation of the head.

Finally, place some putty or clay in the ears, nose, and around
the skin of the lips, and pull the mask over the model.

Pad the body, and put in the central body wire as before,
also the leg wires, but in this system you add another, but
thinner, wire to come up the back of each of the fore legs and
the front of the hind, not attaching these wires, however, to any
point, but letting them come up into the body, and merely wrap-
ping them with tow to the large leg wires in the necessary
manner. This second wire partly supplies the place of the small
bone and muscles of each leg, and its natural appearance is con-
siderably enhanced by the application of putty or clay to pad
parts of the animal’s legs and feet. Being of a yielding nature,
until dry, putty or clay may be squeezed and moulded into
proper shape to give character to the various parts. In the
return of the sinews of the legs, make their peculiar, hollow
appearance by stitching through from side to side. Wrinkles of
the neck, &c., may be treated in the same manner. Finish as
before directed.

No shrinking can possibly take place in the most important
parts; hence the manifest advantages of this system; but as in
practice it requires some knowledge and experience, I have not
ventured to insist upon it previously, as it is too much to expect
a tyro to take it up until he is thoroughly grounded in the first

140 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

system. An amateur, however, who can skin and stuff fairly
may try this, and I am positive that he will succeed, and never
again return to the “ good old style” of ioose stuffing.

In cases where the animal (especially if small) is merely to be
lying down, three wires will sometimes be found sufficient,
namely, one long and strong body wire (with no loops) and two
wires for the legs, one of which will be run in at the right fore
leg and cross the body, and be pushed down the left hind leg and
come out at the sole of the foot, the other wire then crosses it
reversely. The body wire (having no loops) can be pushed in at
the head through a hole previously made with a bradawl. Hars
may be filled in with brown paper, cut to shape, instead of putty.
Pieces of wood, peat, or clips of tin may be cut to the form of
the ears, and used to block them to shape, from the outside.

A third system is for the smaller horned heads, such as deer,
goats, &c., which are begun somewhat differently, but are
afterwards treated in a similar manner. The usual way in
which horned heads are skinned is to cut them under the throat
right up to the jaw, turning the skin back, and then to skin
upward to the horns. This, though perpetrated by people
who ought to know better, is based on entirely false principles,
for a head when finished being hung usually at some height,
you have constantly before your eyes the hideous spectacle
of a chain of stitches (which no art can successfully hide)
running up the throat and under the chin.

The buck’s or goat’s head, being, perhaps, the most easily
obtained, I will take one as an example. Make an incision
exactly on the top of the head, running from the back of the
neck to just behind the horns; then make two cross cuts
up to their seats or “burrs,” and, pushing your knife down
at the side of the nearest horn, cut the skin entirely away,
keeping as close to the horn as possible—in fact, shaving its
edge. When you arrive just above the eye, while doing this,
you will find the ear hold back the skin considerably. Skin
it as much as possible on the top, and, putting your finger
underneath, cut it out as usual. Now you can work all round
the horn to join the cut at the back. Do the same with the
other horn and side, skinning away round the neck to the
under jaw and sides of the face until you find the skin of

SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS. 141

each eyelid holds. Skin this completely off, not leaving it
attached anywhere, as also the skin on the forehead where
it holds. Continue and finish in the same manner as the
fox’s head.

The skins of the heads of bulls, large stags, tigers, &c.,
are best taken completely off the bone, and the inside of the
lips, nostrils, eyelids, &c., afterwards skinned out and well cured;
‘the skull-bone may then be plunged in a copper full of water
and boiled out; this saves considerable labour, and also gets
the skulls nicely cleaned and free from grease.

The plan of taking the skin entirely off the head will be
found of the utmost advantage to explorers or collectors in
foreign countries, as the skulls may be numbered and a corre-
sponding number scratched on a tin, or written on a parchment
label, which may be tied through the eyehole of the skin.
The skulls being left loose, their skins may be packed in barrels,
and if well rubbed in with my preservative (No. 9), and looked
at occasionally to prevent mildew, they will, after the lapse
of many years, only need relaxing to make perfect specimens.
The usual way of sending horned heads home from abroaé
is to leave the skins attached to the skull, and the consequence
is, that at the various points of attachment the skin is im-
properly cured (often with the—worse than—useless arsenic),
and if they escape the inevitable knocking about they receive
in travelling, and get to England in fair condition, the hair,
when the skin is relaxed, sweats off, particularly at the very
places it should not, around the eyes, lips, nose, and ears,
and the labour of, perhaps, years of anxious collecting and
dangerous hunting is nullified.

I will now take a bull’s head as our subject, to illustrate
the method of mounting such heads. I will assume that a fair
piece of neck is attached to the head, and having skinned the
head completely off the skull and preserved it, proceed as fol-
lows: When the bone is sufficiently trimmed, should the meat
have been cut off, or dry, if the head has been previously boiled,
tie together the upper and the lower jaws at their points of
articulation behind the eye, by the aid of wire or string; tie
also the tip of the lower jaw to the nose in any manner that
allows the teeth to come in their proper position as in nature.

~ 142 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Attention to this point will give you a guide as to the length
of the model. The jaws being now rigidly fixed, lay the

Fig. 26.—SkULL oF HornED HEAD, BLOCKED READY FOR MOUNTING.

head down for a while, and getting a piece of inch deal of
suitable length, saw it to the shape shown in Fig. 26, which
also shows the method of attachment.

SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS. 143

Insert the part marked A inside the head up to the return
B; this being inserted exactly in the middle of the skull,
bore two or more holes through the latter at the forehead,
and make fast the bone to the wood by strong screws. Block
on each side of this board and inside the jaws with pieces of
peat nailed on with “French nails” (Points-de-Paris) or pieces
of pointed wire. At the place marked B (A to B being now
hidden) make up with wet plaster of Paris, which, while filling
up, serves also to steady the prop. Fill up the orbits with any
pieces of loose peat, paper, &&. Now carve a large piece of
peat for each side, cut to the shape of the cheeks, and attach
them to the jaw bones in their proper positions with wires
driven right through into the board, fill also the bone of the
nose with peat roughly cut to shape. Cut another piece of
peat for the swelling of the under jaw, and entirely model up
with peat the front and sides of the neck. Next mix some
plaster of Paris, and go over the whole of the peat with it,
bringing it up level to the bones, nicely smoothing it over
with a knife, and, as it sets, adding more where required, or
shaving it off if in excess—in short, replacing the flesh, where
it has been removed, with peat and plaster. The front view
should now present a somewhat even appearance; the nice
swelling of the cheeks being well rounded off, as also under
the jaws and on the top of the nose, &c.

Now draw the skin nicely over the model, taking care especi-
ally to get the eye holes in their proper places around the
orbits. This being a guide for the truth of that part of
the head, drive two wires through the skin, into the bone
above the orbits, tc keep it in its place. Sew the hair in
position round tke horns. Being now qualified to judge as
to the size of the neck-block, you will cut an oval, or rather
egg-shaped, piece of wood, out of inch stuff, to the required
size; this determines the breadth and length of the neck at
the back. The head-block of Fig 26 being cut off along the
- dotted line D, it of course stands to reason that if the neck-
board (Fig. 27) is screwed on to it along its centre, the head,
if the board is placed against 2 wall, will now look downwards
at the angle determined by the cutting of D.

Having firmly screwed the oval neck-block to the prop, or

144 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

head-block, in such a manner that the top of the oval does
not come above nor interfere with the modelling of the back
of the head, fill the inside of the ears with putty, and also
make up the back of the head and neck, with peat and plaster
of Paris between the wood and the skull. Having previously
cut the board somewhere near the dotted line E,the throat
and neck will now claim your attention, and will require the
nicest skill to show the various wrinkles, depressions, &c.,
where they should occur. Putty or clay as a finish will be
found of great service at this stage. Constantly turn the head

Fic. 27.—NxEcE-BoaRD FOR SEIN oF HEaz.

to the light, to see how you are going on. If a horned head
and heavy, many plans will occur to you for easily supporting
it, such as ropes attached to the horns, and to a beam, &c.
When all the head and back of the neck is adjusted to your
measurements, bring the skin over and around the edge of the
oval to its back, attaching it firmly there with strong tacks.
Nothing has as yet been done to the eyes, lips, or nose.
Turn, therefore, the bags of the skin of the eyelids inside out,
and, filing them with putty or clay, shape them and return.
Fill up the orbits also with putty or clay to receive the eyes,
packing up above and below them to show the various depres.

SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS. 145

sions and ridges. Turning the nose up, fill the nostrils and
bag of the lips with putty or clay, being careful to show up
all the wrinkles (the division in the chin, if one exists), and, in
fine, generally modelling and filling out with putty or clay, of
which you will use several pounds if you are working on a large
head.

Sew up the lips, or perhaps a better plan is to enter a skin
needle, charged with strong string, in at the lower lip, and
bring the string around wires driven in at the front and sides
of the nose inside, pulling your string over from side to side,
and making a final stitch in the most convenient situation.
Nicely insert the eyes, bringing the upper lids over, so as not
to give too staring an appearance to the animal, and hang the
head up to dry by firmly attaching a very strong hook of wire
to the oval block, or by a small rope tied round the horns at
their base. Note that the horns of goats, antelopes, &c., and
bulls and cows are set on a bony core, and must come off to
prevent an offensive effluvium. Placing the skullin a hot bed
has been recommended, boiling will sometimes fetch the horns
off, but it very often happens that nothing but time will loosen
them. When this occurs wash the cores and horns with carbolic
wash (No. 15, page 77).

The student may, if he likes, fill in the eyelids, bags of the
upper and lower lips, and nostrils with putty or clay before
drawing the skin on the head; but in this case he will have to
sew the inner to the upper skins, in addition to which he will
find many things occur in drawing on and shaping the skin to.
render ‘most of his labour useless if these parts are modelled
first instead of last.

The following system, the fourth, differs from all the preceding
in there being erected a sort of framework on which to mount
the skin, and hence is in use only for large animals. As an
illustration let us take the bear (which was the last large animal
I caused to be set up by this method).

Skin as before, subsequently removing the leg bones and
head, and modelling as in the second system, or working by
the first method, according to your degree of proficiency. To
do such an animal as a bear, however, you should remove all
the bones of the legs, and skin to the toes, as directed in the

146 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

second system, also removing the skull, and treating it and
the skin of the head as before. Procure now a piece of deal
2in. square, and of the length which you wish your animal
to assume when finished, calculating from the centre of the
chest to the tail. In this wood fix a strong iron rod, or wire,
at one end, by boring two holes through it at some distance
apart, and pushing the end of the wire in at one hole, then
beating it down and clenching it through the other. The
bar of wood now represents the backbone, and the wire the
neck of the animal. Point the wire and push it up into the
skull, which model up as before, binding tow round the wire
underneath to roughly form a neck somewhat smaller than
you intend it to be when finished. Pull the skin over this,
and adjust it so that you may see the places on the wooden
backbone where the fore and hind limbs will come. Having
marked the position of these, pull! back the skin up to the
neck, and bore holes through the wood, at right angles to the ©
other holes made for the neck wire.

Taking now four rods or wires for the legs, point each at
one end, and screw the other with “nuts” to fit the screws,
bend each rod for 7in. or more, at a sharp angle, at its screwed
end, and push the pointed end down the fore legs from the
inside, so that the points come through the ball of each foot,
and having stuffed and bent the fore-legs into shape, push
the screwed part into, and through, the corresponding holes
in the artificial backbone; screwing on the “nuts” on the
opposite sides, which will of course prevent the rods from
pulling through again. Finish the stuffing of the neck and
chest, and coming along the body repeat the same process
with the hind limbs as with the fore. Greater steadiness can
be attained if required, by using two “nuts” instead of one
to each rod, that is to say, one on each side of the wood,
No. 1 being screwed on first, the arm of the rod then pushed
through the hole, and “nut” No. 2 screwed up to its bearing.

For a nearly tail-less animal, such as the bear, it will be
sufficient to drive a strong wire through the stump of the
tail from the outside, to hold in the end of the “backbone,”
but a long-tailed animal will require to have the tail-bearer
inserted in the wood, in the same manner as the neck wire,

SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS. 147

and the artificial tail run up the skin before the legs are
attached.

The extreme stability of the foregoing system is obvious,
as the “backbone” completely supports the weight of the skin
and head, while the leg rods support this in their turn.

Wood of suitable thickness must be used to mount the animal
on while drying, and the leg rods, if too strong to clench
through on the under side, may be screwed and “nuts” attached.

For the very largest animals, such as the elephant, a some-
what different system would be adopted; a model in parts
would be made, fitted together, and the skin stretched over.
A very interesting account of the method adopted many years
ago in the French capital is here appended:

The corpse of the elephant having been extended upon the ground
facilitated our taking and writing all its dimensions; the thickness
was taken by a sort of rule, which M. Lassaigne, cabinet maker of
the museum of Paris, invented at the time. This instrument is the
rule used by shoemakers on a large scale. The curves of the back,
the belly, &c., were taken by bars of lead, #in. thick. This metal,
not having any elasticity, accommodated or bent itself to the curves
we wished to measure and preserved the measurements until wanted.
M. Desmoulins drew the animal on one of the sides of the wall
according to all these measurements, in the workshop where the model
was to be constructed, in its natural size. This done, we proceeded
to the skinning of the elephant, which we were only able to place
upon its back by four corded pulleys fastened to the platform. In
this position we made an incision in the form of a double cross; the
middle line went from the mouth to the anus, the two others were
directed from each left foot to the opposite right foot; the tail and
trunk were opened underneath longitudinally. We scooped out the
soles of the feet within an inch of their edge, that the nails might
remain in the skin; to effect this we were obliged to employ the
chisel and mallet. This operation was very difficult.

After four days’ labour of several persons we separated the skin
from the body; it then weighed 576lb. We extended it on the ground
to take away the cutaneous muscles which adhered to its interior—
particularly to the head. In this state the skin was placed in a
large tub; we spread a considerable quantity of pounded alum in all
its folds. We then boiled some water with such quantities of alum
that some pieces still remained at the bottom of the boiler—that is,

148 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

we more than saturated the water. This water was poured upon the
skin, and we continued to do so until the skin was covered with it
Gin. deep.

To render the dimensions of the model or shape which was to receive
the skin more exact, we modelled one-half of the skinned head in
plaster, as well as one of the hind and one of the fore legs.

All these measures being taken, Lassaigne constructed a factitious
body in linden wood. The reader would find the detail too long and
too minute if we were to describe the ingenious methods invented by
Lassaigne, either to cut the wood or to preserve the form he had
given to this great mass. But to avoid all prolixity, it will be suffi-
cient to observe that he composed this wooden elephant in such a
manner that all the parts could be separated.

He opened a panel (it is immaterial on which side of the body)
and introduced himself into the interior by means of this opening,
either to diminish the thickness of the wood or for any other purpose
during its construction; the head, the trunk, all was hollow; so that
the body, alarming at first from its supposed weight, might be easily
transported from one place to another.

After taking the alum water from the tub where the skin was placed,
we heated it, and poured it, boiling, on the skin; we left it an hour
and a half in this state, after which we drew the skin out to place
it, quite warm, upon the shape. This was not an easy thing, but it
was rendered still more difficult by our finding the false body a little
too large—the skin would not entirely cover it. There was but one
thing which could be done; we could not diminish the wood without
destroying the proportions; besides, the iron pins, the screws which
fastened the work, would have lost their hold, and we should have
run the risk of overturning the edifice. We then took down the skin,
placed it on trestles, and diminished the thickness of it by the heip
of large knives, cutting it away in thick and long shreds from the
whole of the inside. This work occupied five persons for four days.
We weighed these shreds and they amounted to 194lb. During this
operation the skin had dried, and consequently lost its suppleness.
We put it back into a tub and covered it with soft cold water. The
next day we placed it afresh on the shape, and fixed it with wire
nails and large brads; those which fixed the edge of the skin were
driven in deeply, the others only half way, to accommodate the skin
to all the sinuosities of the model. We drew out a great many of
them when the skin was sufficiently dry.

This paring of the skin answered our purpose in two essential points :

SKINNING AND PRESERVING MAMMALS. 149

first, by facilitating the means of enveloping the model entirely, the
form of which had not been altered; and, secondly, by ensuring its
speedy desiccation. This last had not been the least alarming, for
we feared that the humidity secreted in the skin might concentrate
in such a manner (notwithstanding we had taken the precaution to
give the wooden model a coat of oil paint) as to occasion mouldiness
in the parts exposed to the air. The alum with which it was saturated
soon crystallised on the interior, which at first gave it a very ugly
grey colour; but we entirely got rid of it by rubbing the surface
of the skin, first with spirits of turpentine, and then with oil of olives.

Some little hints which occurred to me as being useful to the
animal mounter I will now jot down: I have been frequently
asked, “Supposing I get a fat dog, or animal of any kind, to set
up, how can I manage sucha subject satisfactorily? If I leave
the fat on the skin I am doing wrong in every way, and if I trim
it cleanly off, as it should be done, I stretch the skin to such
an extent that my dog is completely out of shape, and though
formerly a ‘pug’ he speedily becomes a‘ greyhound.’ In fact,
I am in a quandary, and do not know what to do.”

My reply is: Try what a hot knife will do passed over the
skin, with sand or sawdust thrown on to absorb the fat as
it melts off. Candidly speaking, however, it is purely a
matter of experience to trim fat off a skin without stretching
it to any alarming degree, and in very fine-skinned animals,
if we find them stretch in spite of all care, we take advantage
ef wrinkles to sew up here and tuck in there, resorting even,
in extreme cases, to cutting away portions of the skin, notably
im those parts underneath, hidden by the subsequent operation
of mounting.

The skin of the soles of the feet of some animals requires
paring down. The bear is an instance of this. The hands
of monkeys also must be carefully skinned out to the extreme
tips of the fingers. These latter animals are best skinned
out from the back, as a great many of our “relatives” have
but little hair on the abdomen to hide the stitches, added
to which their usually upright position tends still more to
show up any defect in sewing.

Peat and straw may sometimes be used with advantage
in the bodies of large animals,

L

150 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Moles may be very well mounted by being cut across from
one hind limb to the other, just under the tail, skinned out,
preserved, and the skin then filled with sand or dry plaster.

Hedgehogs, if required to be curled up, may be also filled
with sand, then tied up in a cloth, and hung up to dry.

Bats are skinned out from the back or front according
to the position it is required to show them in. A thin piece
of wire is doubled; each end is then pulled out at right angles
for a certain distance up its length, and pushed into the
hollows of the bones of the “wings.” The animal is then stuffed
with chopped tow, sand, or sawdust, sewn up, leaving the
doubled wire outside; a hole is then made in a board (of the
length and breadth suited to the specimen), through which the
wire passes, and the “wings” are’ kept in place, until dry, by fine
needle-points, or entomological pins passed through the joints,
or by braces of cardboard. The ears, if long, are best blocked
with cork cut to fit the inside, and then bound round with “ wrap-
ping cotton.” The shrivelled ears of these and much larger
animals may be got into proper shape by careful ironing.

Mice, small leverets, or rabbits, will be found very useful,
if roughly stuffed, to place in the mouth or under the feet
of birds or small beasts of prey. These animals, if very
young, had better be placed for an hour or so in benzoline or in
one of the hardening solutions (Nos. 15 or 16). This remark
apples with especial force to animals as yet unborn, which
the naturalist will sometimes find during work, and will wish
to preserve. These fcetal specimens, however, let it be ~
remembered, are of the greatest consequence in the study
of embryology, and should always be preserved intact in
a fluid medium of some kind. Sometimes the operator comes’
across a fetus of some rarity, which, if not large, can be pre-
served in asmall “preparation” jar, filled with best rectified
spirits of wine, as being not too expensive for such subjects.

CEEME EIR Wl

MopeELtinc or ANIMALS BY SUBSTITUTION oF Cray, Com-
POSITION, PuastER Casts, oR Wax FoR Loose
STUFFING.

THE subject to be now treated of is of so varied a nature,
requiring so great a knowledge of anatomy, and so much
experience and aptitude, that I have deemed it advisable to
reserve for a separate chapter the explanations of the processes
to be learned, to avoid, at the outset, confusing the learner by
asking him to attempt too much. ‘This chapter may therefore
be considered a finishing one, and, perhaps, it will be best
to be candid, and say at once, that no one should attempt the
mounting of animals by this method until he has fully mastered
the principles laid down in the foregoing chapter, and has
learned the characteristic attitudes and expression of some
hundreds of animal forms.

It is quite true that this art—which has for its end and aim
the better delineation of character as exhibited by the lower
animals—is not teachable unless the pupil is well grounded in
anatomy, and is also aclever draughtsman and modeller—in fine,
an artist !—with all an artist’s perception of beauty of line and of
form. Iwill here indicate what I take to be the basis upon which
a competent taxidermist must proceed to become a zoological
artist. First, then, let him take lessons in drawing, pinning
himself steadily to copying pictures by the best masters of
‘goological subjects; as he advances, let him draw from the casts
-of animals, when procurable. Let him beware, however, of the
conventional lion, and lion’s head, which are akout as much like

L2

152 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

the real things as the donkey is hke the horse—just a family
resemblance, nothing more. Having done all this, let him copy
animals from nature; and if he lives in or near London, so much
the better, there is the “ Zoo” for him to study in. Indeed, it is
a marvel to me that, with the museums and the Zoological Gar-
dens 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
observed many points in animal anatomy not hitherto suspected
by him, and will naturally wish to know the why and where-
fore of the swellings and depressions occurring in his subjects.
To this end he must study a little simple anatomy of bones and
muscles—their objects and meanings in different animals. The
last stage is the reproduction, by modelling in clay, &c., of the
various parts of animals, the head, of course, in the instance
of large mammals, being looked upon as the chief motif in
composition. To do all this requires time and considerable
perseverance, but, with the facilities for study now offered by
the various schools of art, he should not despair of success in
a few years’ time after mastering the first principles of his art.

I will now proceed to demonstrate how the learner may work
himself up to a respectable proficiency in modenag animals,.
should he possess the necessary aptitude.

Let us divide our theme into three parts—First, mounting the
skin of the specimen, by using the skeleton as a foundation.

Secondly, mounting by means of a rough framework of wood
and iron, more completely than as instanced in the example of ~
the bear mentioned in the last chapter.

Thirdly, mounting on a model skeleton of carved wood and
iron, to represent, and to take the place of, the bones; somewhat.
in the manner described at pp. 147—148.

In each of these systems there is one point of resemblance,
namely, that the bones, or their semblances, are to be covered
with hard composition, of some kind or another, to replace the.
flesh and muscles, and that the heads of mammals being often.
of great beauty, and possessing certain characters of their own,
are to be copied first of all by one of two methods. Hither they
must be (1) cast as a “mould” from the dead head, and the
“return,” or model, again cast from that; or (2) modelled from.

MODELLING OF ANIMALS, ETC. 153

the dead head in clay, by the eye and by measurements, and a
mould taken from that, to be again cast into for the model. This
latter, though entailing three processes, is the more correct, and
gives the best result when the modeller is experienced; but as
the former is the easier, and leads up to better things, I must
describe it first.

We will take as an example the most difficult head to cast—a
horned head—considering that, if we do this correctly, all others
will be easy enough. Here, then, isa stag’s head, some modelling
or pipe-clay*, some soft-soap, a hundredweight or so of common
plaster of Paris at about 4s. per cwt., two pails, or rather zine or
galvanised iron buckets, one of them containing water.

The first operation, after beating up the clay, is getting the
nead into position; this will be easy enough should it be cut off
from the body, otherwise the head 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
“oumption” will enable the learner to cope with these small
difficulties, always remembering, however, that both body and
head must be immovably fixed during the process of casting.
Let us assume, therefore, the body arranged so that the head—
face uppermost—and part of the neck, rests on the table, firmly
fixed; supports, or stays of wocd, fastened at one end to the horns
by wires or cords, and at the other end by nails to the table,
will effect this. Thechin 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
just wnder the nostrils, but above the line of the mouth; smooth
the clay—vwahich should extend outwards some two or three
inches from the head—with water and a broad knife. The lower
half of the head is now hidden, mouth and all, up to just above
the upper lip. Next fill in the nostrils and the lachrymal sinuses
(the orifices below the eyes) with clay, but in a careful manner,
so that, although they shall be filled up sufficiently to prevent
the plaster from running in to make “ undercuts,” they shall

* Pipe-clay quite good enough fcr this purpose is sold by the pipe makers in dry blocks
or pieces, at about 6s. or 7s. per cwt. The clay must be soaked as wanted in a bucket of
water, and beaten up with a stick or ‘‘bat”’ until it is smooth, free from lumps, and of the
consistence of very stiff putty. It should then be formed into a square mass, and kept
damp by wet cloths.

154, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

still preserve @ certain shallow imprint of their origina! 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 head; build
up a wali of thin board around the clay—in the manner
described in Chapter VIII. on Fish Casting—and when practicable
tie a thin board just in front of the horns, so that the model may
end there. If, however, the back of the head down to the neck
is required—which it seldom is, for reasons explained hereafter
—it must be managed by “ piece-casting.” (See Chapter XII.)
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 the nostrils up to the back of
the head in a straight line. Be sure that the string is perfectly
straight, and that it presses closely to the nose before coming on
to the clay.

Next mix the plaster, not in the usual manner, by adding
water to it, but by half filling a vessel with water, to which the
plaster is added, a little at a time, until enough is mixed to
serve the purpose, 7.e., in sufficient quantity to cover 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 as the plaster is setting—
which a very little experience will teach—lift the ends of the
string upward through the plaster, which has the effect of cut-
ting it in two, but these halves will not fall off of their own
accord if care be taken. The mould being allowed to set for
about half an hour or an hour, according to the quality of the
plaster, is then ready for the next operation, which is the turn-
ing of the carcase, so that the head may also be turned upside
down. Previously to this, should the mould show the least sign
of coming off, it will be as well to tie it on. Supposing, how-
ever, that the wall of boards being removed, the head is suc-
cessfully turned until it rests with its centre on the table, it
may happen that the 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 of the mould,
may require propping. To describe the means for overcoming
such self-evident little difficulties as these, would only insult my ~

MODELLING OF ANIMALS, ETC. 155

reader’s judgment. The head, then, being now securely fixed
face downwards, the clay which hides the lower half must be
picked off. This exposes the inner edge of the mould, together
with the lower jaw. Scrape the plaster to a level surface, and
cut two moderately large V-shaped nicks, one on each edge of
the mould, build up around 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 of the plaster mould, until stopped by the
wall; build up thicker in the centre, as before, and suffer all to
dry for about an hour. After this, pull away the walls, and all
retaining clay, and the mould will easily come away from the
head in three pieces, 7.e., two for the upper surface, and one for
the under. The chief thing to guard against is not to get the
plaster behind the horns, so that it locks the front up. As,
however, you may require to cast more, in length, of the under
surface than of the upper, you may easily do this by lengthening
the upper surface, when turned over, with clay, and casting on
to that. It is this system which gives the diagonally-cut
appearance to the model (see Fig. 28).

You have now three pieces, forming, when trimmed and
put together, a concavity representing the place whence the
stag’s head has been extracted; bake these pieces in an oven
for a day or so until sufficiently dried, then examine them for
flaws or air-bubble holes, which &ll up with clay, brush over
inside with linseed oil or soft soap, tie together, and fix the
mould, nose downward, in a bucket or pail, pack with wedges,
and run in sand outside the mould to make all secure. Prepare
some plaster and pour into the mould at the opening and before
it is quite set, scoop out some tomake it hollow at the neck;
allow it to remain undisturbed for from two to four hours,* then
take it out, undo the string, and gently tap the mould in every
part with a small mallet, rolling it every now and then upon the
table; in a short time you will hear something rattle, and perhaps
2 little loosening of one edge or piece will take place; tap now

* Baking, when practicable, will often assist the parting of the mould from the model.

156 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

very cautiously, lest you should break anything ; soon one piece
will come off, which will materially assist your labour; take time
and have patience, and you will be rewarded by seeing a perfect
model of the stag’s head come out of the mould in due course. I
have said perfect, but I mean perfect so far as this system allows
of perfection. If you hold the model up to the light, or look down
upon it from above, 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 the plaster has
perhaps caused one eye to drop lower than the other, or twisted
the mouth aside, and given a different expression altogether
to that needed. What is to be done then? Nothing but
altering the model, by cutting and scraping it, until both sides
are even, casting again from the corrected model when necessary,
that is to say, when it is desired to get or to keepa very good
one for reference. Remember that the model is a little larger
than you require it, so that the hair marks, &c., 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 others of the same size may be
mounted from the model made from the shaved head. Skinning
the head first, and casting from the flesh, does not help the
amateur, as so many muscles and other characteristic parts
are cut away, that a model taken in this manner is often worse
than useless. What, then, is our way out of this difficulty?
Nothing but educating the hand and eye to the point of being
able to take a dead head, and, by knowledge of its living
anatomy, to model it in clay so truthfully as to far surpass any
other process whatever. I can, 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 representation of it;
wrinkles, muscles, and all—in clay.” To me, this is now far
the easiest thing to do, but I do not forget the time when I
used perhaps a ton of plaster in experiments, and wasted lots
more, and learned many little arts before I could mode!
correctly. Let this be a grain of comfort to the learner, that,

MODELLING OF ANIMALS, ETC. 157

although he must waste a deal of good plaster ere he sees
the “points,” and before he can model straight away, yet that
he has an advantage which I, as a self-taught man, did not
possess—the advantage of some htile practical advice, such as
is given in the pages of this work.

Now, “returning to our muttons,” it must not be supposed
that our omega is gained when the tyro has modelled by eye, and
by measurements, his first head in clay; this has to be cast from,
as if from the dead head, and the resultant model touched up,

39

Fic. 28.—StTae’s HEAD In PLASTER FROM CLAY MODEL.

where incorrect, by cutting and scraping when too large, or by
addition of clay when too small. Sometimes it will be necessary
to cast from this again and again, but in all cases the mould
and model should be managed as before described.

Assuming that the student has managed a cast to his satis-
faction, he wiil see, by looking at the accompanying cut,
Fig. 28, that the orbits of the eyes are shallow, that only the
upper line of the sinus shows, that the lips and nostrils are alsc
shallow depressions; all of these parts must be hollowed ows
or undercut. To do this we require a knife such as that figured

158 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

No. 12 in Chapter III., and three other tools, one a large crooked
awl (sharpened at one edge), in handle, and steel “ under-
cutting” and “relieving tools” * (see Figs. 29 and 30). With
these the eyes, nostrils, lips, &c., of the model, are relieved and
undercut, in order to take in the folds of the inner surfaces of the
skin of those parts. Be sure to hollow out the mouth upward
toward the nostrils, keeping it fine, however, at the lips, and
not opening it outward too much; the same with the nostrils,

Fig. 29.—STee, “* UNDERCUTTING” Too,

1G. 30.—STEEL * RELIEVING’? Toor.

looking to the dead head to note the beautiful curves which
can be treated so as to express, at will, rest, alarm, or defiance,
according as the under-cutting is managed; the eyes of the
model must be hollowed out and deeply undercut to receive the
hollow glass globes (see Chapter XII), and the eye pits (lach-
rymal sinuses) relieved.

* Messrs. Lechertier, Barbe, et Cie., of 60, Regent-street, London, have many patterns of
these tor plaster work, at a low figure.

MODELLING OF ANIMALS, ETC. 159

Although we have cast the head whilst attached to the body
in order to get our difficulties increased, yet we will now imagine
the stag’s head, with a long piece 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 ready, the dead head is now skinned, the skin being taken
entirely off the head, as described on page 141, and being “ double-
skinned” as described on page 133, washed and cured, is now
ready for mounting. First, however, the horns must be sawn
from the skull by cutting away a triangular piece of the bone
to which they are attached; drill this bone for two long screws,
by means of an American “ twist-drill,” fitted into an ordinary
brace. Next, the prepared model requires 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 apiece of “quartering,” 3in. x 2in., about
2ft. in length, cutting a channel in the under-jaw and the
back of the head to fit it, wedging up, and pouring in wet
plaster to make all secure. The head of the model should
‘be cut to receive the horns, leaving about half-an-inch or
more of plaster before coming to the wood. The quarter-
ing protruding below the neck must now be fixed in a vice, and
the horns screwed in their seats, the screws coming through the
plaster and 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 made up by the addition of more.
When dry the quartering should support the model with horns
attached, and all parts should be immovably rigid. Nothing
remains now but to thin the skin all over the inside in a careful
manner, remembering that the thinner the skin the better the
points of the model will show up. When finished, simply draw
the skin over the model like 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, not leaving a
thick edge outside. The ears now require blocking; to do this
many taxidermists run a wire all around each ear from the
inside, or put cardboard inside, sewing another piece outside by

160 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

the edges to give shape. Neither of these pians is, I am sure,
equal to my method of cutting a zine plate to the full size of the
ear—when flattened out—and inserting it between the skin,
pushing it well up to the tip; afterwards it may be elevated or

Fic. 31.—Bacx View or MopeEet witu Neck Brock INSERTED.

A A, the Horns attached to piece of Skull; B B, the Model; C, Quartering on
which the Model is mounted.

depressed, and moulded to any shape, or to any degree of con-
vexity; a little clay placed at the base of each ear improves its
shape, and assists to fix it in position. The last thing to be done
is to cut the “quartering” to the length and angle required, te

MODELLING OF ANIMALS, ETC. 161

determine upon the shape and size of the neck, and to fix the
neck block (see Fig. 27) to the “quartering” by screws. Try
the skin of the neck for length and shape, and then fill up each
side of the block with peat nailed on, over which pour wet
plaster, making up the back of the head 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 the skin off and on several times to get the
shape to suit, and you will have taken precautions not to break
away the thinly carved parts around the mouth, nose and eyes.
The very last operation is sewing up; this is done with a “skin”
needle (glover’s needle) and strong hemp, double and waxed;
commence your stitches at the skin in front of one of the
horns, bring it around 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 “tell,” other-
wise, as the skin dries, the horns will be left bare around
the “burrs,” and ugly gaps appear. The neck being sewn up, is
to be nailed around its circumference to the neckblock by strong
tacks. The skin of the face is, perhaps, a little out of posi-
tion; 1t must be properly arranged on the model, and wire
points of suitable size, filed up from galvanized wire, must be
driven into the eye-pits, inside the corners of the mouth, the
nostrils and ears, 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 way, and also because the room is always
warmest near the ceiling; two centre-bit holes of different sizes,
forming a kind of keyhole, may be drilled in the centre of the
neck-block, or strong wire bolted in the form of a loop near
the top to hang it up by. Be sure all is sound and firm, as
also the nail on which the specimen hangs, otherwise your
own, or your stag’s, head may come to grief. Plaster heads being
very heavy at first, before 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 astounding, however, to observe how very light plaster.

162 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

becomes when thoroughly dry; clay of the same sized model is,
on the contrary, exceedingly heavy—more than twice the weight
of plaster. Sometimes it may be necessary, if wanting a frill
of hair, or what not, to be conspicuous, to keep it in position
until dry, by brushing on paste, or thick clay water, 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 other similar heads may be
blocked best by the process sketched out as relating to Figs. 26
and 27: and finally attached to suitable shields (see Chapter
>:GUGl)

Looking at the skeleton of the otter, Plate III., we at once
observe that it is placed in the position it assumed when the
animal was alive 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, that of the hon. Hence we shall be enabled to
refer to it, from time to time, as being sufficiently our guide to
the mounting of these animals. We will not be too ambitious to
begin with, and will, therefore, take our old friend the fox for our
first lesson. This is the animal sure to be selected by all learners,
and the reason is not far to seek—it being of a manageable size,
not too large nor too small; an animal, moreover, of a pictur-
esque habit of body, and about whose death more or less of
mystery hangs—this mystery so dear to the imagination of the
youthful amateur! In some places the death of the vulpine
robber of hen roosts is hailed with delight, and people are to be’
found even—oh, horror !—willing to grasp in friendship the hand
of the slayer. In such a county as Leicestershire, foxes are not
“accidentally ” killed, but when so, what bewailings over the “late
lamented!” what anathemas upon the villain’s head who is sus-
pected of “vulpicide”! If it were not so serious a matter, one
would 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
presence of a sympathiser with a man who wantonly killed a far
too sacred fox, which gobbled up the aforesaid man’s ducks and
fowls. Let this sad relation be a warning to all who look with
acquisitive eyes on the scented jacket of our “Reynard.”

MODELLING OF ANIMALS, ETC. 163

Moral, procure your specimens from the Highlands, where they
are not worshipped, nor protected, with a view to being hunted to
death afterwards. |

Having procured our specimen, we lay it in state on the
modelling table, and, having decided to mount it by the first
process mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, viz., by
using the skeleton as a 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 discard the skull if we choose, making a
model of the head in a similar manner to that of the stag, but
with the difference that now, our specimen not being horned, will
make a mould and model much more easily. We decide, then, to
keep the skull as part of the skeletal foundation. Skin out the
animal in the usual manner, as described in the last chapter,
with these differences, that the skin must be split on the under-
neath, 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 these five cuts the body is released
entirely from the skin, the head being cut off at the nose, and
the feet at the claws; nothing, therefore, of the skeleton re-
mains in the skin but the cores supporting the claws. Measure
the body now carefully for size, &c., and treat the skin in the
manner indicated at page 134 (first six lines), and turning
to the body, disjoint the hind limbs at the junction of the
femur with the pelvic girdle, and the fore limbs at the junction
of the humerus with the scapular arch (see Plate III). 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 (IM), 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 the body. You now possess the
complete skin, and also the bones J, J, K, iS and NWO} PQ,
together with the skull and the four other bones, or their sem-
blances. Having properly cured all these parts, we will for this
lesson take the skeleton of the otter and its attitude as our
guide.

Our first care, then, is to provide a block of wood, similar

164 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

to that in the illustration, for the animal to stand on; the
length and width of this are, of course, determined 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 in. or in. deal to represen.
the body—now thrown away—figured in the plate as D, EH, F,
and R; the shape as shown in Fig. 32 will be found the most
convenient.

To this attach, by bolting, a thick wire, to represent the
neck (C), and of sufficient strength to carry the weight of
the head, also another thinner one to take the place of the
tail (G). At the point M nail two small blocks of wood on each

Fic. 32.—FaLsE Bopy OF WooD, WITH NECK AND TAIZ WIRES ATTACHED,

side of the body-board, in order to slightly raise from its surface,
and also attach thereto, the scapulars; do the same at H, re-
membering that the thickness of the blocks with bones attached
determines the width of the chest, &c. Bore holes along D,
through which thrust stout wires to represent the ribs, bending
them into position, and bringing them over the edge of R, and
bolting each end into one or the other of the holes along its
lower surface. The wires must, of course, be cut of sufficient
length to go right through the holes at D, to form both sides of
the ribs, ere being finally bolted in the holes at R.

We now have a cage, as it were, of wood and wire, terminating
in two long wires, in which state we leave it for the present. The

MODELLING OF ANIMALS, ETC. 165

next process is to drill the leg bones (I and J, and N 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. Next drill the
bottom board to receive the wires under the feet, where shown
at I and Q; when firmly bolted underneath bend the rod with
attached bones into the positions shown on Plate III. Bend
the upper portion 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 between the limbs, pushing the
top wires—now at right angles—through the holes drilled to
receive them, bending these down on each side. We have now a
rough but fairly correct image of the skeleton without a head.
Taking now the natural skull (A B), we open the jaws as
much as desired, and filling in the cavities with paper and
tow, perfect the shape by modelling with clay to replace the
flesh. Fixing this on the wire, C, we make up the neck with
tow and clay, binding the 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.” +
Before this is done, however, it will be as well to interlace the
wires with tow, laid on as a thin sheet, and glued; be sure of the
shape now—if ever; let the cage be widest 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 tow at E, keeping this part narrow underneath ;
bind the tail, G, thinly with tow, gradually thickening it as it
approaches F’; cover all these parts with clay where required.
The fore and hind limbs, especially the latter, require very careful
modelling. To do this properly measurements and tracings of
the shapes should have been taken. Bind tow around all, to
roughly represent the form, and then artistically adjust clay to
represent the muscles and flesh. The appearance presented now

* In cases where drilling is impracticable, it will be sufficient to firmly lash the bones to
the rod in the position which they should occupy during the subsequent modelling.

+ ‘‘Flocks” and sacking are the harbouring places of Tinea Tapetzella, L., a destructive
little moth, the ravages of whose larvz once cost me all the “‘soft’”’ parts of a sofa, besides
filling the house before discovery with the perfect insect—eager to perpetuate its race at my
expense.

M

166 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

should be as a clay model—without hair—of the specimen taken
in hand. Nothing now remains but to take the skin, properly
thinned down and prepared, and try it over the model, altering
the latter where it is too large or too small. Perhaps it may be
necessary 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
clay where wanted, noticing that, in the position you are now
working to, the neck will hang low, and rather fine in front,
between the fore limbs, and that the flanks will be tucked
up. Go on sewing up until you are at the point behind the
shoulders, including the fore limbs in this; pad the skin at
the toes with clay, to replace the flesh previously cut away.
Leave this now, and go to the tail end; bend the wire down,
and 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' ard H. This leaves you the remainder
of the body to finish, and also gives you a chance to dispose
of any loose skin about that part. The clay and wire, being
both amenable to any alteration, can be beaten into shape
where required. Finally, sew up, and if your modelling is
correct all the remainder must of necessity be correct also.

To keep the skin in position on the model, tack it down with
galvanised wire points, or by stitching it through in places, such
as occur in the neck and various parts of the limbs. These wires
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 specimen must
be thoroughly dried before it can be finished off by modelling the
inside of the lips and palate with wax or cement (described in
Chapter XII), or before the model tongue is inserted.

The foregoing thus describes the method which may be adopted
to educate the tyro to a correct idea of the osteology of his.
subject, and, by analogy, to the osteology and relation of parts
of many others. Itis practicable 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 substituted for the natural
skull, unless the teeth, &c., are required to be shown. Model

MODELLING OF ANIMALS, ETC. 167

teeth carved from bone, or from wood, subsequently coloured,
are sometimes inserted in model heads, but this is not recom-
mended.

The next part of our theme deals with mounting skins from the
“flat,” when no body or skeleton is forthcoming, and is practised
by masters of the art, who know by experience the various
positions assumed by their subjects when in a state of Nature.
By this means large animals, such as tigers, lions, bears, &c.,
may be mounted from skins sent home from abroad. The skin
having been relaxed and thinned (see Chapter X.),is put over
the model in exactly the same manner as described for the otter.
The model is, however, now determined by the 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 tracing is made with red chalk on
boards kept for that purpose, or on sheets of brown paper.
These are afterwards corrected by eye, or by the aid of smaller
drawings or good prints. Inside this large finished tracing
trace an irregularly-shaped long oval, quite two inches smaller
all the way round than the tracing of the skin itself. Cut this
out in stiff paper, and from it shape up one or two boards of
lin. to 13in. 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-angled crook
where they first spring from the board, to represent the scapular
and pelvic arches, then bend each one (more or less) at each
joint (see Plates III. and IV.) according to the attitude desired.

Insert these rods at the feet through a strong base made of
lin. or 13in. boards, remembering that, if the projected attitude
of your model demands the fore-feet raised, you must nail
“quartering” on end, to which attach a platform of board of
the requisite height. Fix two medium sized or one very strong
rod for the neck, and one moderately strong for the tail. 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 3in.
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; let this be kept somewhat

M 2

168 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

smaller than you wish it, in order to allow for its subsequent
covering with clay. From this proceed to model the limbs as
before, using plaster over the tow, and clay over all; next
arrange the tail, and, lastly, fix on the skull, if you possess it, or
the plaster head, which has been modelled and cast in the same
manner as the stag’s head. The skin is then fitted on as before,
with the difference that the head part, which, perhaps, is split
right through the chin, and the tail, split up its whole length,
will come on more easily, but will of course require more sewing
up. When finished, adjust the claws, the mane, the ears
(blocked with zine 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
mouth, being no doubt destitute (in a “ flat ” skin)
of their inner lining (the mucous membrane), must
have this replaced by wash leather sewn all
around to form the “bags” of each side of the
lips, previously mentioned, at pp. 137-188-145.
These ‘‘ bags” are then filled with clay or model-
ing wax, and when the skin is put on over the
skull, are pinched into proper shape and attached
by their inner edges to where the gums should
be, or around convenient teeth by stitches, or by
strong wire points driven into the bone, in the
manner which will best commend itself to the

Fig, 33.—Sec- learner. Sufferit to dry, looking at it from time
ie ite “ro to time, and when perfectly dried model the
Rom = **%* palate, &c. (should the animal be represented

open-mouthed), in the manner described in Chapter
XII. So great amass of damp clay used on these large animals
is apt to crack; paper may advantageously be pasted over the
‘ whole surface before the skin is put on, which will stick wel
and not interfere with the modelling.

Plate 1V. represents a lion mounted by this method: A, B, the
skull; C, the neck rod (sometimes two); D, H, and F, the body-
board; G, the tail rod; and 1, 2, 3, and 4, the rods representing
the parts H, I, J, K, L, and M, N, O, P, Q, in Plate III.

The last process of all is mounting, by means of a model
skeleton of carved wood, supplemented by iron rods. Thisisa

=

Bevaie fl

Ye

IN” W,
. :
ee

fi

al

6c FLAT,”

LION MOUNTED FROM THE

SHOWING POSITION OF ‘‘BODY BOARD” AND LEG IRONS, &C., BUT WITHOUT FALSE RIBS.

a
*»
eS sid
-
’ J *

MODELLING OF ANIMALS, ETC. 171

system which requires a slight 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, having both
skeleton and flesh, it is desirable to retain the former as an
osteological preparation, and to treat the skin as a taxidermic
object. Supposing, then, we have a lion in the flesh, our first
care must be to determine upon the position and attitude it is to
ultimately assume. Not to perplex the student 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 platform just raised from the floor of the studio,
when by propping and judicious management we make it, al-
though lying on its side, assume the position we require. We
carefully measure and take a rough tracing of the whole. The
muscles are now worked up into position, and moulds taken
from them, or from such parts of the limbs as we require.
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 Chapter XII),
assists us here. From these moulds we cast reproductions of
parts of the lion, which will be patterns for, and greatly assist
us when, ultimately modelling up. The animal is now skinned,
and the skin prepared in the usual manner, 7.e., stripped en-
tirely from the body, cured, and thinned down. ‘The 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 IIT.), are copied by carving
in lime-tree or beech wood.* These models are then sawn longi-
tudinally in halves, and each half hollowed out to receive, and to
be either tied, or wired on to, the rods—l, 2, 3 and 4 of 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 tow previously used to bind over the
rods. Clay or other substances is worked over these ‘“ wooden
bones,” and the finishing processes are the same as the last.

The skeleton must be carefully mounted and articulated,
as described in Chapter XII. Be careful to get the ultimate
phalanges of each limb out of the skin, and by careful

* Bones can be cast in plaster quite as easily as anything else, and often take the place of
carved wood.

172 PRACTICAD TAXIDERMY.

management we shall also be enabled to get the bony core from
the claw, and thus reap the advantage of having two specimens
instead of one only.

Large fishes—such as sharks; or reptiles, such as very large
alligators and crocodiles—may be mounted by slight modifications
of any of the foregoing processes.

Often hardened wax, linseed oil and plaster, plaster composi-
tion, modelling wax, cobbler’s wax, shellac, or what not, is used
torepresent the muscles and “flabby” parts. Wax is also used to
paint over the mucous membrane, where shown or exposed. All
this will be found fully expiained in Chapter XII, thus explod-
ing all the rubbish talked, and written, about ‘‘secret” or
“patent” compositions, which, when put on soft, will ultimately
dry as hard as marble. These wonderful “secrets” may be
summed up under three heads—Clay, Plaster, and Wax!

CHAPTER VIII.

SKINNING, PRESERVING, AND Mountina Fisu, Anp
Casting Fisures IN Puaster, &c.

FisH being, perhaps, the most difficult things in the range of
taxidermical science to set up in a satisfactory manner, I would
impress upon the amateur to take particular note of their
peculiarities of shape and colour, and to practise upon any easily-
obtained and tough-skinned fish, such as the perch, which is,
indeed, one of the best of all subjects for the purpose.

However, as I have now before me a pike of over 11]b., I will
take it to illustrate this lesson.

Provide yourself first with skinning knives (see Figs. 11—13)
and a tool previously figured, which I call the undercutting
knife or scraper (see Fig. 29). It is best made by an artisan, but
may be roughly fashioned by beating out a square piece of
steel (a worn-out, narrow, flat or square file will furnish this),
while hot, to a flat surface at one end, turning it at right angles
for about an inch, and filing each side of this return, as also the
point (the latter previously rounded) to a cutting edge, and
afterwards giving it the requisite hardness by “tempering” it in
oil. Many tools used by the gun stockers are to be bought ready
made, which will fulfil all the requirements of this tool, but it
is so easily made that I consider anyone with the least
mechanical ability should be able to make one. The object of
this tool is to run in under bones and to cut and drag out pieces
of flesh through small openings.

Measurements being taken and a board provided on which to
trace the outline, select the best side of the fish—by which I
mean the side most free from bruises or “gaff” marks. Cover

174 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

this with thin paper (cap paper) or muslin, which readily adheres
by the natural mucus peculiar
to fish. This process, it will
be seen, keeps the scales fast in
their seats during the operation
of skinning, and gives also a
“set,” as it were, to the skin. The
fins and tail must not, however,
be allowed to dry until the fish is
finished. To avoid this and the
consequent splitting of these
members, keep them constantly
damped by wet cloths or tow
wrapped around them.

Lay the worst side uppermost,
and then cut the skin from head
to tail in a straight line. A mark
called the subdorsal or lateral
line is an excellent guide for
this. With a strong pair of scis-
sors,— or rather shears— cut
through the scapular arch (the
large bone beneath the gills (see
Fig. 34, A). Slip the knife
under the edges of the cut skin,
and lift the skin the whole of
the way up at about an inch in
on both sides of the cut. Having
carefully separated this from the
flesh, take the broad knife in
your hand, and, holding the skin
lightly in the middle, with a
scraping motion of the knife on
the skin free it from the flesh.
If the knife is held in a proper
manner, slanting inward towards
you, this will be done very easily.
Take care, however, when ap-
proaching the fins not to cut outward too much, or you will rip

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i
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fi
pail
ntl
Ht

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wat
gl
PHT

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Fic. 34.—DIAGRAM OF PIKE, SHOWING SKIN REMOVED ON ONE SIDE FROM LOWER HALF OF Bopy.

SKINNING, PRESERVING, AND MOUNTING FISH, ETc. 175

them out of the skin. Fig. 34 shows the point where we have
arrived, B being the loosened skin and C the flesh de-
nuded of that skin. »

Skin out the remaining part up to the back, holding the knife
in the same manner; the fish is now half way skinned, and hold-
ing only by the fins. Slip the scissors carefully underneath the
bones of each fin and cut them away from the inside. Do
not be afraid of leaving a little flesh attached, as this can be
easily cut away from the inter-spinous bones afterwards, it
being better to have too much flesh attached to them than to
find you have cut the skin through on the other side. Itis a
matter of little importance as to which fin you cut away first;
but let me assume that you begin at the under anal fin, and,
having cut this away carefully, you now find that it is still held
at a little distance above it by the orifice of the vent. <A great
deal of care is required here to cut the attachment away so as
not to pierce through to the outside; a piece of wool comes in
very handily to push in, to stop the flow of blood, &c. Now
turn your attention to the only fin on a pike’s back, the second
or lower dorsal one, which cut away in the same careful manner
as before. Working down toward the tail, get the broad knife as
much underneath as you can, and then push the fingers under-
neath until they meet, and thus gradually free the flesh from the
skin almost up tothe extreme end of the caudal fin (or tail).
Insert the point of the large shears underneath, and cut the
bone and flesh completely through at a distance of about lin.
from the last joint of the vertebre at the tail; this leaves a
little flesh attached to be subsequently cleared out. Leaving
this, go now to the head of the fish, and, holding down the skin
of the back, which is now flat on the table, run the fingers of the
right hand, especially the thumb, right down the whole length of
the fish to the tail, in order to loosen all from the underneath to
the front of the fish, when the whole will be free up to the two
ventral fins, which you may cut away, as it were, with your
finger nails, leaving the attached flesh to be trimmed away
afterwards. The only part which now holds to the skin is that
near the head, as also the under one of the pectoral fins; this
latter must be carefully cut away, as the skin is very thin about
here, and is rather awkward to get at. Now let the fingers of

176 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

both hands come into requisition, and let them meet under the
head. Regaining the large knife, with it sever the bone of the
head, cutting toward you. If this is properly performed, the
cutting edge of the knife will touch the gills; be careful in this,
that your knife does not slip and go too far into the underneath
skin. Various internal organs will now appear, holding fast to
the skin; these must be cut through with the knife, and the
effect should be that the whole of the body comes out in a piece.*
For larger fish, say one of 201b. or more, I recommend splitting
the flesh longitudinally or vertically, and getting out each sec-
tion separately.

The skin now being free from the body, scrape away all the
small pieces of flesh that are still adhering inside the skin,
down the centre, and around the fins and tail. Those fin-
bones (inter-spinous bones) which protrude inside may be
cut fairly short with the scissors, and the flesh nicely scraped
off from each side. What flesh is left on the tail must be care-
fully cut away with the aid of the knife, scissors, and shears,
care being taken also to free the bone to the very end, and yet
not to disturb the scales underneath. A considerable amount
of scraping, coaxing, and undercutting will have to be done here.
Having well freed the fins of flesh, turn your attention to the
head: make a cut along the side of the under jaw, then cut away
the gills at their top and bottom attachments and pull them out,
if you do not wish them ultimately to show. When this is done
you will become aware that there is still remaining a piece of
the vertebra leading up into the head; take the large knife and
chop it to the underneath ; it will then lft up, exposing what
little brain the fish has. Cut this piece off before it enters the
palate; and then, by clearing away a little flesh, you come to the
eye, which take hold of with your finger and pull out. You will
now see several small cavities filled with flesh running upto the
sides of the face, cheeks, &c. The scraper or undercutting knife
will now come into use, and small pieces of flesh must be
laboriously cleared out. After this tool has well loosened and
partly cut away the intervening flesh, the fingers may be
advantageously used to work with, by being pushed in at the

* The beginner may, however, for greater facility of handling, cut the body of a large
fish into sections, and remove them piece LY piece as he progresses.

SKINNING, PRESERVING, AND MOUNTING FISH, ETC. 177

orbits of the eyes, to pull out the loose pieces of flesh. (Note
that, in doing this, it is as well to be careful not to cut your
fingers with the edges of the small bones of the head, nor with
the palatal or lingual teeth.)

The operator must not forget during work to keep the fins
well damped, otherwise they rapidly dry and split, as I have
before observed.

Running between and from the pectoral fins a thick, fleshy
process continues right up underneath the jaw. As the included
flesh is contained in a remarkably thin silvery skin, extra-
ordinary care is necessary in freeing this from the flesh, so the
knife, the scraper, and the fingers will all have to come into
play. It is held at the extreme end under the jaw by a thin
bone, which, though skinned to its under part, must not be cut
away, but left slightly attached.

A little sand at this stage is useful to rub the fingers in, to
prevent them slipping, when pulling out small pieces of flesh.
The pectoral fins are, of all, the most awkwardly situated to skin
out, coming, as they do, at the bottom of the pectoral process,
and they must be left with their bones attached, and the flesh be
scraped away from between the two fins, and underneath each
one, until nothing remains. Carefully attend to the latter part
of these instructions, cr the final result will be anything but
creditable.

Some flesh now lies between two skins along the sides of the
fish’s gums, between the tongue and the teeth; a hole must ke
cut inside at the back part cf the head below the eye, the
erooked scraper inserted, and ail the flesh dragged out bit by
bit. Remember, this is merely a thin membrane, and the slightest
awkwardness ruptures it; in large fish, however, the finger may
be introduced with advantage, to pull out pieces of flesh. Many
taxidermists cut the whole of this away, and replace it with
plaster; but if the fish’s mouth is to be left open it never looks
so well as if done by this method.

Cut under the tongue from the outside, and scrape out the
flesh, fill up with putty, and sew up neatly.

To stuff the fish, procure a thick piece of wire somewhat
longer than the body, bending one end, to form a large oval-
shaped loop, to be afterwards pushed up as a bearer into the

178 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

head. Atsome little distance from this (which will be determined
by the size of the fish), form a smaller loop, to which, by twisting,
attach a short piece of wire a size smaller than the main bearer.
At some distance from this—near the tail—form another small
loop, to which attach in the same manner another piece of wire.
Cut off the end of the main wire, so that when pointed and
pushed through it will fall just outside the bone of the tail. It
will no doubt be obvious to the reader that this forms an
artificial backbone. The large oval or pear-shaped loop at the
one end is intended to be pushed in to support the head, and,
in the present method, also to help the formation of the model.
The loops and attached wires are te support the body, and also
to bolt it to the back of the case when finished. The pointed
end is to push into and support the tail.

1 should have previously mentioned that this wire backbone
should be made before the fish is skinned, as you then have a
correct guide to position of bearing wire, and, more e Important
still, a guide to the extreme length of the fish.

Round this wire, wrap paper, glued, or tied with string, until it
is a little less than the body of the fish previously taken out;
when this is done, cover over with tow well tied on with hemp,
until it has arrived at almost the shape and size of the body—
being, in fact, the shape of the fish without head or tail—lay this
down and thoroughly anoint all parts of the fish. Stuff out the
now hollow sides of the face, gums, and the underneath of the
throat with putty, of which push some thick pads underneath
the root of the tail and all about the fins; next lay a thin skin of
putty over the whole of the skin on the inside.

Wet plaster is commonly used for this, but I prefer putty, as
not being quite so heavy, and as affording also a more agreeable
agent to work with. Another objection to plaster, used in
quantities, is that the heat it evolves in drying has a tendency to
make the scales rise.

The next thing to be done is to insert the body. Pushing the
sharpened end of the tail wire through the bone of the tail, bring
it up on the inside. Now drill a little hole with a straight awl
through the bone of the scapular arch, and with a strong needle
and thread join that part together. The next hole should be
drilled through the uppermost gill-cover, through which pass the

SKINNING, PRESERVING, AND MOUNTING FISH, ETc. 179

needle; then commence, travelling downward, to sew the skin
together, taking care to go inward a sufficient distance from the
cut edges with the needle and thread, and yet not allowing the
edges of the skin to overlap.

This requires patience, and a little coaxing together of the
edges of the skin. As you go on, see where your fish appears
out of shape on the upper side, which is a pretty good guide—
but not always so—for the under, or show side. If the defect is
serious, insert a little more putty, followed by a judicious
application of tow, which will push the putty to the under side
where you most require it.

It is sometimes expedient, after having sewn half-way down,
to begin to sew up from the tail end, so as to meet the other
stitches. A fine “skin” needle must be used.

After it is entirely stitched up there will still be little places
which will require deepening and filling up. A little tow,
pushed in any interstices which may be left between the stitches,
will soon rectify this, and also help to shorten the fish, which, in
a first attempt, is almost sure to be made too long. This is im-
portant, as a well-fed pike should be of some considerable depth,
and not a lanky monster like a snake. A little gentle tapping
with the handle of the stuffer on the upper surface is sometimes
advisable. Get the back almost straight, and, having brought it
nearly to your measurements, you may lift the fish by the two
wires, but in a very careful manner, to examine the show side,
and there note any little defect. Of course, you must constantly
alter your position.

Carefully lift the fish off the board, still keeping the sewn side
uppermost, and measure the distance between the two upright
wires, and make corresponding holes in the board, which push
down on the top of the fish, bringing the wires through,
and bending their ends down upon the board, so that the
specimen may be temporarily rivetted thereto. Place your
hand carefully underneath the head of the fish, and turn the
board over. You have now the fish right side uppermost.
About the head some little extra stuffing will doubtless be
required, and, as the putty will have got a little out of place
in the process, it must be replaced, and the head and neck
made up nice and square; also look to the tail, and put that in

180 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

proper shape. Gently press the skin all over with the hands,
deftly patting it with a small piece of smooth flat board to
reduce any lumps, and to get the putty to work evenly over the
surface. Get some short wires and set the head, with the mouth
open as much as you require. One wire may be pushed through
the nostril, another may go under the tongue, and a third
parallel to it beneath the under-jaw. Arrange the teeth, some of
which you will find loose, and, with “needle points,” fix into
position the gill-covers, which tie over with a little wrapping
cotton to keep them from springing up out of place. Next look
to the fins, under which put some pieces of peat, covered by stiff
card-board, and nicely display them, pinning them down and
binding the wrapping cotton over them.

As a last operation, go over the whole of the outside skin with
the carbolic formula, No. 15. When this dries, which it will do in
the course of an hour or so, varnish the whole upper surface with
best clear “paper” varnish, which will have the effect of keeping
the skin and scales in position. Let the fish be now put by in a
moderately warm situation to thoroughly dry, which will, in the
case of a large specimen, take about a4 month. The skin is then
like leather, with no colour in it at all, and must, of course, be
subsequently coloured up according to nature, the eyes put in,
and mounted in a case with appropriate water-weed; notes
on all of which will be found in Chapters XII., XIII., and XIV.

Sawdust or bran may be used for stuffing the fish, which, with
the addition of putty and tow to certain parts, will shape it up
very fairly. Some taxidermists use tow alone, but this I do
not think advisable.

Small fish, up to 2lb., may, after skinning, have a bent wire
inserted as before, and be filled entirely with plaster of Paris,
which must be mixed in readiness, and poured in the skin to fill
out every part. The cut edges of the skin are now pvrought
together, and the whole fish turned over to show its proper side
and rapidly patted into shape, before the plaster has time to set,

Beautiful models of the thicker-skinned fishes may be made
by this method, but rapidity of execution is a sine quad non.

As the student progresses he will find that it will not be
necessary in all cases to cut through the scapular arch of the
under side to clear out the head. As a proof, I may mention that

SKINNING, PRESERVING, AND MOUNTING FISH, ETC. 181

I have just finished an 18lb. fish, the head of which was skinned
out by this process.

Small pieces of cabinet cork (about one-eighth inch thick) wiil
be found very useful for spreading the fins* of small fishes.

In the event of the scales Haag from the use of wet plaster or
any other cause, “wrapping” cotton, 7.e., “darning ” cotton, or
shoemakers’ hemp, must be bound over them to keep them in
place.

Since the foregoing was written 1 have considerably modified
and improved on my former method. Having tried wet “pipe”
or modelling clay, with which to stuff the.skin, I found that
although at first the working and general shape were excellent,
yet that, after a few days, the skin shrank and puckered in so
abominable a fashion as to render all the labour bestowed upon
it of no avail. This was most unfortunately tried upon a twenty
pound pike, and so utterly mis-shapen did it become as to
necessitate the relaxingf of the specimen—the removal of the
clay—and the ultimate shaping up again, by the dry plaster
process.

This substitution of dry plaster of Paris (price about 4s. per
ewt.) for sand is one of the very best things ever tried. Having
skinned your fish in the manner before directed, crowd the head
with peat, and the face, and parts of the skin inside, and around
the fins and tail, with putty. Lay the fish-skin, cut upper-
most as before, and ladle in dry plaster, beginning at the tail
end; as this fills in, sew up, being careful to shorten the skin,
making it deep, and not long and narrow at that part; being
particular also to well ram in with a short stick the plaster to
fill all out, and to remove ugly creases or depressions. When
about a third of the fish is done, fasten your stitches and go on
filling in at the head; as you work toward the middle, lift head
or tail very gently to peep underneath at the progress you are
making.

As the stuffing progresses, deepen the body toward the middle,
being careful at the same time to well ram in the plaster.
Finally sew up. Now take another board, a little more than

* Notes on repairing fins will be found in Chapter XII. ~

+ Several correspondents have written as to the relaxing of fish skins. This is a very
oe. wees nothing more being done to the skin than plunging it in water until sutticiently
softene

182 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

the length and breadth of the specimen, lay it upon the top of
the skin and tie it to the board on which the fish is resting;
by this means you will be enabled to reverse the fish without
cracking the skin or destroying the “set” of it. Untie your
boards and the object is before you right side uppermost.
It will now be seen if your modelling is true or not; in the
latter case, note where all imperfections occur, reverse the
fish once more, and ram more dry plaster in between the
stitches, or if the latter be sewn up too tightly, cut them
where needed, sewing up again when all is satisfactorily accom-
plished. The specimen being once again right side upper-
most, will appear somewhat flat along the centre, this arises
from the plaster accommodating itself to the flat surface of the
board. You must now, therefore, pass a wet cloth several times
over the surface of the skin, and proceed to pat it in a light and
dexterous manner into a more rounded shape with your hand, or
by the aid of a piece of board shaped in the manner of a small
flat bat.

The head will require a great deal of attention; it is now flat
and, perhaps, drops down upon the board, causing the upper gill
cover to open more widely than it should; to obviate this, prop
the nose from the underneath by a piece of peat, or by a wedge-
shaped piece of wood; the tail may be twisted or thrown up by
the same means if required. The mouth may be kept open as
much as desired by pointed wires, one driven through the
“nostrils ” of the upper jaw, the other wire resting against the
teeth inside the lower jaw. The fins being kept damp during the
preceding operations, must now be “braced out” by the process
heretofore described, and the fish washed, varnished, and dried
in the usual manner. Nothing, you will observe, has been said
as to the oval-shaped piece of board previously used inside the
pike mounted by the first process. This is wanted when
the fish is thoroughly set and dried; when this takes place, cut
the stitches and carefully shake out the plaster. If a large fish,
replace this by tow, moderately packed; on this lay an irregularly
oval-shaped piece of three-quarter inch board, edges rounded and
cut to the shape, and almost the length of the fish. No wires
are needed at the head and the tail (one end of the board
running into the head), but only those required to support the

MOUNTING AND CASTING FISH, ETC. 183

specimen in its case. When this board is properly in position
inside the fish, nail the edges of the skin on it with tacks of a
suitable length. Nothing is now needed to complete the fish but
the fixing of the eyes and the colouring of the skin. The eyes
are hollow, and fixed by wax (see Chapter XII).

In cases where it is undesirable or inconvenient to mount a
fish as a whole, the head only may be treated as a taxidermic
object. In this case cut off the head behind the scapular arch,
leaving sufficient of the skin of the “neck” for nailing on the
block. The head being skinned and preserved, as above directed,
is then nailed by the skin of the neck on to a similar block to
that shown in Fig. 27. The mouth is set open when required,
and the gullet and underneath the tongue filled up and modelled
with either clay, cement, or wax, the tongue remodelled or sub-
stituted by a copy in wax or cement, the composition and appli-
cation of which is fully explained in Chapter XII.

Notes of the colour of the various parts of your specimen
should have been taken previously; in some cases, it is a good
plan to make a water-colour drawing of the whole or certain
parts of your subject when fresh.

Fiso Castine.—Casting fishes by the plaster of Paris method
deserves description, as by this means you are enabled to get
correct copies of the shapes and peculiarities of any specimen,
from the smallest to the largest. Procure some plaster of Paris
of a finer quality—known as “§S. F.”—than that you have been
using previously in modelling mammals, or to fill out the skins of
fishes; also some tempered clay—described in Chapter VII.—
and some strips of board calculated to the depth, width, and
length of the fish you wish to “ cast.”

The specimen having hadallthe mucus* washed from its most
perfect side, is laid upon one or two sheets of brown paper or com-
mon card-board (“ straw-board”’) covering the work-table. Decide
now as to the attitude you wish it to finally assume, and taking
some of the tempered clay, cut it into thin slices, build it on, as
it were, until only the upper half of the fish is exposed, build
under the fins—including the caudal one—and spread them out
as you wish; the clay will usually stick to their under surfaces,

* Isee that Rowland Ward advises the fish being washed with dilute vitriol (sulphuric acid
and water) to remoye this mucus.

N

184 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

and hoid them in position. Should they “run back,” stick fine
pins in them here and there, being sure, however, to cut off the
heads of the latter close to the upper surface of the fins. It is
often advisable to lay thin card-board or strong paper under
the fins, if the clay is so soft as to come up over the edges.
Having now nicely built in the fish—the upper surface of the
clay being carefully smoothed over with a knife-blade and a stiff
brush (“ Artist’s hog-hair, No. 8”) dipped in water, surround
the clay with pieces of board, set up on edge, so as to form a
wooden wall around all; the height of this wall should exceed
the greatest depth or thickness of the fish by some inches. Tie
these four walls—planed on their inside surface—around with
strong string, finally nailing outside all with long “French”
nails, driven into the table as a support against pressure from
within. Look all over carefully, and if any open spaces appear
between the clay tablet and the boards, fill in with more clay,

The fish being now ready for casting, take a bowl, which half
fill with clean water, into this “dust in” the fine plaster of
Paris, in small quantities at a time, stirring each portion
until all is ultimately mixed smoothly and without lumps;
when enough is mixed—and the knowledge of quantity only
comes with experience—pour it quickly, yet gently, over the
whole surface of the fish; jarring the table with your fist causes
the plaster to settle down more evenly, without leaving “ blow-
holes.” The plaster should now be an inch or more in thickness
over the highest portion of the fish, in order to give sufficient
strength for the “return” cast. Should this not be so, mix
some more plaster and strengthen the cast, endeavouring to get
a flat surface on the top. After ten minutes, take away the
nails and boards, thus allowing more air to get to the mass of
plaster. In half an hour—should the plaster be of good quality
—the mould may be raised, turned over, and the fish will tumble
out, or may be pulled carefully out without the least trouble.
Remove the clay, and on looking into the mould it will, if
properly made, show every scale and every line, be free from
“‘blow-holes” or blemishes of casting, besides having a fairly
even and square surface surrounding the cavity from whence the
fish has been extracted. This first mould can be cast into again
by plaster of Paris, and will, in the case of most fishes, turn out

CASTING FISHES IN PLASTER, ETC. 185

a satisfactory reproduction of the original. Some fishes there
are, however, so curiously shaped as to make the first or
“female” mould so “ undercut” as to render it impossible to get
a return cast. In this case, nothing avails but the destruction of
the first to release the copy. There are several ways of doing
this; one of the most simple is sawing with many cuts the edges
of the first, or, as it now becomes, the “ waste ” mould, as near to
the cavity as you dare, before casting into it; having done which,
and allowed several hours, or a day even, to elapse, you proceed
to break it away, piece by piece, by gentle blows with a hammer,
leaving the enclosed fish to make its appearance little by little.
When this plan is adopted, the last cast or copy must be run
double the thickness to that you wish to destroy, otherwise you
may break the copy instead of the “waste” mould. Another
way is to make the first mould very thin, or to put thin suc-
cessive coats of plaster over the fish, with brown paper. between
each coat, and subsequently breaking them away, layer by layer,
after the fish is extracted and the mould 1s filled in by plaster.

In casting into the first mould for the “copy” or perfect cast,
it will, of course, be necessary to lay it concavity uppermost, and
to surround it with a wall of board like the last, brushing over
the concavity, and indeed the whole of the tablet surrounding it,
with soft soap and water, or oil, or thin pipe-clay and water; or,
if the mould has been baked dry, soaking it in water alone will
be sufficient to prevent the copy sticking. Recollect that the
flatter the tablet—surrounding the cavity left by the fish—is
made, the better will be that of the model. Supposing
that your cast, or model fish, has been turned out in good con-
dition, you will see that there are still certain inequalities of the
tablet, and certain roughnesses around the fins, mouth, &c.;
these latter must be “relieved” and undercut by the aid of the
“undercutting” and “relieving” tools (see Figs. 29 and 30), the
tablet must be pared flat by a long broad flat chisel called a
“firmer,” and the edges also nicely squared.

Your fish is now in high relief on a flat background, but,
though having correct form, it still lacks colour. How to colour
plaster satisfactorily is a puzzle which has perplexed more
persons than taxidermists. Speaking for myself, I say that,
having coloured the cast, when wet and when dry, with water-

N2

186 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

colours, used paper varnish when dry, with water-colours and
varnished and painted, and painted and varnished the cast in oils,
having used “mediums,” tempera painting, “secco” — yet I am
not satisfied; there appears a want of softness and brilliancy ;
probably the electro-type or wax process I am now trying may
give the desired effect.

So disgusted was I at the seeming impossibility of getting
“tone” on plaster, that I determined to try paper for the last
cast or model; to this end I took lessons at a theatre in the art
of “ making (paper) faces,” with the result that I now employ
paper whenever practicable, and find it answer, from a 2lb. perch
toa 2cwt. skate. Twoor three most valuable results accrue from
the substitution of paper for plaster. First, extreme lightness
combined with strength; and secondly, of course, excellence of
detail and facility of colouring in either water or oil. For
remarks upon the artistic mounting of fishes, see Chapters XII.,
and Seve

There are, I find, two excellent articles on fish-casting in
“Science Gossip for 1878,” to which I must refer my readers for
further details. They agree to differ, however, in one important
particular. One writer says that plaster-work is as “cleanly
as any cooking operation, and there is no reason why ladies should
not engage in it”! The other writer speaks of it as “ filthy,”
and, really, I feel inclined to back his opinion; for having now
used some tons of plaster, ranging in quantities from a few
pounds to 3cwt. at a time, I must say that, of all the dia-
bolical messes for getting into the hair or on the boots, ‘and
about a house or workshop, plaster is the worst. “ Matter in the
wrong place,” ma foi! you can’t keep it in the right. I see that
Mr. Taylor, amongst other suggestions, advises the use of half
glue and treacle (see Chapter XII.) to cast the first mould for
groups of small fishes. If these glue-moulds were backed with
plaster “ piece-moulds,” they might be useful for larger “ under- -
cut” specimens.

Plaster moulds and casts, it must be remembered, are, when
dried, about a quarter of their weight when wet, and the same
bulk of dried (not dry) plaster is not half the weight of dried
clay.

A very scientific way of getting the correct shape of a fish for

CASTING AND MOUNTING FISH, ETC. 187

mounting by taxidermy is to take a cast of the specimen and to
then adjust the skin, stuffed by the dry-plaster process, into the
cavity of the mould, suffering all to dry therein.

Fishes are now and then mounted in halves, should one side be
very badly mangled; the effect is not very good, however, and
should not be resorted to but in extreme cases.

Large fishes, such as sharks, rays, and sturgeons of great size
and weight, must be cast by the “piece-mould” process—
described in Chapter XII. The mounting of such as these, by
processes of taxidermy, differs from all previously described in
this chapter. When of excessive size and weight, they may be
“‘set up” with wood and iron (see Chapter VII.), or if smaller—
say, up to 5cwt.—may be managed by being cut underneath,
along the stomach, from head to tail, and mounted by two short
iron rods being screwed into a beam of wood, or bar of iron fitted
into the body, now filled out with hay, straw, or, better still, clean
shavings, supplemented by tow here and there. When all is
sewn up, and the mouth—if open—modelled by any of the
methods described in Chapter XII., the short iron rods pro-
truding from each end of the fish must be let into metal sockets
(iron gas pipes will often do) screwed into iron feet, supporting
all clear from the floor of the museum or room they are to be
exhibited in.

CEA Tiny, sexe
SKINNING, PRESERVING, AND Mountine REprines.

THE chief requirement in preserving reptiles is a fine and
delicate hand, in order to deal successfully with these mostly
thin-skinned objects. i will now take one of the easiest reptiles
as our first study, viz., the common snake. Formerly, by the
old method of skinning, the bodies of all snakes were removed
through an incision made along the skin of the stomach. This
was a mistake, for the smaller snakes may be skinned through
the mouth, in this wise: Open the jaws of the snake to their
fullest extent, taking care, if a venomous one, not to scratch the
fingers with the fangs, which, in the adder or viper, lie folded
backward along the roof of the mouth. If the fangs are not
required to be shown, the safest plan will be to cut them away
with a pointed pair of scissors. Holding the snake by the back
of the neck with the left hand, push the pointed knife or scissors
into the mouth towards the back of the head, feeling at the
same time with the point of the knife for the first joint of the
cervical vertebre, having found which proceed to dislocate it
with the point of the knife, gently feeling your way, and cutting
downward toward the right hand, the thumb of which presses
against the snake’s head at the under jaw. Feel round with
the point of the knife or scissors up toward the outer skin,
gradually working the flesh away. Cut away the under jaw,
inside the skin, from its attachment to the flesh, pushing the
point of your scissors or knife at the same time as far as you
can get it down inside the skin. This all requires time and
patience, lest you push the point of the knife or scissors through
the skin, and also as you will not at the first trial succeed in

SKINNING, PRESERVING, AND MOUNTING REPTILES. 189

detaching the head from the body. The knife or scissors
must then be run a little way down the back, to detach the
skin. The neck being now entirely free, lay the knife down,
and endeavour to push the broken or cut part of the neck up
through the mouth; seize the end with your right-hand
fingers and gradually slide the skin down with your left hand,
turning it inside out until the vent is reached, which care-
fully cut away; beyond this the skin, instead of coming off
easily, holds most tenaciously to the flesh, and the knife again
comes into play to free it all around. Near the extreme tip of
the tail it will be almost impossible to get the flesh out, you
must therefore skin as far as you can, and then make a small
incision underneath, lay back the skin on each side, and cut the
flesh away. ‘This operation will bring the outside of that part
inside. Return it, and neatly sew up the cut from the inside,
trim away all flesh from the skull bone, take out the eyes, put a
stitch in the vent, and anoint the whole of the skin with the
preservative. To return the skin, push a smallround stick down .
and pull the skin back on it; when nearing the tail, the stick
may be removed and the fingers used to gradually work this end
through, or tie a small piece of wool to form a knot on the end
of a piece of doubled thread, and push it through by a long fine
needle from the inside to the out, at the same time allowing the
needle to come through, by doubling up the skin. You may
reach the needle with your fingers, or by long pliers, or even
shake it down by its own weight, then by pulling gently you
return the skin effectually.

To stuff the snake insert a funnel in the mouth, and fill the
skin through this with fine dry sand, or dry plaster of Paris,
taking great care to shake the sand well down, and fill in every
part in a regular and natural manner. On nearing the head,
push a piece of wool in the mouth to prevent the sand from
running back, and then adjust the snake to the position you
require, leaving the head to be modelled last with clay, putty,
or plaster, then remove the wool and make up the throat and
inside of the mouth. The natural tongue should be left in, and
displayed with fine entomological pins pushed in the hollow
underneath, and, if shown open-mouthed, the fangs must he
dropped, and the head raised, as in the attitude of striking.

L90 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Large snakes, such as rock snakes or boas, must be cut on the
old system, viz., under the belly and skinned out, working up
and down, as the muscles have so firm an attachment that the
slipping-out process cannot be resorted to, but each inch will
have to be laboriously cut away from the skin.

Sawdust, mixed with a little sand, will be found very useful for
stuffing the larger snakes, as the weight of so large a quantity of
sand, or plaster, is too great to successfully manipulate.

A few hints as to snakes and snake bites may not be out of
place here. To distinguish the only venomous snake found in
the British Isles is an easy matter, if you have the opportunity
of examination. In the first place, the viper appears to have a
more spade-like and flatter head than the common snake, and
has a black cross from near the neck running up to the centre
of the head, where it terminates in a black, oval-shaped spot.
But the greatest distinction, perhaps, is that a decided pattern
runs down the centre of the back, appearing as a chain
of obtusely-shaped diamond markings, joined together, and
somewhat confused in places. Again, it has in the upper jaw
two fangs or poison teeth, which in rest lie folded back; on
pulling them down with a needle, or by the crooked awl, they
appear as fleshy lobes, out of the apex of which is thrust a little
glittering point like a small fish bone. This small bone or fang is
hollow, and through it the poison is ejected by a process too com-
plex to describe in the pages of this work. ‘The slow-worm,
common snake, and the one other rarer species found in Britain,
have merely the ordinary hoiding teeth, and are all perfectly
harmless. Should anyone be so unfortunate as to be bitten or
scratched by a viper’s fang, a speedy application of liquor
ammonice fort (strong ammonia) to the wound, with the further
application of a ligature above the bitten part will be found of
benefit, and perhaps avert serious consequences until surgical aid
is obtained. Ipecacuanha has been recommended, powdered and
applied as a poultice, with an internal administration at. the
time also, of the same drug, but that requires medical know-
ledge as to the extent and frequency of the doses.

To skin frogs, they must be plunged for an hour or so into the
hardening solution, No. 15, and then skinned out from the mouth.
This requires a finer hand and greater patience even than

SKINNING, PRESERVING, AND MOUNTING REPTILES. 191

skinning a snake, as they must be carefully cut all around the
mouth, and the body drawn out to the tips of the toes. They
may then be filled with sand or plaster. Various comic scenes
may be made by skilfully grouping frogs, but if required to stand
on their hind legs, &c., they will have to be wired, by pushing
fine wires or stout “needle points” through a small piece of
board into the sole of the foot, to run a little distance up the
legs. A drop or two of strong glue, or shellac, may then he
placed under each foot, which should be tied down until the
glue sets hard.

Tortoises and turtles may be skinned out, by having the skin
of the legs, tail, and head, cut away all round from their attach-
ments to the under shell or plastron. The joints of the limbs
should then be cut away from the inside, and the tortoise or
turtle laid on its back, in which position the separated limbs
hang down, remaining only attached by their top skin (now
underneath), to the upper part of the shell or carapace. This
exposes the whole of the remaining skin and flesh, which must be
eut and scraped out with knives, or with the under-cutting tool.
The limbs are then skinned out, preserved and stuffed, and
their proper bottom edges, when in position, pushed back and
attached by needle points to the plastron.

Lizards, “horned toads,” and chameleons may be cut under-
neath and filled out with sand or plaster.

In all cases where sand is used it may, after the animal is
thoroughly dry, be shaken out if desired; but if the reptile is
not very large, it is better to leave it in.

Dry plaster will, in nearly all cases, be found the best medium
for filling out the skins of reptiles; with this I have succeeded in
giving characteristic and life-like attitudes to moderately-sized
alligators, &c.

Very large saurians may be mounted by either of the methods
referred to in the closing sentences of the last two chapters.

ey ee Eee
DreEssinad AND Sorrening SEINS oR Furs AS UBATHER.
THE art of tanning is, as I before observed (wide Chapter 1.},

of the highest antiquity, as systems which are now m vogue
must have been known—if even in a modified form—to the

ancients. We may roughly divide the operation of tanning -

into two distinct classes: One which deals with skins without
the preservation of the fur, and which turns the skin so operated
upon into the material known as leather; and the other in which
we seek to preserve the fur or hair in its normal position, at the
same time dressing or rendering soft the actual skin itself.*

The first process—the making of leather—does not he within
the scope of this work ; suffice it to say, that the hair or fur is first
removed by lime, &c., and that after the skin is scraped it is
treated variously with oak bark, valonia, sumach, divi-divi, &c. ;
it is a long and tedious process, and certainly does not lie
within the province of a taxidermist to attempt ;f and though it
is possible for a tanner to preserve the fur with the skin, yet the
attempt is undesirable, by reason of the false or unnatural colour
it permanently gives the fur—totally destroying the character
of a light one, and heightening or lowering, as the case may
be, the tint of a dark fur.

To obviate all these difficulties and disagreeable effects, a
totally distinct method of Gressing skins has been devised,

* Some time during 1874, Mr. Joseph Tussaud read a paper before the Society of Arts, in
which he described an ingenious method of removing the fur of any animal to an artificial
“backing” of india-rubber or flannel, whilst the original skin was utilised as ieather.

+ Technical works on Tanning are ‘‘Tanning, Currying, and Leather-dressing,” by F.
Dussance: ‘‘The Arts of Tanning, Cuzrying, and Leather-dressing,’’ trom the French of
J. de Fontenelle and F. Malepeyre.

\

DRESSING AND SOFTENING SKINS AS LEATHER. 193

which is called “white leather dressing.” Before I describe
this, however, 1t may be as well to say that no liquid, powder, or
combination of liquids or powders, is known into which a skin
ean be plunged, and—without the aid of manual labour—come
out as leather. I mention this to correct a popular error, many
people supposing that labour has no part in the preparation of
‘white leather.” To those who are not prepared to work hard,
and very hard indeed, I say, Do not waste your time in reading
this chapter.

The usual and time-honoured method of dressing skins, say a
rabbit’s skin, is—directly it is removed from the animal—to nail
it on a board, and rub it in with alum four parts, and common
salt one part, or plunge it in a warm solution of the same for a
day or so, taking it out, nailing it on a board, letting it dry,
rubbing it down with pumice stone, and plunging it again and
again, and repeating the drying and pumice-stoning process
until the skin becomes phable. This is rather an uncertain
process, for if well steeped the hair or fur is constantly damp,
or dripping even, in humid weather, and if alum alone is used,
though killing much of the dampness, it renders a fine thin
skin of a parchment-like texture. However, as anything is
better than a damp skin, I have used a mixture of four parts of
burnt alum to one part of saltpetre (see Formula No. 9, p. 72)
for small skins, finally rubbing down and dressing the skin
with lard, into which a little essence of musk has been stirred,
and kneading the skin with the hands in bran to remove the
superflous grease. This, and all other such processes where
alum is used, must, however, give way to the following, which
I have used for certain skins for years, and for which I was
originally indebted to a correspondent in the English Mechanic;
his formula was: ‘‘ Mix bran and soft water sufficient to cover
the skins, let this stand four hours covered, before being used,
then immerse the skins, keeping them well covered for twenty-
four hours (less in India), then take out, wash clean, and care-
fully scrape off all the flesh. To one gallon of water (hot)
add one pound of alum and a quarter of a pound of salt.
When dissolved and the mixture is cool enough to bear the
hand, immerse the skins for twenty-four hours, take out and
dry in the shade, and well reb with the hand. Stir the liquor,

194, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

and again immerse for twenty-four hours; dry, and hand-
rub as before, and then put the skins for twenty-four hours
into warm oatmeal and water, stirring occasionally. Dry
in the shade, and when the skin is nearly dry, hand-rub till
quite dry.” The only thing I have found necessary to guard
against in this is, that the skins must be perfectly fresh before
being put in the bran and water, otherwise it will be necessary
to rub them in with the salt and alum first. Another improve-
ment is, to tear up the fibre with a little instrument I have
invented, or rather adapted (see Fig. 35), which is simply a “hog
scraper,” ground up sharp all round, and then filed up into short
rounded teeth where shown; this will be found of incalculable
service in tearing off the hard upper skin or dried flesh and

Fic. 35.—ScRAPER WITH WHICH TO DRESS SKINS,

blood, which locks up as 1t were the true skin, and which must
be got at before the pelt will become at all flexible. Often a
thorough wetting of the skin will considerably facilitate this
operation. Constant scraping and hard hand-rubbing, similar to
a washerwoman’s “rubbing” of clothes,is necessary. In the
eases of some skins which are obstinate, thick, or have been
simply sun-dried, as are many tigers’ and leopards’ skins sent
from India, it will be found necessary to fix them over a
sloping board or on the edge of a table, and to use a spoke-
shave, or currier’s thinning knife, to thin them down—perhaps
an eighth of an inch all over—then tear the fibre up with the
scraper, grease them with lard, to which has been added essence
of musk, and punch them for several hours or several days with

DRESSING AND SOFTENING SKINS AS LEATHER. 195

a “dolly” *in a tub half full of bran or hard-wood sawdust;
finally covering them with plaster of Paris, or powdered
whiting, to absorb the grease; scraping off the old plaster or
whiting, and adding fresh from time to time, until the skin is
freed of fat and perfectly pliant. To afterwards clean the
fur, dress it down with a “scratch-card” (to be procured of
any ironmonger)—steel wire woven on cloth in such a manner
that short ends protrude like a wire brush.

Very fat skins, such as dogs’ skins, may, if perfectly fresh, be
nailed out and gone over with a saturated solution of borax, or a
solution of one part borax to one-eighth part saltpetre, and left
to dry in the shade for three months, after which they may be
scraped, and their natural fat will, after all superfluity has been
removed with plaster, &c., be found to have sufficiently imbued
the under or proper skin to render the final greasing unnecessary.

The two foregoing processes seem to have been modified with
some success by Mr. R. Backhouse, of Stockton-on-Tees, whose
process is spoken of in the Feld of June 3rd, 1882, as follows: -

“The skin, which should be removed from the animal as soon
as possible after it has been killed, is stretched and tacked on
to a board, the flesh side being outwards. This is at once
covered with lard carefully spread over the entire surface, no
portion being allowed to escape. As the moisture dries out of
the skin, the lard enters the pores and supplies its place, and in
about a week’s time (the lard being carefully renewed when
requisite) the skin will have altered its character, in consequence
of being penetrated by the grease. It is then removed and
washed thoroughly in warm water and soap until the external
grease is removed. During the drying it is necessary to pull
and stretch the skin in all directions, so that its texture opens,
and it becomes white, owing to the admission of air into the
pores; this stretching is accompanied, or rather preceded, by
careful scraping or currying with a sharp knife or razor, to
remove the fleshy matters and render the skin thinner. With
the larger number of skins the process is successful; but some
few go bad, apparently from not absorbing the lard with suffi-
cient rapidity.”

* Professional workmen often knead the lard into skins by the medium of their feet and
hands—not too clean an operation!

196 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Possibly the species of mammal treated may have something
to do with this, the skins of carnivorous animals bearing ex-
posure better than those of the rodentia—hares, rabbits, squirrels,
&c., and insectivora—bats, shrew-mice, and moles—indeed, the
latter animals must be skinned almost as soon as they are dead,
or the skin turns “ green” and goes bad in a very short time.
No doubt the vegetable and insect food consumed by these cause
fermentation after death, with the resultant putrefaction of the
bowels and the thin coverings of the latter. I would here point
out, however, that small skins—eats’, rabbits’, &c.—will be per-
fectly preserved if stretched out whilst fresh, cured with the
chloride of lime preservative (No. 4, page 68), and then finally
treated with lard and essence of musk, and finished off by either
of the preceding methods to render them clean and supple. A
correspondent who had treated some cats’ skins by this method
writes to say he has “ succeeded in curing some cats’ skins in an
admirable manner” by following these instructions.

A very convenient mixture of borax and another natural
salt has been brought out by Mr. Robottom, of Birmingham
(see page 6). I have given his preparation a long and patient
investigation, and can recommend it for small skins, while its
convenient form, cleanliness, and low price, place it within the
reach of all amateurs.

Equal parts of salt, alum, and Glaubev’s salts, mixed with half
a part of saltpetre, the whole rubbed in several times a day, has
been recommended, but I have not tried it.

A mixture of sulphur and arsenic with soft soap is sometimes
used to dress skins with, and if left on for about a year certainly
renders them very pliant, after the removal of the grease.

The North American Indians, I believe, smoke their deer
skins, &c., and after working them, use brains to dress them
with.

The skins of mammals in the flesh may, if bloody, be washed,
should the blood be new, or combed with the scratch card (see
ante) if it has dried on the hair or fur. In old skins washing is
effective when the animal is relaxed. Freshly skinned deer and
bulls’ heads should always be washed and combed, and wrung
out before having the preservative applied.

Mammals’ fur is also considerably improved in tone by being

DRESSING AND SOFTENING SKINS AS LEATHER. 197

well brushed with stiff horse or carriage brushes, and afterwards
wiped down with turpentine, followed by benzoline.

When a skin is properly cleaned and finished, it may be lined
with red or black cloth, or baize, and a “pounced” border of
cloth attached. The tools for “pouncing” are to be bought at
most saddlers’ or ironmongers’.

I have been asked many times what to do, if camping out
abroad, supposing you shot a tiger or a bear, and wished to
preserve the skin as a “ flat.” Simply lay it on the ground and
sht the skin underneath, in a straight line through the under
lip to the tip of the tail, then make four cross cuts from the
median line along the inside of the limbs down to the toes, and
skin out the body by stripping it in a careful manner, not
allowing any pieces to be cut away, in case you might change
your mind and wish it mounted as a specimen. Take out the
skull, clean and preserve it, and though skinning out the toes
completely, be careful to retain the claws in their seats. When
the body is removed, “flesh” the skin, which means scraping
and cutting away all superfluous flesh and fat, then lay it out
flat and rub it well in with the burnt alum and saltpetre
(Formula No. 9). In dressing thick skins, it will be advisable to
make a paste of the alum and saltpetre by mixing it with a little
water, and repeatedly rub this mixture into those parts where the
skin is thickest, such as around the lips, eyes, ears, &c., taking
care that nota wrinkle in any part escapes a thorough dressing,
otherwise it will assuredly “sweat,” and the hair come off in
such places. The skin may now be rolled or folded together
for travelling, but the next day, when settled in camp, it must be
dressed again—twice will be quite sufficient for any but the
thickest or most greasy skins; after that it must be exposed
day by day to the sun and air, taking care meanwhile to guard
it against all possible enemies. Treated in this manner, it has
no “nature” in it, but is “as stiff as a board;” before this
happens, however, it will be advisable to roll it, unless you have
plenty of space at disposal on the floor of a travelling waggon, &c.,
in which case it may be folded to fit. A folded skin is, however,
worse to treat, subsequently, than a rolled one. Valuable skins
should be, when practicable, sprinkled with insect powder, tur-
pentine, or pepper, and sewn up in sacking until they can be

198 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

tanned, or made into soft leather, by any one of the processes
previously described. If time is no object the skin may,
after the first rubbing-in of the preservative, be stretched
by the old-fashioned method of “pegging out,’ or by the
more efficient professional ‘“ frame,” made of foie bars of wood,
to which the specimen is “laced,” or sometimes made of
bars of wood and stout sacking, adjustable by means of wood
screws, which open the bars and stretch the attached skin in a
proper manner to the required size. When alum, &c., cannot be
obtained, recourse must be had to common salt, which is
generally procurable in any part of the world; a strong —
almost a saturated—solution with water must be made of this
in a tub, and the skin placed in it. If possible, change the
liquor after a few days and add fresh; head the tub up tightly
and the skin will keep many years. I received the skin of a polar
bear, sent from the Arctic Regions to Leicester for the Town
Museum, simply flayed and pickled in this manner, and after a
lapse of two years it was examined, and found to be perfectly
sweet and firm—quite fit for mounting when opportunity served.
Of course, these salted subjects are terrible nuisances either to
mount or to treat as flat skins, having to go through many pro-
cesses to rid them of the salt which pervades them. The first
process is thorough washing and steeping in water, constantly
changed; after that experience alone determines the treatment
to be pursued. If alum were mixed with rough salt in the pro-
portion of two parts of the former to one of the latter, the solution
would become more astringent in its operation. A pickle made
of oatmeal, saltpetre, and boiling vinegar has been recommended,
but I have not yet tried it.

I think I have now put the would-be tanner and currier in a
fair way to do some of the dirtiest work imaginable, and if after
a fair trial he does not cry, “ Hold, enough!” and hand alk
future leather-dressing over to the professionals, I shall indeed
think him “hard to kill.”

In conclusion, I can only reiterate to those who wish to do
skins well by any of the foregoing methods, that nothing can be
done without hard work. |

CHAPTER XI.

RELAXING AND CuiEanina Sxins—“< Maxkina-ue” FROM
PIECES.

RELAXING SxKINS.—In many instances, especially when col-
lecting abroad, it may be found incompatible with the time and
storage space at the disposal of the collector to set up birds and
animals in their natural positions. To obviate these difficulties
we make a skin as previously described, and by this means
pack many in the space which would otherwise be occupied
by one. The time comes, however, when we wish to “set up”
the skins procured by ourselves, or by others, and for this pur-
pose we “relax ” them.

“ Relaxing” is performed in various ways, but probably
the oldest plan is that of simply unstuffing the skin, laying it
down on a board, wrapping the feet and legs round with wet
cloths or tow, and applying the same to the insides of the butts
of the wings, allowing the skin to remain from one to four or
five days in this position, according to its size; then, when the
legs, feet, and wings are sufficiently damped, warm water is
poured into the orifices of the skin, and suffered to run out at
the eyes and beak. It is then ready for stuffing in the ordinary
way.

Another “rough and ready” method is simply pouring hot
water through the bird’s skin; this relaxes just sufficiently to
bend the head, which many workmen of slovenly habits consider
quite sufficient !

The next most ancient method is relaxing by the plaster box,
which is a rough box, with a lid made to fit over all tightly,
and having the whole of its inside lined with a coating of

oO

200 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

plaster of Paris mixed with water, and laid on two or three
inches thick. When a bird is to be “relaxed,” the inside of the
box is saturated with water, which the plaster readily absorbs
up to acertain pomt. Then the surplus water is poured off,
the skin or skins are placed within the box, the lid is fas-
tened down, and the whole placed in the cellar for so long a
time as is required to thoroughly soften the included skins.
This plan, though fairly efficient for the smaller skins, must
give place to that which I have ever adopted, and. which is
almost as effective for a large as for a small skin. It is this:
Procure a box of suitable size, which, for greater efficiency,
may be lined with zinc. Into this put several quarts of clean
silver sand well damped with water, but not up to the point of
actual wetness. Wrap each skin separately in a clean rag or in
a piece of unprinted paper (“cap paper ” will do for the smaller
birds), pull back the sand to one end of the box, leaving a thin
layer, however, all over the remaining part of the bottom, on
which place the skins, covering them up as you go on with the
sand from the other end. When covered with the proper depth
of sand, lay a damp cloth over the top, and put the box away
in the cellar or in the shade. In from three days to a week,
according to the size of the skins, they will be found more
thoroughly relaxed by this than by any other method, and will
be kept—by their covering paper or lnen rag—from having
their feathers soiled or disturbed by the sand.

In the first edition, I decried the practice of plunging birds’
skins into water in the manner pursued by Waterton and his
followers, but I had not at that time found anyone to please
me in the subsequent manipulation of skins after being taken
out of water. I have now, however, changed my views on the
subject, and will proceed to describe a plan, which, though
entailing some little trouble, is yet so simple, and so complete
in its effects, as almost to supersede the previous methods, when
the operator has attained any degree of proficiency in this.

The skin to be operated upon is, if small, simply placed in a
pan or bucket partly filled with water, and weighted down in |
such a manner that it shall always be beneath the surface.
If the taxidermist is in a fair way of business, he will find a
wooden tank, about 36in. by 24in. by 12in. deep (inside measure-

RELAXING AND CLEANING SKINS. 201

ment), sufiiciently large for his needs. This tank should he
“tongued” and dressed with red lead, or lined with zinc, to
render it waterproof. Of course, the professional will not
find it large enough for anything but medium-sized skins;
for the larger ones, and for mammals, he will require other
and larger tanks. A petroleum cask (procurable from any oil-
man for afew shillings), cut unequally in two parts, will be
found of service when one large skin only is soaked at a time.
When the skin is in the water, a board may be placed upon it,
weighted so as not to flatten against the bottom of the vessel,
or it may be kept in position under the water by pressing
thin slips of wood over from side to side. The skin being
well saturated—which, according to the size of the bird, will
take place in from twelve to twenty-four hours—must have
the stuffing removed from it,* and then be allowed to soak
for so long a time as experience will dictate. As a rule, how-
ever, when the wings and tail will spread out with gentle
handling, the bird is fit to mount. Sometimes the legs, if thick,
and even the wings and tail, if large, will require a longer time
to soak than is conducive to the well-being of the remainder of
the skin; in this case, nothing remains but to skilfully pull off
the wings, legs, and tail, and let them soak a few hours
longer.t Supposing, however, that the skin is properly relaxed
without recourse to this, it must then be hung up by a wire
secured through the nostrils, in order to drain the water out
of it. After hanging a few hours (or many, if large) it is, when
all the water has drained away from it, but while yet damp,
carefully wiped down in every part with benzoline, applied
liberally, but from head to tail, the way of the feathers; this
is important. The skin may now be placed in a long shallow
box, called the dry plaster box, and all the feathers well covered
above and below with common dry plaster of Paris, and the
skin allowed to be buried init for three or four hours, then
the damp caked plaster may be shaken off and fresh dry
plaster added, allowing it to remain for several more hours.

wool, or whatever it may be stuffed with, will ‘‘stick,’”’ and frequently pull the head, &c.
off with it.

+ This would seem _ to an amateur very rough treatment, but often it is the only method
to pursue, especially if the skin be “‘tender,” although in the latter case vinegar is recom-
mended to be added to the water in which it is steeped.

02

202 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

This should be repeated until the feathers are fairly dry—
which, if the bird be large, will take from twelve to twenty-
four hours. The feathers of the skin must now be beaten
with a bundle of stiff feathers, or the wing of a goose, or
other large bird, until nearly dry, then dry plaster added
from time to time, and the skin twirled about in the open
air if possible. Very soon the feathers will cease to remain
clogged with plaster, and will come out ready for mounting,
nicely dried, fresh, and so beautifully clean as to surprise
any person ignorant of the process. Carefully managed, this
is one of the most valuable aids to artistic taxidermy, as by
its means birds’ skins are rendered as limp and supple, and
much tougber, than if just removed from the body. In
proof of my assertion, I may mention that I have caused skins
from ten to fifteen years old, and ranging in size from a
cassowary to a humming bird,* to be prepared by this method,
all of which subsequently mounted up in a first-rate manner.
The points to observe are—first, perfect relaxing; secondly,
wiping down thoroughly with benzoline; thirdly, drying the
feathers of the skin well, by dusting in plaster and beating
and agitating them in a current of air. Should the skin be
greasy, covered with fat, or imperfectly freed of flesh (as many
of the foreign birds’ skins are), it will be necessary to scrape and
trim when the specimen comes out of the plaster, before it is
jinally cleaned. In any case, it is always advisable to turn the
skin of the head inside out, stretch the face, scrape the neck,
and stuff the head in the ordinary manner before returning
the skin. The great advantage in the water process is, that a
“Past master” in the method can mount a skin in as artistic
and natural a manner as if done from the flesh. Usually, speci-
mens done from the “skin” are at once recognisable by their
uneasy and “wooden” appearance, but I defy anyone to pick
out the skins in the Leicester Museum—unless by their neater
appearance—from those anciently mounted from the flesh.
Skins of mammals, if cured by the formula (No. 9) given in
Chapter LV., need only to be plunged in water for a night or so to

* A humming bird, after relaxing by water, is, when drained sufficiently, best treated by
lunging in benzoline and then carefully dried in plaster. A night in water, and half-an-
fours treatment with benzoline and plaster, is sufficient for these small creatures.

RELAXING AND CLEANING SKINS. 203

relax them, wrung out, thinned down where required, and
mounted straight away; a wet skin being an advantage when
modelling mammals, wet cloths even being necessary to cover
over certain parts, should the mounting occupy more than a day
or so. This, if the skin is properly cured, does not injure the
fur or any part in the slightest degree, while, at the same time,
it thoroughly relaxes.

As newly relaxed skins (especially those of birds) dry rapidly
it will be advisable to have everything ready, and shape them up
as quickly as possible.

The colours of the bills and feet of most birds recover their
pristine hues whilst being relaxed—a matter of great importance
as assisting the naturalist to the subsequent natural rendering
of those parts.

CLEANING BIRDS’ SKINS, &c.—Formerly, it appears, the or-
thodox method of cleaning birds’ skins was by the application
of water and plaster of Paris. When it was wished to remove
blood, or other stains, from a white or a light-coloured bird, this
was effected by means of a soft piece of wadding saturated with
warm water, and then rapidly and lightly applied to the stained
part, followed by plaster of Paris dusted on the way of the
“‘orain,” and allowed to remain on the specimen until perfectly
dry, when it easily came off in cake-like pieces, leaving the
feathers thoroughly cleansed of all impurities. If the wadding
became overcharged with blood, it was, of course, changed from
time to time before the plaster was thrown on. Though this
method does very well for blood stains of a recent date,it¢ will
not remove grease or the stains from old skins. This was always
a weak point with the taxidermists of yore, who used, with very
meagre results, turpentine and plaster of Paris to clean their
skins. This went on for many years, and, though an unsatisfac-
tory state of things, had to be endured, as nothing better was
known.

Some few years ago “ benzine collas” was introduced, and the
taxidermists were not long in finding out its valuable properties
for feather cleaning. “ Benzoline” (Benzol, or Benzine C,H,, see
pp. 84, 85), then came into more general use, and was, of course,
found to have all the properties of the so-called ‘“benzine
collas.” This discovery, we may say, completely revolutionised

904 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

the art of feather cleaning. It served equally as well as the
other preparation, and its superior cheapness placed it within
the reach of everybody. The cleansing property of benzoline
is still somewhat a secret out of the profession, and is really
worth, as a matter of business, all the money which is sometimes
asked for divulging it to an amateur.

When, therefore, you have a bird which is greased, or stained
with greasy dirt, &c., wipe it down the way of the feathers
with a piece of wool saturated with common (or French) ben-
zoline, using from time to time fresh wool as the other becomes
soiled. When the feathers are well damped, cover the newly-
cleaned part with dry plaster of Paris, allowing the bird to
remain from one to two or three hours, at the expiration of
which time take it out, dusting the waste plaster off with a
soft bundle of feathers. Do not be alarmed if the bird looks
somewhat miserable at the outset, but be sure that, if the plaster
is dusted on the way of the feathers, all will come out right.
Blood, whether fresh or old, is best removed by warm water* as
just described, and the feathers then carefully wiped down with
benzoline, before putting on the plaster; this obviates the rough-
ness often observable in water-cleaned birds. Sometimes, in very
old skins, successive applications of water, turpentine, benzo-
line, and plaster, carefully managed, will work wonders. I have
mentioned, at page 85, the fact that birds may be plunged into
turpentine to rid them of insects. After this process they do
not readily dry in proper form, remaining greasy and streaked
with dirt—in fact, in a generally deplorable condition (as I
know to my cost, teste, the Leicester Museum collection,
ignorantly treated in this manner before my advent). Birds
treated with turpentine must be well washed down afterwards
with benzoline and then dried in plaster of Paris, as before
described. In cleansing old specimens, do not forget to dust
them, or to beat them thoroughly with feathers, before applying
the benzoline, &c.

In a fresh specimen it would be a person’s own fault if he
should fail to clean a bird, even were it dipped in blood and

* The American publication, ‘‘ Science,” points out that the addition of salt to the water
cleanses blood from feathers, by preventing the sclution of the blood-globules, and diffusion

of the colouring matter, or red hemoglobin. I have found this ‘‘ wrinkle” of great benetit
in cleansing white -plumaged birds.

“MAKING UP” FROM PIECES. 205

grease. Patience and several cleanings are all that are neces-
sary.

Dark plumaged birds—which may have light or white parts—
will require care in cleaning, in order that their darker feathers
may not be dulled by contact with the white plaster. Should
this happen, however, in spite of all pains, it will be found that
beating with feathers, and a light touching over with wadding,
on which a very little benzoline has been poured, will brighten
them up wonderfully. Ostrich and other feathers may be
effectually cleaned by any of the foregoing methods, and, by
management, re-curled with a blunt knife and the fingers.

“MAKING UP” FROM PrEcES.—I have before mentioned (at
p. 11, and also at p. 201) that birds are sometimes made up
feather by feather, and also when pulled to pieces for “relaxing.”
The first is simply pretty pastime, which any person possessed
of patience, some little ability, and a stock of feathers, paste,
and paper, may indulge in as a recreation.

The latter, however, is a different matter, and is practised in
cases where a bird’s skin is accidentally torn in several parts, or
drops to pieces when “relaxed ” through imperfect curing, or by
old age. When this happens, the amateur need not feel as if
the world would be the next thing to tumble to pieces, but
simply get to work thus: Make a body of tow, with neck
attached, as described in pp. 107, 108; next, pull the legs off (if
they have not previously fallen off), wire them, and attach them
firmly to the body by clenching their free ends; bend these legg
into the position you wish the specimen ultimately to assume
and attach the wires at the feet to a block or perch. A T,
formed of two pieces of wood, the bottom end attached to a block,
is, perhaps, the best support, as you can get all round to adjust
everything, even to the tail. Your progress up to this point
is simply a headless neck attached to a tow body, supported by
natural legs fixed to a perch. I assume that your fragments are
sufficiently relaxed, and the feathers cleaned and nearly dried.
All the fat must, of course, have been scraped off the inside of
each piece of skin. Arrange these pieces in the order they should
come upon the model, to get the “ fit,’ as a dressmaker would
arrange the patterns of a dress upon a lady. Notice where your
model is too small or misshapen, and bind on pieces of tow; or

206 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

paste and bind on wadding, excepting near the wings, where
wires would fail to pierce wool or wadding. When properly
shaped, give the whole of the model a good dressing with flour
paste (see page 88, No. 31), into which a little carbolic acid has
been stirred. Paste the inside of each piece of skin with this,
and commence to finally rearrange them. As a rule, the under
and breast pieces are fixed first, then the wings are wired* and
firmly clenched on the body; adjust the wings into proper
position, bringing the breast feathers over at the shoulders;
next, put on the wing coverts, the back, the tail (firmly wired),
and the upper and under tail coverts; lastly, the head and neck
pieces, shaping the made neck into position, &c., as you proceed.
Sometimes it is necessary to slip a piece of wadding underneath
to swell out a certain set of feathers; in this case, lift up the
surrounding parts with a crooked awl or with the feather-pliers,
and carefully insert the wadding in such a manner that the
paste shall not clog the other feathers in juxtaposition.

When finished to your satisfaction, lightly sponge off any
excess of paste with warm water; wipe down with benzoline, and
dust plaster thickly over all the specimen; this assists the
drying and cleans it. In an hour or so dustoff the plaster with
a bunch of feathers, and bind the skin with “wrapping cotton”
in the usual manner. Set it in a warm place, or in a current of
air, for a week or so, to dry, and, lastly, put in the eyes and finish
off. The foregoing, though apparently a Cesarian operation, is
not difficult to a practised hand. I may, perhaps, here mention,
in order to encourage my readers, that I myself once successfully
mounted a large snowy owl from thirteen pieces of skin, and
that had there been twenty-three it would have come out just
as well.

In “relaxing” it is often better, especially in such specimens
as Birds of Paradise, to pull off the legs and wings; by this
means the skin is more easily stretched, and always, in the
hands of'a master, makes up more satisfactorily than by any
other means.

* Note that even in close-winged birds, which a pieced specimen such as this one
described must be of necessity, it is always advisable to wire the wings as for flight (see
page 11()), ranning them on these wires close to the body, and giving them by this means the
necessary cuivature; entirely different, and much more natural, than if simply bolted on
by_straight wires running through the shoulders into the body.

eS,

CHAPTER XIi.

CoLourina Bitts anp Ferret or Birps, Bare SKIN or
Mammats, FisHzs, EtCc.—ReEsTorinG SHRUNKEN Parrs
py A Wax Process—Dryine anp CoLourinea Ferns,
GRASSES, SEAWEEDS, ETc.—‘‘ Pirece Movutps,”’ anp
Mope.tuine Fruir In PLAstER—PRESERVING SPIDERS
—Makine SKELETONS oF ANIMALS, SKELETON LEAVES,
ETc.—Po.isHine Horns, SHELLS, Erc.—Hae CoLiect-
ING AND PRESERVING—ADDITIONAL FORMULA, ETC.

CoLouRING BILLS AND FEET oF BIRDS.—Birds which, when
alive, have either legs, bills, or faces of various bright colours,
lose these tints when dead, and after lapse of time, the colouring
matter in some cases totally disappears, and nothing can
restore the loss of pigment but artificial treatment of the faded
parts. To do this satisfactorily is not one of the easiest matters
in the world, inasmuch as two things are to be strictly guarded
against. One—thick painting, which hides all the characteristics
of the scutelle, or plates of the legs and toes, or fills up the
minute papille of the face; the other—imparting a too shining
or varnished appearance to the parts coloured. So httle colour
is required for this purpose that I have found the oil-colour
tubes used by artists to be the handiest and cheapest. The
colour, when squeezed out, is to be thinned with turpentine
only, until it readily flows off the brush on to the beak or legs
of the specimen; if properly done it is very transparent, and
of just sufficient quality to give the necessary brightness without
undesirable shininess.

208 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

The colours that are most useful are chrome yellow, yellow ochre,
Prussian blue, permanent blue, light red, burnt umber, flake white,
and vermilion. With these every shade of grey, blue, green, red,
or pink can be obtained; they are all cheap, but if a quantity of
vermilion is desired, it is cheapest bought as a powder at the
oilman’s, and mixed as required. When colour tubes are not
procurable, the same colours are to be obtained at the oilman’s
in powder, or ready mixed, which latter must be thinned with one
part transparent paper varnish to two parts turpentine (turps),
the varnish being added or decreased as dry or mixed colours are
used. “Brunswick black,’ a cheap and durable brown, ¢f laid
on thinly, z.e., thinned with turps, is sometimes used for colour-
ing the noses of mammals. It must be recollected, however,
that greys predominate in some noses over browns, and .that
the surface is seldom of one tint, hence “ Brunswick black” is
seldom used by artists, who prefer to make tints from some of
the colours mentioned.

Faces of parrots must be whitened with dry “flake white ”
appled with a piece of cotton wool. -

The bills of toucans, and similar birds, require some nice
colouring to blend the various tints one within the other. If
the reader requires a more scientific method of doing this, I
must refer him to “‘ Waterton’s Wanderings in South America,” |
in which work he will find an account of the manner in which
that eccentric naturalist cut out the insides of his toucans’ bills,
paring them down to the outer layer, through which the subse-
quent artificially-introduced colour was revealed. ; |

It would, no doubt, be possible to introduce colour into combs
and wattles, and also into the bills of some species of birds by
subcutaneous injections of various dyes when the specimen was
fresh, but as all taxidermists are not skilled anatomists, and
have not too much time to spare in doing what is—at best—but
an unsatisfactory and wnpractical method, I may relieve their
anxiety by saying at once that the difficulty attendant on shrinkage
of the integument may be avoided by using wax, with which
to thinly paint the large bills of some birds, and the legs of all,
restoring also the fleshy appearance of wattles, &c. Let us take
one or two representative birds—first, an eagle, to work upon,
Premising that your bird is finished and dry, and that you hay

COLOURING AND RESTORATION OF DRIED SKIN. 209

previously accurately copied into your note-book the colours of
the soft parts, you will begin by brushing over the parts to be
coloured with a very little turpentine. Next, heat in a pipkin,
or “ patty-pan,” some beeswax, into which a little common resin
has been powdered, just sufficient to harden the wax under the
point of brittleness; apply this with camel-hair brushes of
different sizes to the eyelids (the eye being in and fixed), the
superciliary ridge, the cere, the gape, and all over the bill, and
legs, and feet, regulating the thickness of the wax thus—very
thin over the bill and eyelids, a little thicker upon the cere,
ridge, and gape, and quite thick upon the legs and feet; so
much so, indeed, in places on the latter, as to necessitate
carving up with tools to reproduce the underlying shrunken
scutes, &c. This, of course, is a delicate operation, involving
practice and artistic perception of form. Remove all super-
fluous wax by paring with curved awls of various sizes, and
rubbing down with rag wetted in turpentine. Some parts
of the legs may be treated with hot irons (large wires, old
awls, knives, &c.). When the wax is sufficiently ccld, which
it will be in a quarter of an hour after finishing, commence
colouring, by using the colours direct from the tubes,* with as
little admixture of “turps” as possible. Note the different,
tints—quite three shades of yellow upon the cere, four or five
upon the bill itself, and perhaps half-a-dozen upon the legs
and feet, and carefully put them on. Properly finished, your
eagle will—if correctly shaped—be quite life-like; all the soft
parts now look full and fleshy, having lost that hard appearance
inseparable from direct painting on the Slaavellies integument
without the intervention of wax.

The wattles and combs of gallinaceous birds, after being
washed with preservative (Formula No. 15, page 77), or, when
practicable, skinned out and filled, together with analogous pro-
cesses on the vultures, and also the pouches of pelicans, &c., may
be treated in like manner, the wax being thinly or thickly painted
as required.

The inside of the mouths of mammals, their tongues, eyelids,
and noses, should be treated in a similar manner.

* Winsor and Newton, Rowney, or Roterson, are some of the best makers of these.

210 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

The skin of fishes also, which, when dry, shrinks away above
the eye and around the mouth and lips, should have these
parts replaced by wax before colouring, in the manner practised
on the new specimens in the Leicester Museum. So little, how-
ever, is the want of this understood, that, of the thousands of
stuffed fishes exhibited in the Fisheries Exhibition, I looked in
vain for one with unshrivelled lips or orbital ridges. For the
credit of artistic taxidermy, let us hope I overlooked some,
finished as they should be.

The fins of fishes may be repaired with thin tissue paper, or, if
finless by accident—’ware cat!”—may be replaced by wax.
White wax may be coloured in some instances before using.
Paraffin wax does in some situations, but is not a very tractable
medium. Dry colours may sometimes be rubbed into the wax
with advantage. The colouring of a fish’s skin, which, when set
up and dried, is colourless, as noted at page 180, is a nice
operation involving some artistic ability; the same remarks
apply as those upon the colouring of the bills and feet of
birds (see ante), but with this difference, that although the
colour should be thinly appled as directed, yet in this instance
the appearance of wetness has to be represented. In ordinary
taxidermic work this is managed by adding clear “paper”
varnish, or “ Roberson’s medium,” to the colours, thinned by
turpentine, floating the tints on the skin of the specimen, and
nicely blending them, in order to obviate unnatural streaks or
bands of colour.

Speaking of the duck-billed platypus, the Rev. J. G. Wood, in
“ Homes without Hands,” has some pertinent remarks upon the
manner in which nearly ali taxidermists allow the cuticle to dry
and shrivel, to the ultimate distortion of the surrounding parts:

“The wonderful duck-like mandibles into which the head is
prolonged are sadly misrepresented in the stuffed specimens
which we generally see, and are black, flat, stiff, and shrivelled,
as if cut from shoe leather. The dark colour is unavoidable, at
all events in the present state of taxidermy. Bare skin in-
variably becomes blackish-brown by lapse of time, no matter
what the previous colour may have been, so that the delicate
tints of an English maiden’s cheek and the sable hue of the
blackest negro would in a few years assume the same dingy

COLOURING AND RESTORATION OF DRIED SKIN. 211

colour, and become quite undistinguishable from each other.
But there is no excuse now-a-days for allowing the bare skin to
become shrivelled. The colours we cannot preserve, the form
we can and ought to reproduce. No one would conceive, after
inspecting a dried specimen, how round, full, and pouting were
once those black and wrinkled mandibles, and how delicately
they had been coloured while the animal retained life. Their
natural hue is rather curious, the outer surface of the upper
mandible being very dark grey, spotted profusely with black,
and its lower surface pale flesh-colour. In the lower mandible
the inner surface is flesh-coloured, and the outer surface pinky
white, sometimes nearly pure white.”

All this could easily be avoided by the taxidermist first
skinning the beak and lips to their farthest extent, and then
filling them with clay or composition, and afterwards waxing
and colouring the parts in question.

Small birds having black feet or hills, which permanently
retain their colour, need only to have them slightly brushed with
oil, before casing up, to give them proper freshness.

Hoxttow Eyrs.—I have for a great number of years discarded
the conventional glass eyes*—glass buttons I have heard them
irreverently termed !—for all fishes, reptiles, birds, and mammals,
excepting the smallest, using, in their stead, hollow half-globes
rather more oval than round; these are hand-painted on the
Inside with either water or oil-colours, and when dry are
varnished, filled in with wadding and putty, or modelling-wax,
not clay, and fixed in the orbits with wax, see ante. These, pro-
perly coloured, and, in the instance of fishes, gilded inside, are
wonderful representations of the natural eye, and when properly
inserted, the cornea in mammals reproduced by wax, and the
eyelids properly managed, give a most life-like and natural
appearance to any specimen.

“Piece Moutps ” AND MopDELLING TonauEs, Muscues, &c.,
In Composition.—As I stated at the end of Chapter VIL.,
“composition” has for its base one of three things— clay,

* Glass eyes have of late been much improved in shape and colour by the Germans, and
also by some English eyemakers, who have had the sense to listen to the suggestions of artistic
taxidermists. I have by me now a really beautiful pair of glass lynx eyes, veined and
streaked, and ‘‘cornered” in porcelain, in almost as perfect a manner as could be
managed by hand-painting.

212 FRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

~ plaster, or wax. The uses of the first I have fully explained
—glue-water and plaster will stiffen or toughen it. There is
also “terra-cotta” clay, which, if moulded into shape, can be
“fired,” and is lighter, and retains its shape without cracking.
Its service to the taxidermist is limited to the reproduction of
certain bones and some few natural objects, such as fungi, &c.
Plaster casts of almost anything may be made by “piece-
casting,” which is casting arranged to take moulds from
anything “undercut” or complicated; such, let us say, as
a lion’s head with open jaws, or the human face, surrounded
by a wreath of leaves and flowers, as in the antique sculp-
tures. Assuming you had such a model as this to cast from,
you would commence by oiling or soaping the whole in the
ordinary manner. The plaster being prepared, is poured on the
neck or chin, being prevented from spreading to other parts by
clay placed across as a barrier. The first section, being cast, is
trimmed, and its edges cut diagonally toward the chin, in sucha
manner that the next piece ultimately unlocks from it, without
being wedged by undercasting. So you may proceed, trim-
ming each piece, cutting its edges to prevent locking, and
casting bit by bit until you reach the hair and forehead, with
wreath. Here the pieces will be numerous, and your ingenuity
will be exercised to keep out of trouble from getting some
piece or another to lock the others. The face will often mould
into three or four pieces; but it is on the forehead, chin, and
throat—and, if a lion’s head, in the open mouth — where the
multiplicity of parts may perplex. These small pieces are, when
taken from off the model, very difficult to put together again
without a core; hence, when the mould is complete, each little
piece must have a shallow hole cut on its top, be replaced on the
model, and a “jacket-mould” cut into two or more pieces by
string (as described at page 154) made over the whole. This
jacket keeps all together for the ultimate casting by the pegs
in its surface made by the holes of the pieces underneath.
The ultimate cast is made by plaster being poured into a hole
left at ‘one end of the mould for that purpose. Should this
ultimate casting be wanted hollow, it will be necessary to shake
the plaster, when poured in, around the mould in the manner
described for making wax fruit (see page 217).

“ PIECE-MOULDS” AND CASTING. 913

Small undercut articles may be cast from, by making a mould
of best glue—“ gelatine glue”—which readily stretches enough
to “clear” undercuts and come off the model. To get a model
from this glue mould, cover the original model you wish to cast
from with as thick a covering of clay as you wish your gelatine
mould to be when run; upon this pour plaster to form a
“Jacket,” letting its top and bottom rest on the top and bottom
of the original model. When the clay is removed, and the
“jacket” fitted on again, it will, of course, only touch at top
and bottom, leaving an interspace all over the remainder of
the model. A hole being now cut in the “ jacket,” the glue* is
poured in over the original oiled model, and fills up the inter-
space left by the removal of the clay. When cold, it, of course,
forms a mould into which plaster can be run, in the usual
manner, to form the ultimate model. Piece-casting of large
subjects, where the various parts are cast and then fitted
together afterwards, is best understood by learning a little from
some Italian modeller, or looking over the seams (representing
the “ piece-casting” joints) in some one or other of Brucciani’s
reproductions, which may be seen in almost any art gallery or
museum.

One great advantage of this system is, that by its means
large models, if built up in ordinary field clay, or by any other
means, may be cast from in plaster or in metal by the inter-
vention of piece moulds, failing which it would be impossible to
doso. The resultant model, if in plaster, is not cast solid, but is
hollowed out in the casting—to prevent weight—by “cores”
being inserted in the moulds. “Casting sand” is, however,
necessary when casting in metal, together with all sorts of
technical appliances and knowledge beyond the scope of the
taxidermist, and although I have found it necessary to cast in
metal for some purposes, it is so seldom needed that I do not
purpose describing what any friendly brass founder will tell the
amateur in a few minutes. The casting by amateurs at an
ordinary fire is limited to three metals—lead, tin, and zinc—or a
mixture of two.

* Made by steeping fora night, and allowing it to absorb all the water it will, throwing
away the surplus, and boiling the remainder in the usual manner in a glue-kettle. Pouron
when hot, not boiling.

214. PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

How large models in clay, &c., can be made is described by
Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, F.G.S., &c., in his paper on the
reproductions he made of the extinct animals exhibited at the
Crystal Palace, Sydenham :

“ By careful study of their works I qualified myself to make
preliminary drawings, with careful measurements of the fossil
bones in our Museum of the College of Surgeons, British
Museum, and Geological Society. Thus prepared, I made
my sketch-models to scale, either a sixth or twelfth of the
natural size, designing such attitudes as my long acquaintance
with the recent and living forms of the animal kingdom
enabled me to adapt to the extinct species I was endeavouring
to restore.

“T caused the clay model to be built of the natural size
by measurements from the sketch model, and when it approxi-
mated to the form, I, with my own hand in all instances,
secured the anatomical details and the characteristics of its
nature.

“Some of these models contained thirty tons of clay, which
had to be supported on four legs, as their natural history
characteristics would not allow of my having recourse to any
of the expedients for support allowed to sculptors in an ordinary
case. I could have no trees, nor rocks, nor foliage to support
these great bodies, which, to be natural, must be built fairly on
their four legs. In the instance of the iguanodon, it is not less
than building a house upon four columns, as the quantities of
material of which the standing iguanodon is composed, consist
of 4 iron columns, 9ft. long by 7in. diameter, 600 bricks, 650 5in.
half-round drain-tiles, 900 plain tiles, 38 casks of cement, 90
casks of broken stone; making a total of 640 bushels of artificial
stone. These, with 100ft. of iron hooping and 20ft. of cube inch
bar, constitute the bones, sinews, and muscles of this large
model, the largest of which there is any record of a casting
being made.”

Other uses of plaster are also described in Chapters VI. and
VII. One of the uses of plaster in modelling is, however, to
reproduce flesh, &c. For this purpose mix plaster of Paris
(best S.F.) with boiled oil until it forms a smooth, thick putty,

MODELLING COMPOSITIONS, ETC. 215

which, though at first capable of much finger-and-thumh
manipulation, dries as hard as stone, and is fairly light and
impervious to damp. Plaster will also make a putty if mixed
with glue-water.

The composition used by the picture-frame makers is also a
first-rate medium, being susceptible to the softening influences
of hot water when newly made, but ultimately dries as hard as
the preceding. It is made variously, but perhaps the best is
made thus:

Cement for Modelling.
Three parts best glue. One part linseed oil.
One part powdered resin. Whiting.

Tallow candle.

Melt the glue with water until it is moderately thin. Boil up
the resin and oil together (be careful of fire). Mix up this with
the glue by thorough stirring and boiling together, turn
it all out into a bucket (unless you are boiling it in one), and
add half a tallow candle. Stir in enough powdered whiting to
make a thick putty. Pour some out on a plate, and let it get
cold; you will then be able to determine whether the mixture
requires more or less glue, whiting or oil. It should dry tough, but
not too brittle, and should, when cut into strips and warmed by
hot water or steam, be tough and yet pliable. Properly made,
this cement is invaluable to the taxidermist, as it works well by
the hand or by tools, drying slowly until it sets. It can be
worked over real or modelled bones to show sinews or muscles as
previously mentioned. The tongues of mammals or fishes may
be cast either in plaster, glue, or wax, and subsequently modelled
in this cement, plaster, or wax, as required.

Wax is the last, and, as I have before pointed out, is, whether
used melted or softened by warm water, of the highest service to
the artist. Beeswax, when melted, will mix well with either plaster
or whiting, or with both, and will make a useful modelling
composition, its brittleness being determined by its containing
more or less plaster. Wax will also mix with red ochre, and
makes a modelling composition. Modelling wax is sold, how-
ever, ready prepared, and is useful to pack under the skin for
delicate muscles or “ flabby ” folds of skin.

Paraffin wax melted, and modelled when half cold, is also

P

216 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

sometimes of service; it has, however, so little affinity for
“sticking” as to come away from almost anything smooth, on
the slightest provocation.

White lead stiffened with whiting is sometimes useful in
taking the place of putty, and is a trifle more durable.

Perhaps, at the end of this section, it may not be amiss to
point out to the modeller that it is of the highest importance
that all his tools should be freed from dirt and plaster at the
conclusion of his day’s work; scarcely anything rusts and
spoils tools more quickly than damp plaster left on them.

To InmitatE BLoop.—Frequently blood is required to be
shown, as in instances where some animal may be represented
tearing its prey. Usually this is done by thickly painting
on vermilion and red lead mixed with varnish, or brushing
_on red lead mixed with thick glue, as a base on which to
subsequently lay the vermilion. I may point out, however,
that blood differs in tint, and that the appearance of torn
flesh, fresh blood, and coagulated blood is best got by painting
the parts with wax, and tinting, with a little vermilion, some
madder brown, or madder lake (a rather expensive colour),
and light red, arranged and blended one with the other as in
nature.

Should you be setting up a large group, such as a tiger tearing
open a deer, or a vulture at a sheep, you may represent the liver
and other organs in modelling clay or plaster, dried, waxed, and
coloured, or by coloured wax alone if the part to be modelled is
not large.

Snow, Frost, AND IcE.—The appearances of snow and frost are
imitated in a variety of ways. Pounded white sugar; alum
powdered, or put on boiling, and suffered to crystallize; borax,
two parts, alum, four parts, burnt in a shovel over the fire; and
various other crystalline preparations. Nothing, however, is
half so good as using best 8.F. plaster of Paris mixed with
powdered “glass frosting”’—bought from the glass-blower’s or
artificial eyemaker’s—to imitate snow, the powdered glass
frosting being thrown upon the foliage and rocks—the latter
being gummed or varnished with paper varnish—to imitate ice.
Blocks of ice require special treatment with glass and thin

phi:

SNOW AND FROST; MODELLING, ETC, 217

paper strained over a framework and varnished to get a good
and natural effect. Icicles are best modelled in glass.

WATER AND WaAveEs.—Water is best represented by “ ham-
mered glass” coloured, and streaked, and varnished, to the tint
required. Birds may be represented swimming by being cut
in halves, their upper and under surfaces fixed to the corre-
sponding sides of the glass, or the glass may be cut to receive
the body,* which is the most satisfactory, although the most
difficult to manage without smashing the glass. Holes may be
drilled inthe glass to allow water plants to come through, or
to allow long-legged birds, such as herons, to stand mid-leg in
water.

Waves are moderately well imitated by thin paper creased, var-
nished and coloured, on wnich white wool “ foam” is arranged.

MopELuine Fruit, &., In PLASTER.—You may, perhaps,
wish to model an apple, peach, or plum, to place in the hands
of some mounted object, such as a monkey. To do this, you
take a natural fruit, which oil, and push it half way (on its
fongest axis) into a bed of damped and hard-pressed sand
banked up all round. At some little distance from the edges
of the fruit stick two or three small pegs of wood (points
downwards) about half-an-inch long, leaving a quarter-of-
an-inch out of the sand. Over all this pour some plaster of
Paris mixed with water to the thickness of a paste; when set,
lift it up carefully—the plaster now appears with tke fruit
half set in it, and the two or three little pegs of wood sticking
up, their other half firmly fixed in the plaster—oil their points,
the face of the plaster, and also the fruit, and laying the half-
east fruit uppermost, pour over it some more plaster. When
set, trim the edges, the complete mould will then part in halves,
and the fruit will shake out. Oul the mould inside, and when
dry procure some wax—beeswax from the oilman’s will do for
this purpose—and after heating it carefully, for fear of fire, pour
it while hot into the mould through a hole cut for that pur-
pose. When about a quarter full, put your thumb or finger
over the hole, and rotate the mould rapidly. Allow it to cool,

* There is a black-necked swan (Cygnus nigricollis), from Chili, treated in this manner, in
the Leicester Museum.
P 2

218 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

and on opening the mould the artificial fruit will drop out,
and may then be coloured by powder or varnish colours to the
tints required.

My friend, Wright Wilson, F.L.S., &c., surgeon to the Bir-
mingham Har and Throat Hospital, has very kindly written me
a short description of the plan he adopts, which, it will be seen,
is a complete reversal of the foregoing:

* With regard to plaster casts of fruit, &c., a much neater and
readier method of making the mould is to mix a sufficient
quantity of beeswax with resin in a pipkin over a slow fire. It
must be used whilst just lukewarm by either dipping the fruit
—say, an apple—until sufficient adheres to form a good strong
coating. When cold (dipping in cold water will readily make it
so), the whole can be cut through with a sharp knife, the halves
of the fruit come out easily, and a perfect mould in two halves is
thus obtained. Fasten the halves of the mould together with
string, and smear a little of the warm material over the joint to
hold it together, and cast your model (into this, through a small
hole made for the purpose) in the usual way with plaster of Paris
made rather thin with water. When set, place in a little warm
water, when the mould easily strips off, leaving a model of
the most perfect kind and at a small expense, for the mould
can be melted up and used over and over again.” Glue may
sometimes be substituted for the wax.

The advantage of being able to fall back on this system is
obvious, especially if the modelled fruit is to be placed in a
position exposed to considerable heat. Of course, the plaster
model must be coloured to nature, and, as I have before pointed
out, this is not one of the easiest things to do. I would
suggest dipping the model (when dry) in melted wax to give a
surface for colouring, or modelling it in paper.

PRESERVING SPIDERS, &c.—Spiders, which from their rarity
or the beauty of their markings it may be desirable to preserve,
require the contents of the abdomen to be pressed out, or their
bodies to be cut underneath. A first-rate article on preserving
these crustaceans appeared in Science Gossip for January, 1868,
in which the author points out what is just as well to bear in
mind, which is “that the colouring matter or pigment is placed
between the outer or abdominal covering and the pulpy contents

PRESERVING SPIDERS AND LARVZ OF INSECTS. 219

within, upon a very delicate membrane, which adheres very
loosely to both, but more firmly to the contents within; so that
when the viscera or contents are rudely removed, and without
much tearing, the whole mass will be found more or less coloured,
while the outer skin will be left entirely transparent. To
preserve, therefore, the beauty of spiders, this must be un-
touched.” He further says: “Make an incision along the
ventral aspect of the abdomen, nearly its whole length, or as
long as will enable the pulpy contents to be easily removed;
then pinch up the pulpy mass with a small forceps, carefully
avoiding any dragging; then, with sharp-pointed scissors, cut
away the contents bit by bit until the whole is nearly removed,
er until you can see the brilliant colour shining through what
remains in the cavity—better leave a little too much than be too
nice in clearing all away; then, with a blowpipe, distend the
empty abdomen; it will very soon become firm, and
retain its original form, but until it is so the blow-
ing must be frequently repeated.” A correspondent
to Science Gossip, page 21, 1868, says: “I found
the best way to preserve spiders was to suspend
them by a loop round their waist in a solution of
glycerine 3, water 3. The solution may want
changing once or twice at first, after that it will
keep unchanged for years.”

PRESERVING CATERPILLARS. — The larve of
moths and butterflies may be preserved by pressing
out the contents of their bodies, and by working
from the head to the tail in a gentle manner,
and assisting the removal of the mass by a careful
dragging with a crochet needle. When empty, a
little corrosive sublimate solution may be injected
with a metal or glass blow-pipe, and the empty
skin then distended by blowing into it through a
very fine blowpipe, made by drawing out in a clear
flame a small glass tube until it is attenuated to
a fine point. This being inserted in the orifice
at the last segment of the caterpillar, is kept in
place by being tied round with a piece of darning Fie. 36.—Buow-

: c - PIPE FOR In-
cotton, or, better still, by a contrivance shown in sratiweLenva,

2209 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Fig. 36 (the invention of Mr. Auld, in Science Gossip for 1872),
A A are pieces of watch spring tied on the thick part of the
blowpipe, and holding the caterpillar by pressure on the last
segments when the point B is inserted.

Mr. Auld, I see by his article, used a spirit lamp under a
glass jar to form a drying chamber while blowing; but I have
myself found a “box iron” a most convenient arrangement.
The inner iron, being heated in the fire, is placed in the chamber
or “box,” which it thoroughly heats; then removed, and the
larve introduced and blown out in the hot air, but not so full as
to unnaturally distend the segments. A certain loss of colour
inevitably takes place in preserved larve, which in the larger
ones may be restored by colouring inside them with powder
colours mixed in turps. Coloured wax is sometimes injected,
and makes the skin very firm, but it is a delicate operation,
requiring great skill in application. When finished, they may
be “mounted” on green silk-covered wire, or, more naturally,
on nicely modelled leaves of their various food-plants, by gum
attached to their claspers.

It is often necessary to plunge the more delicate larve into
a weak solution of carbolic acid, or alum and water, to harden
tnem before preservation.

SKELETONS OF ANIMALS.—Many people being under the im-
pression that it is only necessary to remove the flesh of any
mammal or bird in order to get a perfect skeleton, it may be as
well to point out that as the flesh rots, so do the ligaments
which hold the bones, and consequently the skeleton falls to
pieces. When, therefore, you have made your skeleton by the
means recommended by various authors, such as exposing it in
an ant-hill, a wasp’s nest, or to the attacks of the “ blow-flies”
or “mealworm” (the larve of a beetle), to “tadpoles,” or—as
is the usual way with the bone preservers—by maceration in
water for a lengthened period (after removal of a great deal of

the flesh, the skin, and entrails), you will, after the careful

removal of the flesh still remaining, and subsequent drying of
the bones in the sun and air, find that nearly every bone will
have to be attached to its fellow by fine brass wire, and in the
case of the bones of large animals, each bone will have to ke
neatly drilled and coupled with brass wire of greater strength.

MAKING SKELETONS OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS. 222

Skeleton-making by maceration in cold water is, perhaps,
one of the most sickening operations. I have been somewhat
successful by trimming off all the flesh possible, wiring some
parts together, tying others in cloths and boiling them gently for
several hours in water changed from time to time, afterwards
taking them out and picking off, with fingers and blunt tools, ail
the flesh remaininge—whilst hot—then drilling and wiring all
together with galvanised or copper fastenings in a proper
manner, boiling again in plenty of water, and then allowing the
bones to remain in cold water—constantly changed—ifor a week
or so; finally laying out in the sun and air to bleach. By this
system I have lately “skeletonized” part of a horse, and the
bones are free from grease and fairly white. Experience, how-
ever, in this as in everything else, will tell you what to do and
how to piece one system into another to best advantage.
Washing the bones with Hudson’s “dry” soap, or soda and
water, will often remove a great deal of the grease. Chloride of
lime and water will assist the bleaching, but must be managed
cautiously, or in careless hands it is likely to do more harm than
good. ‘The making of good and nicely bleached osteological
preparations really depends on carefulness and neatness, sup-
plemented by water, air, and sun; by the three latter aids, I
have repeatedly improved in a wonderful manner “old bones”
which were greasy and discoloured.

Should the sea be close at hand, the skeleton, shut in a | ho
with holes, may be sunk, and exposed to the attacks of various
“small deer,” especially “bees” (4Zga tridens), which swarm in
some shallow waters to such an extent as to clear the flesh from
a large animal in a few hours.

SKELETON LEAveEs.—Very beautiful objects may be made by
placing the leaves of trees and shrubs, or such as are of a strong
or woody texture, in a pan, pouring boiling soft or rain water
over them, then exposing them to the atmosphere for a time
varying from one to three or four months. They are then gently
lifted out and held on a board, or on a plate, under running
water, and the pulpy part, or epidermis, removed by gentle
brushing with a camel-hair pencil or fine needle, to split the
skin away from the mid-rib. When nothing but the ligneous
skeleton or woody fibre remains, it may be placed in a weak

2, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

solution of chloride of lime, and exposed to the sun under glass
to dry and bleach. To prevent them sticking to the paper on
which you may wish to dry them, use either blotting-paper or oiled
paper, after well washing the leaves. If skeletonizing in summer
time, trust to sun alone, as chloride of lime has a tendency to
make the leaves go brittle. The seed vessels of various plants,
such as the poppies, thorn apples (Dature), and campions, as
also the leaves of laurel, holly, ivy, L:me, sycamore, poplar, and a
host of others, may be treated in this manner. When finished,
they may be mounted on wires whipped with white silk, and
placed on black velvet under a shade.

Some writers have advised the boiling of the leaves in a
solution of caustic soda, or steeping them ina strong mixture
of chloride of lime and water, but I have hitherto considered
these plans not so practical as the foregoing, though, perhaps,
quicker; as, however, I find two writers, in Science Gossip for
1867, very positive on the subject, I will give the following
extracts :

“A solution cf caustic soda is made by dissolving 30z. of
washing soda in two pints of boiling water, and adding

30z. of quicklime, previously slacked; boil for ten minutes,
decant the clear solution, and bring it tothe boil. During ebulli-
tion add the leaves; boil briskly for some time—say, an hour—
occasionally adding hot water to supply the place of that lost by
evaporation. Take out a leaf and put into a vessel of water, rub
it between the fingers under the water. If the epidermis and
parenchyma separate easily, the rest of the leaves may be
removed from the solution, and treated in the same way; but if
not, then the boiling must be continued for some time longer.
To bleach the skeletons, mix about a drachm of chloride of lime
with a pint of water, adding sufficient acetic acid to liberate the
chlorine. Steep the leaves in this till they are whitened (about
ten minutes), taking care not to let them stay in too long, other-
wise they are apt to become brittle. Put them into clean water,
and float them out on pieces of paper. Lastly, remove them
from the paper before they are quite dry, and place them ina
book or botanical press."—Dr. G. Dickson, Science Gossiz,
January, 1867.
“T once saw another way of managing skeleton leaves thas

POLISHING HORNS, TORTOISE-SHELL, ETC. 223

interested me greatly. The leaves were boiled for two minutes,
and then transferred to a strong solution of permanganate of
potash and gently heated. In an hour or two the laxer tissues
were easily removed by means of a brush. Sulphurous acid was
used for bleaching them, and this liquid was also employed with
much facility for the removing of the stains on the fingers
caused by the permanganate of potash.”—GEORGE NEWLYN,
Science Gossip, November, 1867.

The last-named gentleman appears to bleach his leaves by
fastening them across a hat-box by means of strings, inserting a
pan or tin cup containing sulphur, setting it on fire, and shutting
down the lid (of course, out of doors). The whole article is very
interesting, but too long for insertion here.

CRUSTACEANS.—Lobsters, crawfish, and crabs must have the
cephalo-thorax (the upper part) disjointed from the body or
“tail” part, the imbs taken off at their attachment to the
body, and the whole of the flesh removed by means of the
“undercutting tool” (see Fig. 29), and crooked wires; afterwards
wash the inside with carbolic wash (No. 15), and fill the limbs
and body with dry plaster and wadding, neatly fixing on the
legs where disjointed, and putting the remainder of the body
together with any of the cements mentioned on page 89.

PoLisHING Horns.—As a commencement it will be requisite to
remove all the rough shell-like layers of horn which stand up as
knots and gnarls, and mar the symmetry of the horns. In some
horns, old ones especially, you will find their inner sides covered
with several thicknesses of this waste or dead stuff. Do not be
afraid, but boldly pare this down level with the surrounding
horn, for which purpose nothing is so good as a spokeshave.
Blood stains usually lie in the soft upper layers; shave these
down carefully until they end, which will be underneath where
the horn becomes white and of a more ivory-like texture. When
nearing this it will be as well to give up the use of the spokeshave,
and use some instrument in a scraping manner; the side of a
chisel (not the cutting edge) or a knife is best for this purpose.
The handle being held in the right hand and the point in the
left, scrape the horn until you get to the white part, which will
be somewhat harder than the remainder. In colourless horns
you must get down to this white part, or your polish will not be

229A PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

high; besides this, blood stains will show up, and the surface will
look of a soapy, greasy nature, instead of the ivory-like texture
it should assume. Be careful when working to the largest part,
or base of the horn, not to run your tool through, as it is much
thinner there than at the tips.

Whilst thinning rough places in certain horns you will find a
half round and fiat fine rasp of great assistance. When you have
obtained a nice even surface al! over, use glass paper of different
degrees of fineness, and pumice-stone. Collect the dust which
falls off, with a rag dipped in linseed oil and well rub the horn
with this. Next get some “putty powder” (oxide of tin), which
rub violently on all parts of the horn with a rag and linseed oil,
finally finishing off with brown paper, a soft rag, and the palm
of the hand, using plenty of “elbow grease.” Remember, horn
polishing is all hard work, unless managed by “bobbing” ona, |
lathe, so let no one attempt it who is not prepared to work
very hard, as plenty of quick and violent friction is indis-
pensable in the latter stages to give the high polish requisite.
Horn may be softened, and ultimately dissolved in caustic soda.

POLISHING TORTOISE-SHELL, &¢.—To polish tortoise-shell]
(which is in many cases turtle-shell) it is necessary to scrape the
shell very carefully with a broad knife, taking care not to cut
through to the under shell or “bone.” When properly smoothed
rub it over with pumice-stone and water, then with bath-brick and
water, finally polishing off, when you have a nice fine surface,
with putty-powder and oil, or rotten-stone and oil, with plenty of
hard work and hand-polishing towards the last. A little tallow
rubbed in with the hand, as the very last finishing touch, will be
found of benefit. A paste made of sal volatile and rouge has been
recommended to be applied to the shell after scraping, then
suffered to remain until dry, and finally polished off.

Bad places in the shell, where it has peeled or been broken off,
should be made up with coloured shellac, or hardened wax, put in
with a warmed knife after polishing, and finished off separately.
Tortoise-shell may be welded by heat.

Sea shells may be polished by being plunged for a little time
in dilute nitric acid, then rubbed down with sand paper or fine
emery and oil, finished with “ Water-Ayr” or “ Snake-stone,” and
finally polished with putty-powder and oil. A mussel-shell

COLLECTING AND PRESERVING EGGS. 995

treated in this manner makes a most beautiful object, coming
out purple, with streaks of lighter blue and pearl.

_ Stones, such as agates, which are found on the sea beach, or
any stone which is required to be polished, is to be first ground
down to a rough surface, then polished by successive rubbings of
first, second, and third grit-stones of different degrees of fineness,
lastly “ Water-Ayr” or “ Snake-stone,” and finished with “ putty
powder” applied with oil. All of the stones or grits mentioned
are to be procured at the marble mason’s at a low rate. Serpen-
tine treated in this manner makes a very beautiful object.

Eaas, COLLECTING AND PRESERVING.—Eggs of various birds
may be sought for in their seasons in the
localities best suited to the several species.
But so much depends upon special training or
aptitude in the collecting of birds’ eggs, that
a detailed description of localities where to seek,
and how to find, eggs, is hardly necessary, in the
pages of this work, further than to remark that a
pair of “climbing irons” are requisite for those
individuals who do not possess the agility of a
cat or of a schoolboy.

Climbing Irons (see Fig. 37), to fit the foot and
leg, are best made of wrought iron with a welding
of finely-tempered steel from C to DE, to form
the claw used when chmbing. To affix them to
the leg, the foot is placed as in a stirrup from C
to B, the claw ED pointing inward. A strap 5 “

1@. 37.—Cui5-
should now be passed through a slot or square inc Inon.
hole punched in the metal between C and D
(not shown in the figure), and laced under and across the foot
to and through the loop shown between B and A at a, thus
keeping the foot itself tightly fixed. Another strap passes
through the loop at the top where marked A, and is strapped
round the calf of the leg, keeping all below the knee rigid and
secure. When climbing, the hands clasp the tree in the usuai
manner, and the side of the foot is struck smartly against the
trunk, to cause the claw to penetrate. The climber now rests
on this, and strikes the claw of the other iron in, on the other
side, higher up, and so on alternately.

296 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Eggs, when procured, must have their contents removed. To
do this they must first be drilled with little steel instruments
called egg-drills, which are made of various degrees of fineness
according to the size of the egg to be operated upon. Drills are
to be procured from the various dealers, but can be made from
steel wire softened in the fire and filed to a sharp three-cornered
point—afterwards tempered to hardness—for the smaller eggs,
or filed up for the larger eggs to the pattern of a “countersink”
used for wood; indeed, the smallest-sized “ countersink ”” made—
to be procured at any ironmonger’s—will do very well for eggs
the size of a hen’s. Capital egg-drills are to be made from
“pinion wire” used by watchmakers. Simply file to a point,
and “relieve” with a small “ three-square ” file the channels of
the wire, giving them a cutting edge up to their point. With
such a drill as this—cost, about 2d.—I have blown, without
any breakage, eggs varying in size from swallows’ to hens’.
A drill costing 2s. 6d., which was the price I paid for my first—
purchased from a surgical-instrument maker in London, since
deceased—could not do the work better.

To use these drills, rotate the point by “twiddling” the drill
between the finger and thumb, making only one hole, and that
in the centre of the egg. When a nicely-rounded hole is cut, the
egg must be emptied by means of an “ egg-blower,” or blowpipe;
the point being introduced into the hole, the contents are blown
out or sucked up into the bulb, which, when full, is emptied out
at the other end. It sometimes happens that the egg is “hard
set.” The embryo must, in that case, be cut out with small
curved scissors specially made. If hard set, putrid, or stale, an
egg often bursts when touched. To obviate this, drill and blow
it under water.

Young birds can often be extracted, with a little care, un-
injured from their egg-shells, and yet—as happened to me lately
in the instance of a hawk—the shell may make a presentable
museum object, after such extraction.

In all cases eggs should be thoroughly rinsed out with a
solution cf six grains of corrosive sublimate to an ounce of
rectified spirits of wine. This may be sucked up into the bulb
of the “ egg-blower,” and thence ejected into the egg, which is
to be rotated, and what solution is left may then be sucked back

PREPARATION OF MICROSCOPIC OBJECTS. ipa

and thrown away, or returned to the bottle. Great care must be
taken, however, that the mixture shall not pass the bulb and be
drawn up into the mouth, as it is, of course, a deadly poison;
the egg, being placed (hole downwards) on blotting paper, is to be
left until dry. Those who object to poison may rinse their eggs
out with water to which has been added a few drops of strong
essence of cloves. This is agreeable to use, and appears to
cleanse away all impurities. A little label may finally be
gummed over the orifice, and the specimen is then ready for the
cabinet; or, as labels will in time fall off, however well they
may have been previously gummed, it is better to write a
distinguishing number, and as much of the history of its collec-
tion as is possible on the egg itself, the full history, of course,
being posted up in the note book. Labels may, however, be
used with great advantage on the divisions of the cabinet
drawer which separate one species of egg from the other.
Loose labels are not to be used on any account, as they often get
reversed and create confusion, and a collection thus treated is
brought into grave discredit. Eggs, when being sent any
distance, should be separately wrapped in cotton wool, and
packed in a strong box, any interstices being lightly filled with
wool also. Sawdust or bran should never be used as a packing
medium, as the eggs shake together and break each other in
travelling.

For those who require coloured figures of eggs I must refer
them to Hewitson’s ‘Eggs of British Birds,” or Atkinson’s
“British Birds’ Eggs and Nests,’ a much cheaper, but very
good little work ; also to a new work by Mr. H. Seebohm (the
celebrated traveller in Siberia, &c.), entitled, “A History of
British Birds,” with coloured illustrations of their eggs.

PREPARATION OF Microscopic OBJEcTs.—The same remark
applies to this as to aquaria (see Chapter XIII.). The treatment is
so varied, the objects so numerous, that books upon books have
been written on it. Every naturalist and curator, however,
has to work sometimes with the microscope; but taking into
consideration the vastness of the subject, I must refer them to
text-books, such as Beale’s “ How to Work with the Microscope; ”
Lankester’s “ Half-hours with the Microscope ;” Hon. Mrs. Ward’s
“The Microscope;”’ Davies “On the Preparation and Mounting

2983 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

of Microscopic Objects;” G. HE. Davis’ “ Practical Microscopy; ”
Gosse’s “ Half-hours with the Microscope;” Wood’s “ Common
Objects of the Microscope;” any of Quekett’s works, and to
late numbers of the Monthly Microscopical Journal, Nature,
Science Gossip (the latter teeming with practical hints on all
matters connected with natural history), and hosts of other works.

This chapter, dealing as it does with details and hints upon
many subjects, may fittingly be closed with scraps forgotten in
the body of this work, but which now cecur to me as being
useful knowledge. |

STarcH AS Paste (see page 88).—Procure some common
starch (that which is white looking is perhaps the best), mix it
up with a little cold water, just sufficient to dissolve it, stirring
it thoroughly to prevent lumps. Pour upon this sufficient
boiling water to make it into a stiff paste. This will be found
most useful for clean paper or photographic work, as it enables
paper to be pasted on cardboard, &c., without creasing. The
paper should be first wetted on the face side, the back pasted
with the starch-paste, fixed on the cardboard, and the whole
dried off by blotting paper. For common taxidermic work,
paste containing resin (sold at leather merchants’) is strong
and cheap.

Best GLvE, made in the ordinary manner, but rather thicker
than usual, then poured into a bottle containing enough methy-
lated spirit to thin it, is recommended as being a strong medium
to stick paper on wood or cardboard, with the advantage
claimed for it that it does not cause the i wood or cardboard
to “cast” or “ buckle.”

MARINE GLUE dissolved in diluted acetic acid makes a strong
cement for certain things, such as mending shells. This, as also
the preparation of Formula No. 33, page 89, should be kept in
bottles, or small stoppered jars, and melted for use by sur-
rounding with hot water.

LEATHER is (so says a bookbinder) to be pasted, after it is
damped on the outside. Cloth is to be glued. This is useful to
know if making up cloth-covered boxes with leather backs, to
imitate books (see Chapter XV., on Entomology).

AntTI-Insect Nostrums (see pages 85-7)—Russian tallow in

ADDITIONAL PRESERVATIVE FORMULZ. F29

saucers, oil of birch, flowers of sulphur, hellebore, pepper,
tobacco, are said to be ‘“‘bogies,” the last especially, to the
Dermestes beetles and their cousin, Anthrenus museorum. Try
them, but don’t rely too much upon them, is my advice; nor,
indeed, upon anything—not excepting even corrosive sublimate.
Trust only to exposure to light and constant supervision, zinc
or wire drying cases, and to “casing up” as soonas possible. If
sending specimens long distances, it 1s well to pepper the shot
parts, enclosing also in the parcel some pieces of charcoal
wrapped in paper. Of course, if the specimens are not for the
table, dilute glacial carbolic acid, poured on the wounds and
down the throat, is the best thing to do, but it should always
be noted in an accompanying letter, for fear of accidents.
Smearing the hands and face with paraffin is said to keep
forest flies and midges from biting.

PRESERVATION OF ANIMAL TISSUE (see pp. 78-85).
Chloride of zine, 1 part. | Water, 20 parts.
This formula appears to be one of the non-alcoholic preser-
vatives most suited for fishes in preparation jars. I have so
lately tried it that I cannot at present state if it is the very best.

Picric Acip, formed by a certain chemical fusion of
earbolic acid with nitric acid, is recommended (when diluted) for
the preservation of soft-bodied animals, such as zoophytes, &c.

BICHROMATE OF POTASH (see page 81), though so useful
for pickling fishes, mollusca, worms, and even “jelly fish”
and sea-anemones, is, have found, lable to be attacked by
mildew; to prevent this add a few drops of phenic* (carbolic
acid). This salt is also used in microscopy to assist in fixing
glass covers on glass slides. The cement in question appears
so admirably adapted to many purposes, that I think it worth
quoting (see Science Gossip, 1879, p. 136) :

Cox’s gelatine, 2oz. | Acetic acid, fiuid, 1 drachm.
Gum ammoniac, 10 grains.

“ Dissolve in a water bath, and filter through cotton while
warm. This cement remains fluid when cold, and dries quickly.
After the ring has become set, or stiff, the whole slide is
immersed for a minute or so ina 10-grain solution of bichro-

* Phenol, Phenic Acid, Phenic Alcohol, Hydrate of Phenyl (C,H,;,HO)=Carbolic acid.

230 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

mate of potash,and is then allowed to dry, exposed to the light,
which makes the bichromated gelatine perfectly insoluble, even
in boiling water, and thoroughly prevents the escape of any
glycerine.”

PERMANGANATE OF POTASH (see page 84) is recommended at
p. 49, Science Gossip, 1879, by a French scientist, for ‘‘ preserving
delicate organisms.” “It is especially good in histological
researches, as it acts like osmic acid, burning up the protoplasm, ,
bringing out the minutiew, and showing the nuclei, outlines of
cells, &c. It is used as a saturated solution in distilled or very
pure spring water; sea-water also dissolves it. The concen-
trated solution, of a lovely violet colour, kills small organisms at
once, and then burns them. They are left in it from thirty
minutes to an hour, then withdrawn, and placed in alcohol, after
which they can be made transparent with essence of terebinth
and mounted in Canada balsam. Beautiful results are thus
obtained with echinoderms, zoophytes, worms and marine arthro-
poda. For delicate researches, especially in the ciliated infusoria,
it is better than osmic acid, without its great cost, and is every-
where easily obtained.”—G. Du PLESSIS.

GLYCERINE (see page 76).—Glycerine will be found useful for
rubbing on the eyes or noses of animals to keep them moist and
prevent their drying up when modelling, as well as for many
other purposes, which will readily occur to the practical worker.

CoRALS, &c., may be cleaned by first soaking in warm water, |
to remove surface dust, &c., then allowing the tap to run on
them for some hours, and afterwards soaking them in a weak
solution of chloride of lime for a short time, until fairly
bleachea.

Birps may be roughly preserved from immediate decay by
pouring down their throats, or into their bodies by an incision
under the wing, crude creosote or carbolic acid. I remember
once having a collection of birds from India prepared in this
way, which after a iapse of years were successfully skinned and
made up—* as well as could be expected.”

Sometimes I have been written to by correspondents to say
that they had cured some mammals’ skins by Formula No. 9,

DAMP AND MILDEW. MBL

and that there was an efflorescence about the mouth, or that
mildew had appeared. My answer has ever been:

Firstly, that possibly the specimen had been cased up too soon.
At least two months should elapse after stuffing before mammals
should be mounted in a case.

Secondly, that common alum had been used instead of burnt
alum.

Thirdly, that an undue proportion of saltpetre had been
mixed with the alum.

Should mildew make its appearance, it would point to improper
mounting—i.e., not trimming off enough flesh or fat, or to the
specimen being mounted in a case before it was sufficiently
dry. If it be mildew, the specimen must come out of the case
and be properly dried. If it be merely crystallisation of impure
alum, the crystals must be washed off with warm water from
time to time as they form, until no more appear. It must be
remembered, however, that a damp house, or juxtaposition to a
wet wall, will ruin the most carefully mounted specimens.

Correspondents may be quite sure that neither the method
nor the formula are to blame in the matter. The great point is
to wipe off the mildew or crystals as fast as they appear until
no more form, which will determine when the specimen is
thoroughly dry.

How to solder, either by the blowpipe or by the “ bit,” is now
and then useful knowledge. Any mechanic will impart this for
2 consideration.

CHAPTER XIII.

Cases, Mounts, Suizntps, Eaa Casinets, Rockwork,
Frrns, Grasses, SEA-WEEDS, ETC., FOR “ Firrina vp.”

CASES can be made in all styles. The oldest is the “box,”
which needs no description. Next in age is the “canted-
corner case,” a most odious abomination beloved of the
amateur; the shape of the ground plan being as Fig. 38. <A to
A the front, B to B the back, C C C 1s glass, the points A A
are wooden or metal uprights, pinning together top and —

Hs) B

iA Cc A;

Fig, 38.—PLANn oF ‘‘CANTED-CORNER’’ CASE.

bottom; BB BB is wood; hence it follows that all the space
outside the dotted lines is useless, or if used at all, the uprights
(A A) cross perhaps the most important part of the work, so
that this shaped case resolves itself into the following difficulty :
either the case is too large for the object, or two lines cross it.

The usual glass-ended square case is easily made by any
amateur joiner in this wise: Take two pieces of wood for

CASES FOR SPECIMENS. 233

top and bottom to size required, plane and square them
up together to ensure their being exactly alike; then, with
a “ plough” plane, set to 3in., “ plough out” all around the front
and sides of each to half its thickness. Take the back and nail
jt to the top and bottom with brads; having done which,
next take two pieces of wood for the uprights of sufficient
thickness to suit the case—too great thickness being guarded
against. Let us, however, assume that each of these pieces
is 3in. square, the height immaterial, “plough” these out on
two sides, the “plough” still set at Zin. for depth. For the
front, “plough” out gin. from the edge, and Zin. deep, this
still leaves jin. out of the #in. untouched; turn the upright
now on its side and repeat the “ ploughing,” allowing for
just missing the point of intersection. Fig. 39 shows a
section; the dark part is the wood left, the
dotted squares show where the wood has
been removed; the corner A, outside the
dotted line, is afterwards rounded off. Hach
upright is “ploughed” alike; they are then
glued and nailed to the top and bottom by
brads running through; the rounded edges
falling outside.

The case is now finished, as will be seen,

for the reception of glass at its front and Ft4, -—Sxction or
sides. First, however, it will have to be Eulaes OF SQuaRE
blacked or ebonised. Mix, therefore, some :

“lamp” or “drop” black in powder, with thin glue-water, boil,
and lay the mixture on witha stiff brush over the case whilst
warm. When quite dry, rub it down with fine sand paper.
The subjects being mounted in the case, paper the glass
in with brown paper and strong paste, and then go over the ©
previously blackened case with a very thin coat of Brunswick
black. When this is dry put a slip of iin. or in. gilt
moulding (procured at the picture frame maker’s) all around
the front of the case on top of the prepared glass, and just
within the edges of the wood “ploughed” out to receive
it, nicely mitring the corners with a mitre and shooting block.
The foundation of this latter is a sound lin. board, 2ft. 6in.
long by 18in. wide, or of any other convenient EN aee

Q

934, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

Upon this is screwed another piece an inch or more thick
(Fig. 40), so as to make a step (C C). Both pieces must be dry,
so as not to be liable to warp; upon the higher part are screwed
two strips of hard wood (B B) about 1$in. or 2in. wide, forming
a right angle where they meet. The whole must be very
accurately made, and although deal will answer the purpose,
hard wood of some kind will be more satisfactory. Beech
or oak will do very well.

Suppose a piece of moulding to require mitring; it has only
to be laid as shown against the guide bar (B), and sawn off on
the line (CC), or laid on the other side against the second guide
bar, and similarly cut off. It will be necessary to use both sides
in this way, because, although the piece cut off has also an angle

,
MNT Wy

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a! CSN

THUMM MMMM TMT

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Fic. 40.—M1tTRE BLock.

of 45deg., it would need to be turned over and applied to the
other, which could not be done without reversing the moulding.
In a plain unmoulded strip this, of course, would not signify.

Gilt moulding may be put at each end or not, according to the
fancy and pocket of the workman. The case is now finished,
and shows the front and two sides of glass framed in by gilt,
outside of which is the narrow black line of the wood. If it be
desired to get up the wood of the case in a superior manner, it
must first be blacked with the glue and lamp-black, sand-papered
down, blacked and sand-papered again, and finally French
polished.

The most substantial and effective case is the “ stop-cham-
fered” one, made either in deal ebonized, or fancy woods

CASES AND MOUNTS FOR SPECIMENS. — We,

polished. In this the glass is put in from the back with putty,
or papered in, and finally held in place by “beads” of wood,
the top is lined with linen and coloured in oil, and after the
work is put in (from the back) the hack-board (previously lined
and coloured) is screwed up, and thus you have a case perfectly
impervious to dust or to the changes of the atmosphere. Unless
the amateur is a good workman, it will be better for him to get
such a case turned out by a professional joiner, to ensure clean-
cut work.

These are very handsome and neat cases, especially if the back
be “ploughed” out deeply to receive a canvas on a stretcher,
on which a characteristic scene is painted. In this event the
included work must be good, and the fitting-up as plain as
possible.

Cases for fishes are best glazed by “sprung” or semi-convez
glass for the fronts, which often does away with the necessity
for glass ends, and gives also a more artistic and finished
appearance.

Glass shades, especially those of an oval shape, suit many
birds well, but for large work are more expensive than cases.
Stands in black or gilt are usually supplied with them; but
those in mahogany, oak, and other fancy woods must be ordered,
unless the amateur possesses a lathe, and the requisite knowledge
to use it. In fitting up these with rockwork, &c., it is best to
arrange the work on a “false bottom,” or at least to cover up
with paper the polished stand, lest it be spoiled.

Movunts.—‘ Mounts,” which are simply tops of round or oval
shades fitted into corresponding stands or frames of wood, or are
open cylinders of glass with a flat piece cemented on one end,
were, I believe, first invented by Mr. George Ashmead, of Bishops-
gate-street, London. They are very effective, and also occupy but
little space, as they hang up on the wall in positions where
shades or cases will not go. The method of making up a
“mount” is as follows: Procure from a glass merehant the top
of a shade, let us say 12in. in diameter by 7in. high. To this
have a stand or rim turned out of thoroughly dry wood of
sufficient size to overlap the shade lin. all round—14in. in dia-
meter, therefore, for a 12in. shade. A groove should be turned
in the stand of sufficient width to allow the glass to play freely.

936 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

The groove, hcwever, should be so arranged that the excess in
width should fail eutside the glass. The centre of the stand
inside the groove being tinted for a sky, as desired, the objects,
whether small birds or butterflies, are introduced in the usual
manner, and the glass is then cemented, in the groove, over them.

Waste cylinders of glass may be economised for making
mounts. It will then, however, be necessary to have a circular
plate for the top cut by a glazier’s turn-table. These are
really better for showing up anything than the round-topped
mounts, as they cast no reflection; but the top plates are
harder to put on and to keep on when finished. Strongly
pasted black tape will do to fix the very small ones, but for
larger the tops should be cemented with thick white-lead, left to
dry, and then further cemented with narrow tape smeared with
white-lead, or any of the cements given on p. 89. If it be desired
to give a rounded edge to this taping, plaster or whiting mixed
with glue and lamp-black may be laid on thickly, rubbed down
with fine sand-paper, and polished, or if the black is left out, the
cement may be gilded, after the manner of picture frames.

The stand itself may be “dished” out in the centre, in concave
form, and thus more room allowed for the enclosed specimens;
but in this case the stand must be of some thickness.

At one time the glasses were put in the stands with glue
and cork, or glue and paper, until it was found, in nine cases
out of ten, that glue, under atmospheric changes, sooner or
later broke the glass, or else entirely released it. Putty was
then used, but that failed to hold with the tenacity required,
as there was a constant tendency of the shade to fall out
by its natural weight when hanging up. I have accordingly
mixed white-lead with putty with better results, in the pro-
portion of two parts putty; one ditto white-lead (thick,
such as gasfitters use); one-eighth ditto gold size—or I
have used red-lead, mixed with common putty and boiled -
oil; and, again, simply plaster of Paris mixed with water.
These last two are the best holdfasts of glass within my
experience.

Supposing the stand to be ebonized, or of mahogany or any
other fancy wood, the putty or plaster can be coloured to any
required tint, or if the stand is gilt the cement can be gilded

MOUNTS, ETC. Papal

over. Failing to make a very neat job, it will be necessary to
wind a piece of chenille around the shade in order to hide the
junction.

As it is very difficult to prevent a small percentage of the
cement from working inside, and thus spoiling the neatness of
the sky effect, 1 have devised the following plan, which I do not
think is generally known: Instead of using a solid stand with
groove for the back oz the mount, [ turn a rim of wood to form a
ring, in such a manner that it shall just pass over the shade
without allowing the latter to fall through at its bottom edge.
Underneath this rim, or ring, I turn it out to within a quarter
of an inch of its edge to receive the back, turned out of a piece
of thinner wood.

The rim of wood is best turned by being nearly cut through
on its upper or pattern side, the wood then reversed on the
lathe, turned out to receive the back, then altered again, and the
rim cut entirely through. To fix this, the rim is fitted on over
the glass, and kept in place with cement. The work is made up
on the back, which is then screwed, or pasted, or glued, in the
hollow turned out at the back of the rim. By this method
there is no cement showing inside on the sky-line of the work
when finished, nor can the glass possibly tumble out, being, of
course, held by the rim, which is of necessity smaller than the
bottom of the glass. Such rims may, of course, be ebonized, of
fancy woods, or gilded, according to the taste of the workman.
A small serew-plate with ring should be attached to hang it
up by. 7

A modification of the “mount” is made by securing five pieces
of glass together in the usual manner, by tape pasted on each
edge to make a square glass cover, making up the work on a
piece of board of the required size, rebated or grooved all around,
or by nailing on strips of wood to receive the glass cover, which
is then pasted or cemented to the edges of the board, and finally
finished off by dropping over all picture-frame moulding, cut and
joined to size, to which the back is screwed. This style does
either for fishes or dead game to stand upon a hall table, or
easily becomes a “mount” by the simple process of screwing on
“ plate-rings,” and hanging it up on a wall.

The colouring of the backs of cases and mounts is of two

238 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

kinds—distemper and oil; that is to say, supposing paper,
calico or sheeting is used for the back of the cases or mounts.
Colour the paper or other material—if you wish to show
a toned sky—with whiting in which a little glue-water or
paste is dissolved, or with common flake-white and size (note
that there must be a good body of white to give a luminous
appearance), tinting at the same time with blue, shading off into
pink, &c. The colours most useful are ultramarine, vermilion,
and chrome yellow in powder. This colouring will not do if
putty is used to put the glass in with, as the oil flies over the
tinted sky. For oil painting place a thin calico or canvas on the
backs, and colour with the tints you desire, mixed in oil and
turps. Putty can be used in any part with this colouring. One
coat of colour is sufficient, as if another is added an unpleasant
glaze is the result.

SHIELDS.—Heads of mammals, &c., when set up and finished,
should be mounted on “shields” of fancy wood; oak or mahogany
being the best, unless ebonized and gilded pine is preferred.
The shapes are usually a modification of the conventional
“heart,” such as will be found in a pack of cards. This being
purely a matter of individual taste, the taxidermist may easily
make as many patterns as he chooses by doubling a piece of
brown or stiff paper and cutting his shapes out therefrom. One
of these paper patterns may be traced around upon a piece of
planed wood of the suitable size, and cut out by a “bow”-saw,
the edges trimmed and bevelled, and the surface finally polished.
A key-hole (protected by metal screwed across in the instances
of large or weighty heads), is bored or cut, by which to hang it
up, and the neck-block cf the specimen is screwed thereto by
three screws of sufficient length placed in the form of a
triangle. Horns alone are attached to shields by screws run-
ning through the frontal bone, or, if without this, are attached
to a model of the frontal bone in wood, by nuts and screws.

CABINETS FOR Heas AND Sxins.—I have lately seen many
cabinets for eggs, skins, &c., constructed on a capital system,
the invention, I believe, of Mr. Salvin, the eminent ornitho-
logist. The drawers are made of varying depths, from lin. to
6in., and the bottoms are fitted with tongues overlapping each

CABINETS; CASING UP WITH ROCKWORK, ETC. 239

side, which fit into grooves cut in the carcase of the cabinet,
and so arranged by a little calculation that a shallow drawer
can immediately be inserted in the place previously occupied
by a deep one, or vice versé—.e., a deep 6in. drawer, which may
be No. 30, at the bottom, can be pushed upwards at any inter-
mediate point between that and No. 1. The modus operandi
is as follows: Whatever the depth decided on of the drawers,
the carcase is grooved all the way down to half the depth of
the shallowest drawer, if in even inches, or to a multiple of
each drawer if otherwise. Example: Take a foot rule and
mark off 10in. on a piece of paper, dividing it into alternate half
inches making, of course, twenty half inches; this represents the
carcase. Then take some strips of paper or cardboard, which
cut to lin., 1gin., 2in., 23in. and 3in. respectively, total 10in.
These represent the drawers; putting them in their order, they
will, of course, fit in the 10in. Now change them about, top
to bottom, or bottom in the middle, or in any way that you
like, and you will find that they will always fall in a groove,
leaving room for the others, when pushed down, without any
open space between.

The same method is adopted in the cabinets under the
invertebrate show cases in the Liverpool Museum, which I
recently visited under the able guidance of the clever and
genial curator, Mr. Moore, so well known, together with
his family, in connection with many unique and beautiful
osteological preparations.

CASING UP WITH RocKWoORK, ETC.—Brown paper was
formerly the piece de résistance of those who aspired to imitate
rocks on which to place or to surround their animals. It was
used by being first soaked in water and drawn over pieces of
wood, boxes, or large cinders even, to give shape. It was then
glued, and small stones and sand thrown on. Usually
uncoloured, it revealed itself in its naked ugliness, and looked
what it was—paper. Later, it was more artistically arranged,
and when divested of folds by the application of more paper,
plenty of glue, and well coloured, it certainly looked decent.
Then came peat, a glorious innovation for quick, if not artistic,
work. This dried earth, dug from bogs, admits of being
carved and shaped to almost any form. Sandstone and some

240 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

other rocks may be represented by it, as also trunks of trees.
Well glued and sanded, it takes colour readily, or it may be
gone over with a mixture of whiting and plaster of Paris
with glue-water, and finally coloured; or dry plaster may be
mixed with thick oil paint as a “priming” medium.

“Virgin ” cork is the latest rockwork model. Its shape
being irregular, it is well suited to imitate craggy rocks, added
to which it takes thick colour or whiting well, glued or
unglued.

Nothing, however, beats a mixture of all methods—paper,
peat, and cork, their lines broken up or blended with wadding.
The whole of this, well glued, sanded, and properly coloured,
will defy the most critical unprofessional judgment to declare
it anything but what it seems—hard rock.

I am speaking, of course, of small cases; large work
requires consideration. Peat will not do for anything but the
illustration of small subjects. It is too heavy, and does not
readily adapt itself to imitate large masses of overhanging
rock; added to which, its expense in large quantities is very
great. It is also dirty to work with, and is often a harbour
for larve of various moths—inimical to the taxidermist. Iso
recognised all these facts in the treatment of the rockwork
in the Leicester Museum, that I determined to use paper only,
treating it by an old method, artistically elaborated.

This method was, after making a rough drawing and cal-
culation as to the positions the specimens would occupy in
the case, to nail strips of “quartering” across the backs of
the cases, to which again were nailed strips of #in. wood,
crossing in all directions, but especially where the drawings indi-
cated a mass of rock. On these, and to these, small shelves of
wood were nailed in the positions to be subsequently occupied by
the specimens. To these shelves cardboard was tacked, and bent
upward and downward to the pointed or square shapes assumed
by the rocks modelled from.* Where the edges were too sharp
they were beaten in by a mallet, or altered by glueing cn
wadding. The mass of rock being joined here and there to

*It is quite necessary in artistic modelling not only to have coloured drawings of the
mocks you are imitating, but to have an actual piece by you as a little guide to torm and
colour.

ARTIFICIAL ROCKWORK, ETC. 241

break up the appearance of shelves, and to give a certain
homogeneity, was then treated by having brown paper well glued
on both sides, stuck all over the edges, joins, or accidental
fissures; this, suffered to dry, was then well painted with a
mixture of whiting and glue-water, again allowed to dry, and
again painted. When this last was dry it was gone over with
a thin wash of glue-water, and sharp “silver” sand thrown on;
when dry, coloured by staining it with various oil colours (not
tube), and some few powder colours—blue-black, yellow ochre,
Vandyke brown, celestial blue (cheap), burnt sienna, &c., thinned
with turps, afterwards touched up, when dry, with touches of tube
colours, smartly and cleanly put on. This would be the treat-
ment and colouring for greyish-brown or yellowish-grey smooth,
dry-looking rocks, sandstones, &c.; and by a little alteration of
tint and treatment in places, would imitate the various slates.

For chalk and limestone, mix plaster and sand with the
whiting and lay it on thickly, not throwing on sand, as a final
operation. Colours, of course, are different here, more bright
and light green predominating; but the colouring of the
rockwork, &c., to imitate the various kinds of rocks required,
is only to be learned by experience; in point of fact, to colour
rocks in an effective manner is really the work of an artist,
for it is requisite to know the properties of colours, and to
“scumble” and “stipple” or “glaze” one colour over another
to get “depth.” A few hints may, however, help out the tyro.

For rough sea rocks, after sanding and glueing, go over the
rockwork with a mixture of chrome yellow and Prussian blue,
mixed with oil and turps, the blue predominating; touch up
the points with white, and allow it to dry. The next day
deepen the shadows with Brunswick black, “ stippling” lightly
the remainder of the rock with the same. Arrange sea-shells
and sea-weed, here and there, where the mounted subject
allows of this treatment. This is a shining dark bluish-green
and. brown rock, suitable for sea-gulls, divers, &c.

For rough grey land rock, paint over all with lamp-black in
powder, mixed with plaster of Paris, and touch up the points
with oil white. When the work is quite dry, go over all with
a glaze of Prussian blue mixed with Brunswick black. Fit
up with ferns, grass, and golden lichens on the points, or in

242, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

the hollows. This makes a greyish rock with no gloss, and
is suitable for owls and similar birds.

For rough sandstone rock, paint over with chrome yellow
and a very little blue mixed with oil white, the latter pre-
dominating; dust over on the points with red sand, touch up the
hollows with Brunswick black, suffer to dry, and then go over
all with a very little rose pink or vermilion, worked up in
turps with a little varnish. Fit up with ferns, grasses, and
mosses. This is a reddish-yellow rock, suitable for anything
not having red or yellow fur or feathers.

The predominating colour may be mixed with the whiting,
&e., to paint over the artificial rock; but there is a certain
loss of brilliancy in the colours which follow, unless a white
ground has been previously laid on.

For certain objects a great advantage is obtained by making
up the rockwork on a false bottom and slipping it, ready
finished, into the case.

There are hundreds of other varieties, but they must he
worked out by each person according to his proclivities. It
might as well be expected that a picture could be painted from
printed directions as to imagine that one person could make a
rockwork precisely similar to another without seeing it done,
or without working it out by his own experience.

Trees for large groups may be carved out of successive layers
of peat, or modelled up with brown paper and virgin cork;
better still by arranging brown paper over rods or a wire
framework, covered previously by tow, and afterwards coloured
to nature. The leaves of some trees dry and colour up well,
and can be introduced on the natural or artificial twigs.

Twias.—Artificial twigs can be made by twisting tow round
wire, glueing, and throwing on sawdust, peat-dust, &c., and
afterwards colouring. The most natural way, however, is to
rub up the gold and grey lichens, and throw them on the
glued tow, filing up afterwards with larger pieces to break
the lines. Natural and artificial twigs mix well together; the
latter, from their flexibility, allowing of any treatment.

FERNS, GRASSES, ETC., FOR “ Firrine up.”—Time was when
our ancestors were content to stick their preserved specimens

FERNS, GRASSES, ETC., FOR “ FITTING UP.” 943

in boxes with nothing to break the blank of white paper which
backed them up. Nowadays we have arrived at such a pitch
of decorative art in taxidermy, as in all things, that this stiffness
of outline does not suffice; accordingly, we break our background
by flowing lines of beauty, produced by the graceful aids of dried
ferns and grasses, twigs of trees, Kc.

Many ferns are not suitable for decoration; for instance, the
male fern (filix-mas) is of too tender a texture to stand upright
when weighted with colour. The very best fern is the common
brake (Pteris aquilina), as also the common polypody (Poly-
podium vulgare). The fronds of the brake should be gathered
in August or September, when they are fully matured and hard,
and also when the weather, is hot and dry. If gathered in
continuous wet weather, hardly any amount of drying will
prevent the fronds from ultimately becoming mouldy, when no.
amount of after-drying prevents them going brittle and dropping
to pieces. Ferns which have lost their green colouring matter,
and are going red and yellow, dry well, and retain their colours
nicely if quickly dried.

Foreign ferns, such as the various adiantums, the “gold” and
“silver” ferns, and many others, dry well, and retain their
colour if care be used; nothing suits foreign birds better as a
background than the ferns and grasses of the various countries.
they inhabit.

Paper used in the drying of botanical specimens is sold, but
being too expensive for this particular purpose, a supply of large
sheets of common grey paper used by ironmongers or grocers, or
even brown paper, will suffice—the ferns should, directly they
are gathered, be laid out straight on a board, or on a floor, and
covered with paper, then more ferns, again a layer of paper, and
so on—a board weighted with bricks should be placed over all,
and suffered to remain for a few days; the ferns are then to be
turned, the paper dried, and the process repeated. When
thoroughly dry, the ferns may be coloured with oil paint thinned
with turps and varnish, sufficient to give lustre without shininess.
Here and there break the green colour with white, red, blue, and’
yellow, in a manner which will occur to anyone having artistic
ability. Ferns treated in this manner soon dry, and retain their
colour for an indefinite period, the only thing to be said

944 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

against them being their rather unnatural flatness—due to
pressure ; this, however, may be counteracted by a little judg-
ment during the drying, one plan being the regulation of
pressure at certain points, aided also by clean dry sand.

Several hard-leaved plants (mostly foreign) found in our con-
servatories are also excellent driers, many taking colour readily.

Many grasses (not the flowers, but the leaves or blades) dry
well. Amongst the best of these is the “wiregrass,” found
in woods, growing especially over runnels in those localities.
The fiower also of this plant is most eligible as a decorative
agent. The wood melick is another elegant and suitable plant.

The sedges (Carex) dry and colour well, as also several of
the water-rushes, reeds, and flags. The “toad-rush” (Juncus
bufonius), and sts allies, found in damp places, by roads, by
canals, and in pasture or corn-fields, dry and colour excellently.

Sphagnum, or bog moss, especially when having pink tips, is a
most beautiful object; the only thing to be said against it is
the difficulty of getting it free from water, and the length of
time it takes afterwards to dry.

Mosses of various sorts growing in woods on trees—lichens,
gold and grey, mosses or lichen-covered twigs, sprigs of heather,
furze, sea-lavender—all dry well, and come in usefully.

Many persons like their moss and grasses dyed: thisis perhaps
allowable in some cases for common work; but if a bird or a
mammal is nicely mounted, the plainer the fitting, and nearer
nature, the better. To those, however, who desire to dye their
grasses, I recommend Judson’s powder dyes as the readiest
medium, the directions for manipulating which are given with
them. Any rough grass in flower does for dyeing, and a visit to
the fields just before haymaking will supply the amateur with
all he wants for this.

Teazles, thistles, and the umbels (seed-heads) of various plants,
chiefly composite, will be found of service; but everything
must be thoroughly dried before being coloured, or before being
introduced into shades or cases. Nothing must be coloured
with water colours or gums, as some writers contend, or mould
will inevitably follow. A few drops of creosote, or the black
carbolic acid of commerce, poured into the case or shade just
before closing up, is a very good thing to prevent mildew, though

SEA-WEEDS, SHELLS, ETC., FOR “ FITTING UP.” 245

if everything is thoroughly dried, and only oil colours are used,
no danger from this cause need be apprehended.

SEA-WEEDS, SHELLS, ETC.—Sea-weeds, which are constantly
used in fitting up cases of sea birds, need no description as to
their collection, further than to say that all sea-weeds, whether
sea-weeds proper, corallines, and zoophytes, must be well washed
in spring water, many times changed, to thoroughly remove the
salt, and must be well dried before being introduced into cases
or shades. ‘Those who require full descriptions of British
sea-weeds, their collection and preservation, I must refer to
“British Marine Alge,” by W. H. Grattan, published at the
office of The Bazaar, 170, Strand, London. Few sea-weeds proper
are applicable to the purpose of the taxidermist, though some
of the oar-weeds can be used, and many of the red sea-weeds
(Rhodosperms) can be floated out in water and carelessly
arranged on paper, if wanted for fitting-up purposes, or more
carefully arranged if for a collection. After washing, these
small plants adhere by their natural mucilage to the paper on
which they may be floated out. Of all the sea-weeds proper the
Carrageen mosses (Chondrus crispus and mamillosus) are the
_ most eligible, andif dried and arranged in cases are very elegant.
The common coralline (Corallina oficinalis)—a sea-weed which so
rapidly attracts carbonate of lime as to be almost of a stony or
coral-like texture—is another invaluable plant for fitting up.
When wet it is usually purple or pink, but on exposure to the
sun becomes white. Amongst the zoophytes which, though
looking like the sea-weeds, are not of vegetable origin, there are
many which are most useful, not to say indispensable to the
taxidermist. Leaving out the foreign corals, sea-fans, sponges,
&c., we shall certainly find the most useful English species to
be first: the broad leaved horn-wrack (Flustra foliacia), that
mass of thin hand-like leaves, of the colour of brown paper,
which is cast up on some shores, often in great quantities.
Other useful sorts are those like little trees, such as the common
sea fir (Sertularia abietina and operculata); these last are found
especially attached to stones, shells and sea-weeds. The
lobster’s horn coralline (Antennularia antennina) and the
varlous sponges are also most useful things, the branched
sponge (Halichondria oculata) and others being amongst the best

246 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

for use. Several of the bladder-wracks or “sea-grapes ” will dry
nicely, as also will the egg cases of the whelk and the “sea
purses” and “skate barrows,” really the egg bags of the dogfish
and skate.

The starfish, or “five fingers,” will, after washing, dry well,
or can be plunged in any one of the hardening solutions
mentioned in Chapter IV. The various sea urchins (Hchiniz),
if emptied of their contents, make pretty objects, either with
or without their spines. The beautiful sea anemones are,
however, impossible to preserve as dried objects, but must be
modelled in glass or wax, as imitations. Various shells
come in handily also; amongst those may be mentioned the
common razor shells (Solen ensis and siliqua), several of the
Venus shells, the common limpets, the chitons, several of
the trochi, and last, but not least, the shells of the speckled
scallop (Pecten varius).

Many freshwater, as also land shells, come in for decorating
eases of littoral birds. Amongst those of the first we may
instance Limnea stagnalis, palustris, peregra, &c., Dreissena
polymorpha, Planorbis corneus, &c.; the various Unios, anodons,
and many others.

Amongst the land shells very many of the Helices, such
as the gaily-coloured nemoralis, or its variety hortensis,
caperata, arbustorum, cantiana, &c., as well as many other
specimens.

The preservation of most freshwater and land shells is
exceedingly easy, the greater number of specimens requiring
only to be plunged into boiling water, and the contents removed—
an easy operation in the case of the bivalves, and the contents
of univalves or snail-like shells being also easily wormed
out with a pin or crooked awl.* For works on shells see
‘Manual of the Mollusca,” by Dr. S. P. Woodward, J. Gywn-
Jeffreys’ “ British Conchology,” Lovell Reeve’s “ British Land
and Freshwater Mollusks,’? and several clever articles in

* Mr. R. B. Woodward, F.G.S., &c., in one of the very best and most practical of those
wonderful little penny ‘‘ Handbooks” for young collectors, advises a large spoonful of
salt being added to the boiling water, for two reasons, one, because it puts them out of
pain at once, and also makes their subsequent extraction more easy. ‘It isa good plan
(says he) to soak the smaller shells in cold water (without salt), before killing them, as they
swell out with the water, and do not when dead retreat so far into their shells.”’

“> 2 ae

DRYING AND STORAGE OF SPECIMENS. 247

Science Gossip and the Conchological Journal, by Mr. G. Sherriff
Tye and others.

Glue is sufficient to fix all these objects in their places on
rockwork, in cases; resins, such as mastic or shellac, or any of
the cements mentioned in Chapter IV., pp. 88, 89, are, however,
the best mediums to fix such objects upon tablets for scientific
purposes. For fixing shells on labelled cards, Mr. Woodward
recommends gum arabic, with one-sixth of its bulk of pure
glycerine added to it, which makes a semi-elastic cement, with
the advantage also of allowing the shells to be taken from their
tablets, at any time, by the intervention of hot water.

DRYING AND STORAGE OF SPECIMENS.—lt is always a vexed
question how to keep newly-mounted specimens free from
moths, and flies, and dust, whilst drying. The difficulty is,
that you cannot put them away at once in boxes, cases, or
shades, for if you do they do not dry at all, but “sweat”
and slowly rot, or else become mildewed. If you expose them
fully without any covering, they are soon covered with dust,
and liable at any moment to—first, the attacks of meat flies,
and next of moths and beetles. Good insect powder is, as I
have before pointed out, a deterrent; still, to make assurance
doubly sure, I would always, in the case vf valuable specimens,
enclose them in square cages, made one side of glass, and
the three other sides and top of fine meshed muslin, wirework,
or perforated zinc, the latter sufficiently fine not to allow small
moths and flies to creep in. These can be made of various sizes,
can be varied by having a top and back of wood, can have the
front to open like a meat safe with shelves, or be simply cases
to lift over the specimens like shades; in any case, however,
the front glass allows you to see how all is going on, and the
wire sides permit a free current of air to pass through to
dry the specimens. In this manner I have been enabled to
laugh at the little wretches of insects buzzing around, and
flattening their noses against the zinc, in vain endeavours to
interview some charming specimens of young birds, whose
“fluffy” plumage they delight in. like the cats, they are
* so fond of noticing those dear little birds!”

Skins not in constant use for reference should, when

dried, be wrapped in soft paper amidst insect powder, and
Bz

248 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

put away in closely fitting drawers. ‘ Paper fasteners” are
very useful to clip the ends of the paper—folded over—which
encloses them.

AQuaRIA.—This being a subject a little outside my province,
I do not purpose dwelling on it, further than to say that all
information will be found in “The Aquarium, its History,
Structure, and Management,” by Dr. J. H. Taylor, F.LS., &c.;
Gosse’s “ Handbook of the Marine Aquarium,’ and many
others. Two recipes, culled from the Scientific American, 1879,
may be of service, however: ‘“ Cheap tanks can be made of wood
and glass, the frame and bottom being of wood, and sides of
glass. In order to make the joints watertight, care must be
taken to get a proper aquarium putty or cement. The follow-
ing is a good recipe: Put an egg-cupful of oil and 4oz. tar to
Ilb. resin, melt over a gentle fire, test it to see if it has the
proper consistency when cooled; if it has not, heat longer, or
add more resin or tar. Pour the cement into the angles in a
heated state, but not boiling hot, as it would crack the glass.
The cement will be firm in a few minutes. Then tip the
aquarium in a different position, and treat a second angle
likewise, and so on. The cement does not poison the
water.”

“To mend the broken glass of an aquarium, fasten a strip
of glass over the crack, inside the aquarium, using for a cement
white shellac dissolved in one-eighth its weight of Venice
turpentine.”

CHAP iii, any.

GENERAL Remarks on Artistic ‘f Mountine,” MopELLEp
Fourace, Screens, Lamps, Naturat History JEWEL-
LERY, ETC.

ARTISTIC MOUNTING.—GENERAL REMARKS.—By the time the
student has slowly worked his way to this chapter, he will no doubt
—should he be apt, and have an artistic mind—have achieved
things beyond the mere drudgery of the profession. I take it that,
being interested in his work, he will not have rested content with
mounting—even in a perfect manner—his animals at rest, but
will have “had a shy” at animals in action, or engaged in some
characteristic occupation. The days of birds on “hat-pegs,”
stiff-leeged, long-necked and staring, round-eyed, at nothing—
of mammals, whose length and stiffness are their greatest merit—
has passed away for ever; and only in dreary museums, far
behind the age, where funereal silence obtains, and where the
dust of mummied animals arises to awe and half poison the
adventurous explorer, are these “ specimens” to be found.
Public museums are, unfortunately, in nine cases out of
ten, not good schools for delineating the natural attitudes or
characteristics of animals. This arises partly from the fact
that all, save the more modern ones, retain their original spe-
cimens mounted in the old style. The newer work of the
museums of London,* Paris, Madrid, &c., is, however gene-

* Since this was written, the new South Kensington Natural History Museum has been
built, and I lately had the pleasure of a private view—through the courtesy of Mr. R. Bowdler
Sharpe, F.L.S.—of the new style of mounting of the tuture, 7.¢., pairs of birds, their nests
and young, surrounded with carefully-modeiled foliage and accessories. I there saw a bunch
of ‘‘ willow-herb” magnificently modelled, I was pleased, however, from an artist’s point
of view, to discover that we in Leicester could give them a “ Roland for an Oliver’ in our

R 2

250 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

rally of quite a different stamp. This struck me most for-
cibly with regard to that of Madrid, which I visited some years
ago. Thevertebrate specimens were old and wretchedly mounted,
the lepidoptera nowhere; but the recently acquired animals.
were splendidly rendered. The youthful and painstaking ama-
teur will, no doubt, however, do as I did when a boy
—viz., pitch upon some professional taxidermist, to whose
window he will repair at all available opportunities to learn his
style, now and then venturing on some small purchase (usually
a pair of eyes), to gain admittance to the glories within, and
have speech with the great man himself. Exploring in this
manner, I have had occasion to thank many of the leading
London taxidermists for little “tips” ungrudgingly given.

A few hints may suffice to help the reader. The most
important canonis: Do not mix your orders of birds; that is to
say, abstain from surrounding a hawk tearing its prey, with
various birds in all attitudes, placidly ignoring the ex-
istence of their enemy. A scene of this kind irresistibly
reminds me of the stage “aside,” when the villain of the piece
audibly proclaims vengeance against the unconscious hero but
two yards away on his right or left. Birds not of the same
kind, and from different parts of the world, are often cased
together, but this is open to criticism, unless you avowedly wish
to illustrate the whole order for purposes of reference, as in the
instance of, say, the Columbe (pigeons). Pairs of birds are the
most effective, if the idea of the surroundings is nicely carried
out. (See page 256.)

I have seen one or two very funny effects in the “Black
Country.” In one example, a scarlet ibis, mounted in a case om
a broken piece of highly gorgeous china gaselier ; in another, two
puppies facing each other on velvet, a piece of rock salt in the
middle, on which stood a lapwing, surrounded by foreign birds

in all attitudes. Need I warn the reader against such flights of

fancy and works of art ?

It is, I would remark, quite impossible to give directions:

white-throats, together with their nest and young, surrounded by a modelled bramble-bush
in blossom; and with our swallows in section of a cow-house—neither of which groups
have yet been attempted for the national collection. Iam trembling with apprehension,
however, that ere long Mr. Sharpe and his ‘‘merry men’’—one of them, a German, the:
cleverest bird-mounter I ever saw—will leave us in the lurch. Nevertheless, healthy emu-
lation of the best features of our national collection will do us no harm.

ane eo

BOOKS OF REFERENCE FOR ATTITUDES. Eh

as to attitudes, but on one point I might advise, in order
to save the many inquiries addressed to me, from time to
time, upon the subject of the straightness or otherwise of gulls’
legs. The fact is—gulls, when standing, tuck the tibia quite close
to the abdomen, apparently under the wing, and reveal only a
very little portion of the tibio-tarsal joimt, keeping the
metatarse perfectly straight, or, as someone wrote to me once,
“like two arrows or sticks.” (For explanation of these parts
named, see Plate IT., (N, q, P.)

Although most works on taxidermy profess to give descrip-
tions of the attitudes of animals, I cannot do so for the
simple reason that I consider the acquirement a speciality
and purely a matter of experience. Nature must be closely
studied; failing this, reference must be made to illustrated works
on natural history. All of Gould’s works are grand guides to
attitudes of specimens and accessories, as also that beautiful
work of my friend H. E. Dresser, F.L.S., &c., on the “ Birds of
Europe;” but as the price of these magnificent works places
them beyond the reach of any but rich people, the amateur may
fall back on Morris’s “ British Birds” and Bree’s “Birds of
Europe” for coloured plates, and Routledge’s “ Wood’s Natural
History” for uncoloured plates of many mammals, birds, and
fishes; those signed by Coleman being especially artistic and
natural. Add to these Cassell’s new “ Natural History,” edited
by Dr. Duncan, F.R.S.—really the best book on popular natural
history we have.

Other works, perhaps not so easily accessible, are the “ Pro-
ceedings of the Zoological Society,” and the “Ibis,” for coloured
illustrations of animals—often in characteristic attitudes, and
which, with the above-named works, fitly replace the more ancient
“pictures” of animals, arranged on the “fore and aft” system,
and from which instead of nature, our taxidermists took their
original ideas; indeed, the English school, with true British
insularity, would, I presume, have continued the mounting of
animals by this ‘‘fore and aft” method,* had not the Germans and
French broken rudely in on our slumbering taxidermists at the
Great Exhibition of 1851.

* Ts it not singular that even now anything stiff, inartistic, “solidly ” (7.2. clumsily) made,
or behind the age, is cherished with the utmost veneration, as being a proof of the solidity
of our “ Old English Methods” (and skulls)!

22 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

I propose now to give a few hints on groups, &c., not de-
scribing their management, but merely giving a list of subjects.
First, let me say that in order of merit, in all arts connected
with the preservation of natural history objects, I must, after
many years study, give the palm to the Germans, not only in
all matters connected with artistic taxidermy, but in their
elegant and truthful setting of beetles, their sensible setting
of lepidoptera, and their really beautiful method of making
skins of birds &c. Next come the French, then the English,
and lastly, the Americans. The Americans are the worst
simply because they adopt the crudest English methods of taxi-
dermy, with other bad habits of ours. I may say that I never
saw an artistic piece of work, nor a well made skin, coming
from America, unless done by a German or a Frenchman. I
believe, however, the European element is working wonders
amongst them, and reading Mr. Batty’s book (if he be a true
American), I was very favourably impressed with the signs
of progress contained therein, and I should not at all wonder
if soon our American friends “go ahead” and quickly leave
us behind. Professor Henry A. Ward, of Rochester, New York,
U.S.A., in a well-written article in one of his ‘“‘ Bulletins ” sent to
me, has, since I wrote the above, confessed the great superiority
of European over American taxidermists, but says that within
the last few (very few) years, their native taxidermists have
greatly improved, owing to the importation of clever foreign
artists, who are gradually educating the American workmen.
Just before this there was an entertaining article in the
“Century ” magazine, and illustrations were given showing the
best work of the American taxidermic artists. I must say,
however, that, unless the draughtsman failed to copy what
an educated eye looks for, none of this work struck me as being
of a high order—one or two “pieces,” indeed, being decidedly
capable of improvement. Possibly this improvement has taken
place by now; anyway, I heartily wish Brother Jonathan
good luck in his taxidermic studies. At present, however, I
say to all rising taxidermists, follow the lead of the Germans—
they are true artists; and with the Italian modelling and
French neatness of workmanship to fall back on, success is
certain.

COMIC GROUPS. 253

Looking back to ’51, let us see what one of these foreigners
(mentioned at page 15) could teach us. Among over fifty groups
of animals shown in the Great Exhibition were—

A stag caught by five hounds (price £180).

A wild boar set on by three hounds.

A couple of old and young foxes in front of their ‘* earth’’ (£60).

Trophy of 25 heads of animals of the chase.

Nest of a horned owl. Two old birds and five young defending
themselves against two polecats (£30).

Goshawk attacking an eagle owl.

These were followed by comic groups, six of which illustrated
Goethe’s fable of “Reinecke the Fox,” and were skilfully
managed as well as amusing. Some others were—

A duel between two dormice, with moles as gravediggers.

‘¢A Declaration of Love.’’ Two weasels.
‘‘ A Nursery Maid.’’ One old and four young weasels.
‘¢ Shaving a Luxury.’’ One frog shaving another.

Apropos of the above, frogs lend themselves better to comic
scenes than almost any other animal, from their ridiculous like-
ness, when erect on their hind legs, to mighty man. Hence
advantage is often taken of this; and amongst mirth-provoking
caricatures I have seen “A Steeplechase,” frogs mounted on
puppies as horses, some tumbling at the water-jJump, others
riding to win, some unhorsed, scrambling after their steeds, and
so on; “The Battle of the Nile,’ frogs on rafts of leaves of
water plants, attacking one another with small bulrushes;
duel scenes; “Courtship” and “Matrimony”; ‘“ Fortiter in
Re,” a young frog soundly smacked (in the most approved
fashion) by the irate paternal frog; the companion picture,
“Suaviter in Modo,’ a young frog soothed by maternal
affection.

Monkeys are the next best for comic scenes, but are more
awkward to handle, and not half so funny, unless very care-
fully modelled to caricature the manners and customs of
the human subject. Pourtrayed as shoemakers, acrobats, as
“You dirty boy!” or, as in the Fisheries Exhibition of 1883,
as “The Enthusiast” (a gouty monkey fishing in a tub placed

254 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

in his sick chamber), they are, perhaps, the most successful.
The addition of miniature furniture to assist the delusion is
permissible; but, after all, these caricatures are not artistic
taxidermy, and they are only allowable now and then as a
relaxation.

Perhaps that which most exercises the skill and judgment of
the taxidermic artist is reproducing large groups of some
of Landseer’s pictures, such as, “The Combat” (two stags
fighting); the “Stag at Bay,’ and others in connection with
hunting. Lion and tiger fighting over prey; two tigers fighting
for possession of a deer; head and paws of lion or tiger peeping
over arock; tiger crouching fora spring on some feeding animal ;
lion and zebra; panther or jaguar crouching on an overhanging
tree-trunk; leopard killed by a gemsbok antelope; polar bear
killing seal on ice; lynx creeping over snow upon grouse;
wolf leaping with fore-legs in air on receiving his death-shot;
fox in “full cry;” fox just missing a pheasant or duck by only
securing the tail feathers; two foxes fighting; fox and playing
cubs; fox and trapped rabbit (after Ansdell); “Heads and
Tails,” fox coming over bank as rabbit disappears; dogs and
puppies; cats and kittens (see Landseer’s, Ansdell’s, Couldery’s,
and Frank Paton’s pictures for treatment of these); otters
and young; otters with fish (see Landseer’s and Rolfe’s pic-
tures for these); otters diving after fish, both seen in mid-
water, are some of the studies which have been, or can be,
executed.

Among birds, eagles and falcons at rest or in action are
the most capable of artistic treatment, such as “The Hagle’s
Throne” (after Wolf); lammergeyer carrying off lamb;
hawks fighting over a small bird, allowing the latter to escape;
peregrine falcon striking a bittern ; eagle and wild cat; sea-eagle
and gulls; osprey and fish. In connection with the last,
one of the very best things I ever saw done with these specimens
was in the Fisheries Exhibition, 1883, a piece of work—a study it
might be called—executed by a German residing in London.
It represented an osprey tugging a fish from some sea rocks.
Both fish and bird were excellently rendered; the latter, with
wings expanded, had gripped the fish with both feet, and had
raised it in the air some distance off the rocks; the fish was, how-

ARTISTIC GROUPING OF ANIMALS. 255

ever, entangled by a line and hook it had swallowed; and the
action of the fish-hawk in attempting to tear the fish away was
wonderfully fine, the feathers were raised about the head, the
eye was fierce, and the sidelong waft of the wings was most
natural. The study was all the more interesting from the fact
that both bird and fish were poised in air without any visible
means of support, the case enclosing them being of glass all
around. How it was managed was easy for the professional
eye to discover, but I do not think I should be doing justice to
the inventor to describe the method.

Amongst the water birds, which are the next best, perhaps,
for artistic treatment, come the swans, in the attitude of
swimming (see Chapter XII., page 217), ducks swimming, diving,
and flying. ‘“‘ The Widowed Duck ”—after the celebrated picture
—was one of the things very nicely rendered in the “ Fisheries
Exhibition;” the painting of an artistic scene at the back of
this case helped the effect wonderfully, as it usually does in
good work. “Hooded Crows Tracking a Widgeon,’ and
“Wounded Tern,” fallen by its eggs, were two other clever
groups — said to be “copyright,” though how on earth such
things can be copyright I do not know, especially as not one of
the things exhibited could be called original; indeed, everything
I saw at the “ Fisheries,” with the exception of the osprey men-
tioned above, had been done over and over again by German,
French, and English artists. The work of these “copyright”
groups—excepting the foliage, which was rather “stiff”—was,
however, very clean and nice, and favourably compared with
work by other taxidermists, many of whose “ pieces”—as the
Americans say—should have been refused on the score of pre-
tentious incompetence. There was one detestable exhibit, all the
more grievous as being professional. No wonder that people,
seeing this sort of thing, should laugh at fish and bird
“stuffing.” As I looked and wondered, I felt that a first-class
assortment of injurious epithets applied to such “ work” would
have relieved my perturbed spirit. This digression puts mein mind
of another, and that is to warn the amateur not to “know too
much,” and think he has nothing to learn directly he can set up
a bird or mammal, or anything else, in a fairly respectable
manner. ‘The people who know everything, and imagine they

256 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

cannot be taught, are just the people who know very little and
who will never learn more. ‘“ Duffers” they are, and “ duffers”
they will be, to the end of their days. Every sensible man, even
should he rival Methusaleh—which heaven forfend !—must be
learning Art (even should he teach) all his hfe. Make haste to
learn, therefore, from anyone who can give you a hint, and
don’t set yourself up (or down) in some obscure country town
and fancy you are great. Come out into the world, measure
yourself against the best, criticise your own work as if it were
a stranger’s. Be honest, and say, “That man’s work knocks
mine into a cocked hat,” and then go home miserable, but de-
termined to beat that man’s work or perishin the attempt. Never
sneak! If you see first-class work by anyone, go boldly and say,
“Sir, 1am an amateur,” or, “I am a young professional,” as the
casemay be. “ Your work interestsand delightsme. May I look
around?” Doubtless, the person addressed will be flattered by
your appreciation, and, unless narrow-minded, will exchange
views with you to your benefit.

Let us return to our theme. Amongst the water birds, then,
we may instance herons with young as making a nice group,
moorhens leading out their young on water under a mossy
bank and so on; and this brings us to the question of mount-
ing pairs of birds, with their nests and eggs, or nests and
young.

GRovuPs oF BIRDS AND YOUNG, witH MODELLED FOLI-
AGE.— Nothing in taxidermy requires more correct mounting
and taste, and nothing is more charming, if properly done,
than illustrating the life-history of, say, a pair of birds with
their nest and young. Take any birds you like —sparrows
or robins—and, if you know anything, you may “invest with
artistic merit” even such common specimens as these. There
is a certain fascination in young things which, I suppose,
calls up all the kindly feelings of our nature, and so it is that
young birds tended by their parents are groups which appeal
the most to the finer senses, besides being really educative if
worked out properly. I remember, quite twenty years ago,
when a boy, seeing a collection of nearly all the “ British ” birds,
their nests and eggs, for sale, so that the idea is not a new one,
nor is that of surrounding such groups, with proper acces-

MODELLED FOLIAGE AS AN ACCESSORY. 257

sories and modelled leaves and flowers, as will shortly be
exhibited to the public in the new “ British” Natural History
Room at South Kensington, and as is now exhibited in the
Leicester Museum. I remember getting foliage done for me
many years ago for such groups, and I believe Mr. Shaw, of
Shrewsbury, did it long before I copied his lead. Who was the
original inventor of this system I know not, but I shrewdly
suspect we have to thank French artists for this. Let it be
thoroughly understood that I do not intend to disparage the
beautiful work done for South Kensington by the various
gentlemen and artists interested, but I merely point the adage,
* Nothing new under the sun.”

Of course, when I say “ modelled foliage” Ido not allude to
stamped leaves in various materials, sold at so much (or so little)
a gross, and used to “ decorate” “boxes of birds” in the “ Black
Country ” quite fifty or sixty years ago, but that which has
arisen on its ashes in response to the cry for “more art,” and
because of the impossibility of getting any other natural flowers
than “everlasting,” or any other leaves than those of grasses
and ferns (mentioned in the last chapter), to dry for decorative,
or, as we say, “fitting up” purposes. To describe the processes
involved in copying leaves and flowers of any plant from nature,
so that all will appear perfectly life-like and yet be durable, and
stand exposure to moderate heat and cold, would take up too
much space, added to which, my personal knowledge of all that
is required in this is of such recent acquirement, that, although I
have fairly succeeded in teaching myself modelling of this kind,
and have executed a few groups, yet I would lke a little more
time to elapse ere I pose as a teacher; but, no doubt, when the
time comes, someone—perhaps the publisher of “ Practical Taxi-
dermy ”—may be induced to give the results of my labours to
the class most interested. I may instance some groups: Robin’s
nest, in bank covered with ivy, and primroses in flower, the old
female bird feeding the young,the male searching for more food,
or singing on branch near nest; long-tailed titmice, in furze-bush
(South Kensington); chiff-chaff, in long grass, surrounded by
willow-herb; chaffinches in blossoming hawthorn; white-throat’s
nest, with young, surrounded by leaves and flowers of the
bramble (Leicester Museum); blue-tits, in apple-tree with

958 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

modelled foliage and flowers; moorhens swimming, with young.
just leaving nest, surrounded with water-lilies, flowering rush,
and other plants; grouse and young; swallows, in section cf cow-
house, with plants, &c., growing on roof (Leicester Museum); grebes
and nest, amid marsh plants and marsh marigold in flower, &c.
(South Kensington). To give atenth of the phases of the studies
which can be worked out would fill pages of this book; suffice ©
it to say that nature, being the guide in this, must be rigidly
adhered to. There is, of course, no need to copy any accidental
awkwardness; but don’t invent too much, as the greatest charm
of all is taking Nature as your guide. At the back of these
groups may be placed the eggs, and birds of the same species in
change of plumage or winter dress, thus making the hfe history
complete. For museums, and similar educational institutions,
the food and the skeleton should be exhibited, with Oran
label attached.

Reptiles and fishes are most unsatisfactory things to treat
artistically. When set up and dried they shrivel, and are seldom
modelled nicely. (To counteract such shrivelling,-see Chapter
XII., page 210.) I have almost made-up my mind that, taking
into consideration the stiffness of outhne usually present in
mounting by the ordinary methods, all fish should be cast-in
plaster or paper, although even then stiffness may be
present unless the fish is posed properly. Fish lying in a mass
on a bank, or ina dish, as were some at the “ Fisheries,” look
the most natural and easy. One plan, new to me, however, was
adopted in such subjects as large pike, &c., which were cast,
coloured, and placed in a long basket upon straw, the whole
covered with glass. This method is especially nice for the
hall table as a souvenir of piscatorial success. I was rather dis-
appointed in the colouring of these casts. Many of the artists
had entirely missed the subtle colours of the pike, trout, and
other fish—one salmon only, and one dishful of grayling, mag-
nificently managed, excepted.* Perhaps, the best treatment of
fish, when modelled in plaster, was exhibited in the Indian
section; here the tints of the fish were beautifully managed, the

* One of the very best books I know to help teach the colouring of fish is ‘‘ British Fresh-
water Fishes,’”’ by the Rev. W. Hceughton, M.A. Two vo.s., quarto, each fish beautifully
drawn and coloured.

USEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL “SCREENS.” 959

skins appeared wet, but not varnished, and all the colours were
nicely blended in. As for the stuffed fish, their name was
legion, and they were there in all degrees of merit. One
thing, however, struck me with painful surprise; among the
thousands of freshwater fish I saw mounted by taxidermy, not
one was without those ridiculous little spears (cut from large
rushes, or from paper) growing from the bottom of the case,
each one, or each bunch of them, erect as possible, and almost
always arranged at equal distances apart, with maddening
precision. Some of the sea-fish admitted of more elastic treatment,
and I saw one very good exhibit of these. The artist had,
however, rather detracted from their undeniably good treatment
by modelling small stones. These were so natural as to require
a label explaining this; but I would remind all workers in
taxidermy that there is no useful end gained by modelling small
stones; a great amount of labour is wasted, and the intention of
modelling—which is to replace the great weight of large stones
by extraordinary lightness—is completely overlooked.

“ SCREENS.” —The ordinary screen intended for use is made of
two sheets of thick plate-glass, between which are pressed ferns,
butterflies, &c., the whole set in an oak or other wood frame, with
castors. Those intended for ornament are more lightly made.
‘Thus: A square frame, about 30in. by 24in. by 43in. deep, is made
in thin fancy wood, or in pine veneered; no front nor back is
fitted, merely a groove ploughed all around, with “beads,”
to receive and to retain the glass, on each face. This frame
is then fixed by screws, with buttons fitting over the screw holes,
between two turned and carved uprights (like small bedstead .
posts), supported by carved feet on castors; a handle of carved
wood is fixed on top of the box, which completes the joiner’s
work. The inside of the frameis papered and coloured; the birds
—usually brightly-coloured foreign birds, or humming birds and
butterflies—are inserted, properly mounted on lght twigs, &c.,
and the glass beaded in, to complete all.

One very nice “screen” was exhibited at the “Fisheries,”
almost a reproduction of the woodcut illustrating the outside of
Science Gossip, with the addition of a hawk striking the king-
fisher. There were also two large and capital trophies, called
“The Rod” and “The Gun,” remarkably cheap, mounted as

260 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

screens in framed bamboo. The first represented a string of large
fresh-water fish depending from a branch of a tree, a creel, a
rod, a landing-net, and other angling gear. “The Gun” showed
a fine bittern and heron, and, I think, some other birds, also
depending from a branch, with a gun and some old-fashioned
tools (powder-flask, &c.) included.

“Screens” filled with corals and sponges (Huplectelle, &c.)
would be very handsome and useful. I am not sure whether 1
have seen any managed in this manner.

Very handsome “screens” for the mantelpiece may be made
up from owls, hawks, seagulls, and a variety of other birds. The
birds being skinned out through an opening in the back, the
wings and tail are cut off and spread out on a board, with fine
needle points driven through their webs until the pair of wings—
the butts or shoulders placed inward—assume the shape of a long
oval; the tail is fully spread by the same means, and wings and
tail are “wrapped” with cotton and left to dry. The head and
breast are stuffed independently of these and sewn up. When all
is ready, a handle of about 8in. to 10in. long by din. square must
be turned out of ivory, ebony, or any wood desired. One end of
this should be turned the full thickness of the wood for about

tin. from the top, then drilled with two holes through its
diameter, and a slot cut of jin. in width longitudinally for the
full length of the 1jin. to receive a thin piece of oval shaped deal
about 4in. long by 23in. broad by jin. thick, which should have
a silken loop attached, and a piece of blue or other coloured
silk stretched over it, and the edges of the silk tucked under
the wood and attached by paste; this latter is then fixed to the
handle by rivets running through the two holes previously drilled.
The wings and tail are now glued and pinned to the uncovered
part of the thin wood, the shoulders of the wing inward, the tail
radiating from the bottom. On top of these comes the body
(also wired and glued) fitting in the small space left between
the wings. The silk during the fixing of the wings, tail, and
head, should be protected by paper pasted over all, and which
can be removed when the screen is finished.

Screens are also made of single large birds, such as the
peacock, or swan and heron; these are stuffed in the same
manner as above, but instead of being attached to handles

NATURAL HISTORY JEWELLERY. 261

should be fixed on a shield of some fancy wood, the back of
which must be polished, and made to slide up and down on an
upright standard, springing from carved legs.

Still more handsome screens are those intended to flank the
fireplace. These are, however, ovals of glass, set in carved or
gilded frames, which are made to slide up or down on a standard
or upright, supported by a carved tripod. Humming birds or
insects are included between the glasses of the carved oval.
These screens are made of all sizes, the standard of some
standing 5ft. to 6ft. high, the ovals being often 3ft. by 2ft.; but
smaller ones are constantly made.

JEWELLERY.—Following the example of the ladies who indi-
rectly send expeditions to “frosty Caucasus or glowing Ind” to
take tithe of animals for the sake of their skins, of birds for
their plumes, and of insects for their silk, to be used in adorn-
ment, society demands that objects of natural history should
not be all relegated to the forgotten shelves of dusty museums,
but live as “ things of beauty and joys for ever.” Hence the new
alliance between the goldsmith and the taxidermist, resulting in
a thousand ingenious combinations of nature and art—a list of
a few of which may not be unacceptable as hints.

For earrings, two leopard’s claws are mounted as miniature
Robin Hood bugles, the mouth and bell of each being of gold,
attached to which is a chain depending by its centre from the
ear-wire. Two tiger’s claws placed base to base, their hooks
pointing inwards, are strung and clasped with gold, thus
forming the lyre of the Tragic Muse, as a brooch or ornament
for the breast. Beetles, usually of the genus chrysochroa, also,
are set as earrings. Humming birds’ heads, their throats
surrounded with a fillet of gold, form also handsome brooches.
The feet of the various species of grouse and owls are capped
with silver or gold (in which is set a cairngorm), the toes
tipped, or the tarsus banded with silver or gold, to form clasps
or brooches.

Pins for the sterner sex are mounted up from the teeth of
foxes or dogs, or more curiously of their noses even. Hares’
ears are also mounted for both sexes, especially for the Scotch
markets. To turn from the adornment of the person to that
of the house, we find horses’ hoofs mounted in silver or electro

262 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

for snuff boxes, inkstands, paper weights, &c.; rams’ or
buffaloes’ horns as Scotch “ mulls” or as flower stands. Some-
times the whole head of a ram or buffalo is mounted, the horns
polished, sawn in two, hinged and mounted in silver, and set
with Scotch stones. Deers’ heads are mounted as gas chandeliers;
foxes’ heads as gas brackets or as supports for Duplex lamps;
monkeys, bears, ibises, owls, eagles, &c., as “ dumb-waiters” or
lamp bearers. These are a few of the uses to which mammals
and birds can be put.

Emu’s eggs form also handsome goblets when sawn through
and mounted in silver, or when mounted as vases for the
chimney-piece, or formed into an inkstand group.

Foxes’ pads mount up as whip handles, bell pulls, and paper
knives, as also do the feet of the various deer. The only satis-
factory way, however, to prepare these is to slit them carefully
up the back, and pull the skin away from the bone ail around,
leaving the skin attached to the lowest point you can skin to.
Clean out all the flesh and sinews, and dress the skin with
the No. 9, and the bone with No. 15, preservatives. Stuff with
a little chopped tow where needed, and sew up neatly, sewing
also the skin at top over the end of the bone; if done neatly,
the stitches will never show. Use waxed hemp, and pull each
stitch tight.

Game birds stuffed as “ dead game” and hung in oval medal-

lions form suitable ornaments for the billiard-room or hall if

treated in an esthetic manner. Not, however, in the manner
I lately saw perpetrated by a leading London taxidermist—a

game bird hanging in a prominent position, as if dead, from a.

nail, enclosed in an elaborate mount, the bird so beautifully
sleek and smooth that, although it was hanging head downwards,
not a feather was out of place! All was piastered down, and
eravity and nature were utterly set at defiance. A little con-

sideration, and a visit to the nearest poulterer’s shop, would have .

prevented such a palpable error.

Kittens or puppies of a few days old, if nicely marked, can be
stuffed and mounted on a piece of marble for paper weights, or
on red cloth for penwipers.

The shells of small tortoises make tobacco pouches if lined
with silk, as do also the skins of the feet of albatrosses (the

FEATHER FLOWERS. 263

long bones of the wings of these birds make pipe-stems) or
squirrels mounted as a whole.

The shells of large tortoises make fancy baskets if the lower
shell or plastron is sawn away, with the exception of the centre
piece, which is left to form a handle. The shell may be lined
with metal or with any other material or fabric desired.

Lobster claws make up as Punchinellos, or as old men
and women, or—as exhibited at the Fisheries—handles of fish-
knives and forks, tops of inkstands, paper weights, &c. The
uses of ivory, either in the rough, or sawn and polished, are too
manifold to notice here.

FEATHER FLOWERS.—TI have seen some splendid specimens of
flowers (made from waste feathers of birds) brought from China,
the Island of Ascension, and Brazil, but can give no directions
for making them, further than to say that I should suppose
anyone skilled in the making of such artificial flowers as are
sold by the best milliners, or makers of wax flowers, would have
but little difficulty in making up these beautiful objects.

This is, of course, but a précis of the various uses to which
objects of natural history can be applied as means of ornament ;
and, indeed, so many branches are represented by this depart-
ment of art that it would require a book double the size of the
present, and written by experts of the various professions and
trades concerned, to give a full history of the practical working
of what is known as ‘Ornamental Taxidermy.”

CHAPTER XV.
CoLLEecTING AND PresERvine INsEcrTs.

THE taxidermist will, in the course of his avocation, require to
know something of various insects, their methods of capture,
and how to preserve and utilise them in his profession.

Of the various orders of insects, Hemiptera (earwigs, field-
bugs, &e.), Orthoptera (cockroaches, grasshoppers, locusts,
&e.), Diptera (flies, &c.), Neuroptera (dragon flies, May flies,
&e.), Lepidoptera (butterfles and moths), Coleoptera (beetles),
and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and Ichneumon-flies, &c.), the
Lepidoptera and Coleoptera will find most favour in his eyes,
owing to their brilliancy of colouring, variety of shape and size,
and easiness of manipulation.

It must be remembered, however, that insects should be
collected with a definite purpose by the taxidermist, and
not merely for pastime, or he wil] degenerate into that most
odious of all created beings—a collector for the sake of
collecting, or what used to be called an “exterminator.”
Indeed, I have known of a case in which over 1600 of the males
of a certain species were caught in one day, “assembled” by
the attractions of seven or eight females.. These figures seem
incredible, but for the fact that 1 myself saw part of the spoil
displayed on a 12ft. board. Need I say that such slaughter as
this is far beyond the bounds of fair collecting, and that such
courses, persevered in, give the odious title of “ exterminators”
to all those who practise it. In this particular instance the
moths were made up into “ pictures,” which, though ornamental
perhaps for a workman’s home, hardly justify the slaughter
of any but the very commonest or harmful species. The

MOUNTING INSECTS AS “GROUPS.” 265

tortoiseshell, peacock, and admiral butterflies are often bred in
hundreds for the purpose of making a “picture” of a snake
strangling a tiger, or a crown, or the wings are cut by punches
to form the petals of flowers, to be afterwards grouped under
shades. All these things, though very curious, and really
striking if well done, are steps in the wrong direction, and on a
par with the use of humming and other birds for ladies’ hats—
all of which adaptations of natural history objects to commerce
inexpressibly “worry” anyone with the slightest taste or feeling.

If a really beautiful object is wanted, in order to show a
group of exotic or other insects as specimens, out of a cabinet,
you may mount them in as natural a manner as possible on
grasses or fine twigs, made as directed at page 242, setting
them off with a few foreign ferns, and inclosing tne whole in a
“mount,” to hang up, or in a narrow oval shade with carved
oak or other stand; or they may be scientifically and artisti-
cally mounted, to show the life-history of any one species, by
arranging the larve feeding on a properly modelled repre-
sentation of its natural food-plant, the imagines, male and
female, with some few striking varieties, shown at rest or flying,
as also the eggs and the pupa-case, with a description of their
economy affixed. A few specimens of families or genera of
insects shown thus is, to my mind, of far greater importance,
especially to museums, than mere “ collectors” are aware of,

Many works have been written on the collecting and pre-
serving of these orders, and especially of the Lepidoptera, vide
Dr. Guard Knage’s work on “Collecting Lepidoptera,’ Rev.
Joseph Greene’s “Insect Hunter’s Companion,” and many
others, including a little work on “Collecting Butterflies and
Moths” by myself.

Cruelty has been advanced as a crime specially to be laid to
the charge of the student in entomology; but some of the
greatest workers in that science have been ladies and clergymen,
as also laymen of the most humane and advanced scientific
principles. A vast amount of ignorant ideas, carefully nursed,
are used as weapons against the entomologist—the pet one of
which is, that impalement of a living insect through the head
constitutes the sole aim and end of the collector. The fact is
curiously inverse of this, for not only are insects captured for

82

266 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

purposes of study, but they are never impaled alive but by
a very ignorant or careless person. The lepidoptera (butterflies
especially) are very easy to kill, the simplest plan being to press
the thorax underneath the wing with the finger and thumb,
which instantly causes death. This is now superseded by the
cyanide bottle, of which anon.

It is singular how many people there are, even in the middle
class, who fail to recognise the fact that the egg (ovum) produces
the caterpillar or “grub” (larva), which, after a due season of
preparation, produces the chrysalis (pupa), which latter, lying
quiescent for a variable period, either in the ground or in other
situations favourable for its development, changes the last time

to the perfect insect (imago). This latter, if a butterfly or moth, |

does not, as some people imagine, grow, but after it has unfolded
its wings on emergence to their full extent, it never becomes
either larger or smaller.

An insect, especially a butterfly, when seen by a youngster,
is usually chased in the most reckless fashion—jacket and cap,
and even sticks and stones, are pressed into the service, and the
unfortunate insect is usually a wreck before its fortunate (?)
captor falls on top of it.

I shall endeavour in the following pages to show the proper
way in which to collect and preserve insects, especially the
lepidoptera and coleoptera.

Nets.—The first thing to be considered is, how to catch your
game. This is managed by a ‘‘net,” not of the construction of
those mentioned in Chapter II., but made of a lighter material.
They are of various shapes, the professional, or old English
pattern, bemg something of the construction of a “ bat-folding ”
net. It is, in my opinion, a most unsportsmanlike weapon,
rapidly going out of date—if not deceased already—and is fitly
replaced by the Continental, or “ring”-net, which is now
generally used. However, it may, perhaps, be necessary to
describe how to make this machine or clap-net—fit only for
dealers or exterminators. Procure two pieces of ash (or beech,
as being the lighter wood), each of about 5ft. in length. With
a plane or spokeshave round these up until they taper from
3in. diameter at bottom to little less than gin. at top. Now
saw each rod into four pieces of ldin. long, or, for greater

NETS FOR COLLECTING INSECTS. 267

strength, but less portability, into three 20in. pieces. Ferrule
these in the manner of fishing-rods, so that each rod joins up
to its normal length of 5ft. At the top of each rod fix a
specially-made ferrule, bent or brazed to about the angle of
45deg. Next get two pieces of cane, each 15in. in length, and
of sufficient diameter to fit tightly into the bent angle of the
top piece; bore the top ends of these canes and tie them
loosely together. If the rods with canes attached are now
laid down, with the ends of the canes pointing inwards, it
will be seen that they assume somewhat the shape of the
gable-end of a house, which would fold in on itself by means of
the cord acting as a hinge.

Now get some stout black holland, which sew all round the
rods to within 6in. of the ends of the bottom joints, so as to fit
loosely to allow them to be inserted or withdrawn at pleasure.
When the cane ends are tied together, cut a hole on the top of
the holland, so that you may be enabled to untie them when
required. This hole, for greater neatness and strength, should
be ‘“‘button-holed” around. To this framework of holland
attach at the bottom some strong black tape, which pass through
the holes previously bored in the last joints of the rods within
6in. of their ends. This prevents the net slipping either up or
off when in use.

The material of the net itself is the next consideration. This
is of “leno,” a cheap kind of strong gauze. Procure as many
yards of this as will make a loose bag when sewn on and around
the framework of holland, when the net-rods are folded
together; bagging especially at the bottom part, so as to fall
down some inches when the net is held up.

You have now a portable bag, or “clap-net,” of over 5ft. high
by 2ft. 6in. or more wide. To use this machine, you simply
stretch it to its full extent and run out in front of any insect
you wish to stop, clapping it smartly together and securing
your captive in the bag formed when the net is shut. Some
httle practice is needed to do this neatly, especially with such
dashing, fast-flying moths as the “ Emperor,” or ‘ Bee Hawks.”
Laying down the net, and confining the insect to one part, is the
best way to get it out uninjured. To take this net to pieces,
the tapes at the bottom and the cords at the top require only to

268 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

be loosened, when the rods can be drawn out, unjointed, and
slipped into a bag or a pocket specially sewn in the breast of
the coat to receive them.

When portability is not a desideratum, the rods may be easily
made of green hazel (or nut tree) wands, bent and secured into
shape and dried in the sun, or up a chimney, or otherwise a strong
cane may be steamed (or boiled) and dried in like manner; few
people, I opine, however, care to carry out from a town two long
roughly-shaped rods of 5ft. or 6ft. long in this clumsy fashion.

I did not wish to describe this net at all, as it is, in my opinion,
a most un-sportsmanlike or un-entomological weapon, as nothing
can escape it. Indeed, a friend of mine not inaptly describes it

as the “gobbler;” and it
A does really “gobble” up any
= insect it is used against.

The continental or ring
net is now generally used.
For one variety a tin or
brass Y is made, into the
bottom arm of whicha stick
fits. The spreading arms
serve to hold a cane, which
is bent round, and each end
thrust in. A net of gauze
or leno is attached. My ob-
jection to this net is that
the cane often slips out of
the arms of the Y, which
latter also breaks at the
junction; added to which
it takes up a great deal of
room, not being very easily
doubled without the risk of
breaking. The points which

Fig, 41.—Praw oF “ Bine”’-Nev. a net should possess in per-

fection are—first, strength ;

secondly, portability ; and, thirdly, adaptability to more than

one use. I shall endeavour to show by the next two figures my
ideas of a perfect net.

NETS FOR COLLECTING INSECTS. 269

Hig. 41 shows a strong and easily made net. To make this,
procure some brass wire, gauge No. 8 or 9. Cut from the ring
of wire sufficient to form a net a foot in diameter, allowing
enough in addition for two short arms. Cut off about 3ft. 8in.,
which will allow for joints; divide this so that one half is
about an inch and a half longer than the other; make one end
of the longest piece into a small loop, cranking it at the
bottom, as shown at C; one end of the other piece is then
thrust through the loop at A, turned round, and beaten down,
forming as it were two links of a chain; this acts asa hinge,
and allows the net to be doubled. The other end is then
cranked, as shown at B, but shorter than the arm C. Next
procure sufficient of the material known as black “ holland,”
which sew all round the ring of the net in such a manner that
it does not interfere with the working of the hinge. For this
purpose a strip of about 2in. wide will be enough, which,
doubled over and hemmed at the bottom, allows sufficient for
the net—a bag
made of the
material called
“leno”—to be
subsequently
affixed. About 2a yard of “leno”
suffices for the bag, and the pieces
which come off the bottom during
the operation of rounding it, form
“oussets ” to fill the net in up to the
point where the arms B and C first
spring.

To fit this net ready for use, get
an ordinary walking-stick, a portion
of which is shown at A (Fig. 42), in
which bore two holes, one on each
side, to receive the little returns
shown at B and C (Fig. 41), and at
such a distance from the top of the
stick as is determined by the length
of the arms. With a #in. gouge or chisel, groove out the wood
from these holes to the end of the stick, until the arms of the

Fie, 42—"*Ring”-Nez
COMPLETE.

270 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

net just “bed” up level with the surface. The arms being
nicely adjusted, remove the net temporarily from the stick.
Next procure a piece of brass tube from 2in. to 25in. long, and
of sufficient diameter to slp from the point of the stick until
it passes the last hole (a gin. or 3in. diameter will be found a
generally suitable size). On the extreme point of the stick
affix an ordinary walking-stick ferrule of such a size and
thickness as not to allow the tube to slip off. To fix the net,
slip the tube up the stick past the last hole, and placing the
little cranks, B and C, in their proper holes, the remainder of
the arms properly “bedded” in the grooves, slide the tube D
(Fig. 41) up to the point of the stick, as shown in Fig. 42, and
the net is thus effectually locked and ready for use.

I claim for this net the following advantages: That it is the
most easily made, the strongest, and the most easily taken down
of any net known; added to which its joint A, which does not
in the least weaken the frame, allows it to be folded in half the
space taken up by the “ring net” or the ordinary “landing net”
arrangement. (Note for fishermen: Landing nets, formed as
Fig. 41, I have found very useful, as they take up less room in
the fishing basket, and are quite as quickly put together as by
the screw and socket arrangement.) Larger nets than are
generally used in this country will of course be necessary
when collecting such insects as form the genus Ornithoptera
er Morpho. For collecting abroad no net will be found more
serviceable than a large and strong one, made as Fig. 41; and
really when you have five large papilios in your net at one time,
as I once had, you require one a little out of the common. A
short handle to the net will be found more useful than a long
one for collecting some insects, but a brass telescopic handle
can be easily made by any gasfitter, and used either long or
short as expediency directs.

The next figure shows apparently a more elaborate looking
net. The only other one known to me which folds in four, folds
by means of the rule joint, and is somewhat objectionable,
inasmuch as it must either be made of unnecessarily thick and
cumbersome wire, to stand the strain, or if made, as it should be,
of the proper sized wire and of hight construction, it is sure to
preak out at one or the other of the joints. Experience having

NETS FOR COLLECTING INSECTS. PAE |

proved this, I devised the net shown in Fig. 43, which, in compli-
ment toa gentleman who gave me a hint with regard to the
slide, I have called the “Hill Sliding Net.” This slide allows
the net to be folded to just half the size of the preceding one,
making it, therefore, highly convenient to carry.

This net frame is, I fear, beyond the power of the amateur to
make for himself, being really a brazier’s job. A A A A are
four pieces of wire of the same thickness as used for the
preceding ret. The two top pieces are flattened ont at the top

b
ey ee

Fig. 45.—TuHeE “Hitt Sripine Net,” Open. Fic. 44.—TueE ‘* Hitt SLipine
Net,’ CLOSED.

and each one drilled with a hole,bb. Ateeee are little brass
tubes, brazed to the arms, which allow each arm to slide down
on the other. When these are brazed and fitted to slide they
are fixed to the tube D by smaller tubes, one on each side, in
this manner. At f the arm is brought across the tube and
permanently fixed in the smaller tube. At g the other arm
is brought across in the same manner, but allowed to revolve in
the small tube brazed to the side of D; the end of this arm (on
the right of Fig. 43) coming through the tube is coiled round

VAT PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

and brazed to a screw, H, fixed in such a manner that, though
screwing freely through a burr fixed on D, it cannot come out.
There are then no loose pieces to this net, which, from the
nature of the slides, is remarkably strong, and is easily opened
and shut. (Fig. 44 shows the net folded, and with the arms
slid down one on the other.) To finish, tie a piece of whipcord
in the holes from b to b, and sew the holland all around the net
as before, leaving plenty of room for the playing of the slides;
the “leno” is then sewn to this in the usual manner, and thus
becomes a fixture, as in the preceding net.

To open and fix the net from the position shown in Fig. 44
(which for the sake of clearness is shown without the “leno”),
pull the whipcord C (now hidden, of course, by the holland) and
ease up the
slides; bend
over the re-
volving arm
until the
screw H
comes over the hole in the burr
on D. Push the walking stick A
(Fig.45) into the tube D, and screw
up H,the point of which enters the
stick, and firmly fixes and locks
the net. Fig. 45 shows the net
ready for use. The arrangement
of the whipcord at C is to enable
the net to be usedasa “sugaring”
net in addition to its ordinary use
for catching; C being pressed
against a tree, the corner of a i
wall, a fence, or a gas lamp, &€., yg, 45.—Tae “Ho Supine
readily accommodates itself to Net” Reavy For UsE.
any angle required.

A useful net for sugaring purposes, if Fig. 45 is not used, is
one recommended by Dr. Guard Knaggs. Jt is of triangular
shape, the frame of it being formed by socketing two pieces of
paragon wire into a metal Y piece, and connecting their
diverging extremities by means of catgut, which, when pressed

KILLING LEPIDOPTERA. PAT

against a tree or other object, will adapt itself to the outline of
it, as shown below by the dotted line (Fig. 46).

Killing Insects. — Having caught
your butterfly, you will wish to kill it
in the most painless and least trou-
blesome manner. For this purpose
you will require a “cyanide bottle.”
Purchase, therefore, at the druggist’s
a wide-mouthed bottle (a 40z. bottle is
a handy size for the pocket, but you
will require larger sizes for certain
uses). Into this bottle put from an
ounce to an ounce and a half of pure
cyanide of potassium, in lumps, not
pounded (a deadly poison), which you
will completely cover with a layer of
plaster of Paris, mixed to the con-
sistence of paste. The bottle may be F! 46.~"Svcanina® Ner.
corked, have a screw top, or glass
stopper, according to your fancy. A glass stopper is, of course,
the safest to confine the deadly vapour given off, butin point of
convenience, and especially for outdoor work, nothing can sur-
pass a well-fitting cork—rising sufficiently high above the mouth
of the bottle to afford a good grip. As the plaster is setting it
should be well shaken down to insure an even surface, and after-
wards a piece of wool or blotting-paper * should be put into the
bottle to absorb any superfluous moisture. In the course of
a day, the plaster will be dry and ready for use.

The insect being captured, you twist your net rapidly over to
get it as near to the bottom as possible—a very necessary
precaution in the case of a swift-flying or excitable insect.
Holding the net now in the left hand, take the bottle, previously
uncorked, in your right hand and slip it into the net and over
the insect. In case of refractory insects, blowing from the
outside will sometimes make them go to the bottom of the
bottle. When this happens, you can slip your hand from the

* A piece or pieces of blotting-paper cut to fit will be found very handy to introduce into
the perils from time to time to absorb all moisture, and to keep the specimens themselves
clean and dry.

OTA PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

outside over the mouth of the bottle, and hold i+ there until
the insect is corked up. In less than a minute it is stupefied
and motionless. If taken out, however, it will revive; it must
be left in, therefore, from ten to fifteen minutes. In the
case of female insects which have not yet deposited their eggs,
and are consequently exceedingly tenacious of life, a longer time
will be found necessary. |

Bruised laurel leaves, chloroform, benzol, &c., are recom-
mended by some authors. The first is, I think, uncertain in
its effects, and has, perhaps, a tendency to make the insects go
ultimately mouldy. The second stiffens the wing rays of some
insects to such an extent as to render them difficult to set. It has
been recommended in the case of large insects, such as the hawk
moths, to pierce them underneath the thorax at the insertion of
the first and second pairs of wings with a steel pen dipped in a
saturated solution of oxalic acid. I have frequently done this
myself with good results in the days when cyanide bottles
were unknown, but for the largest hawk moths—“ Death’s
heads” even—I find nothing to beat a large bottle (a glass jar,
such as the French bottle plums in, does admirably), in which
is placed about jlb. of cyanide. With a killing jar of this
kind, which I call the “home” bottle, I have frequently
instantaneously killed mice and even rats. In fact, the volume
of poisonous vapour evolved from one of these bottles is such,
that I advise my readers not to take “sniffs” therefrom, lest
severe headaches, or worse results, should follow.

As it is nearly all but impossible to pin an insect go
correctly as you would wish during the hurry and excitement
of butterfly hunting, I recommend that all insects captured
when the collector is from home be laid on their sides, and the .
pin passed through the body whilst in that position. This saves
the unnecessary marking of the thorax by more than one pin
hole, as the pin can be removed without detriment to the
formation of the body, and tbe insect pinned in its proper
position when the collector reaches home.

SerTine.—Having brought the entomologist to this point, I
may discuss what to do to preserve the trophies of the day’s
chase. First, then, the insects must be “set.” To do this
properly is the vexata questio of the day. As a nation we

SETTING BOARDS. 275

anciently practised the “setting” of lepidoptera with four or
eight braces, two or one underneath and two or one on top of
the wings. The wings were then not so fully extended as now,
but the body was pressed as close to the setting board as it was
possible to get it. The next step was the cork setting board,
cut to show in section nearly a half oval, the bodies were a little
raised from the set, and the rounded points of the fore and hind
wings invariably touched the paper of the cabinet when placed
therein, curling up wherever they touched.

Fig. 47 shows a section of a “setting board” designed to
remedy this evil. The block A is formed of a piece of #in. deal,
12in. to 14in. long, and of varying widths according to the
insects required to be set. Exactly in the centre a groove is
“ploughed” to the depth of gin.; from the outer edges of this

Be
Sars ml ii

it

Mi
it Na ji
ith tl nt

Fic, 47.—SEcTIon oF ‘*SetTtTiInG’’ BoarD.

groove B the board should be “pitched” or “bevelled” tin. on
each side to its outer edge. On top of each half, a piece of
tin. cabinet cork C C is glued, and also in the groove B, where
shown at C.

Presuming that you have a “Red Admiral” to set with l}in.
or a No. 13 pin, you will find, if allowing gin. for the body, that
after setting an insect in a board of this kind the matter will be
pretty evenly adjusted—that is to say, about 3in. of pin above
and below the butterfly. This allows the insect when placed in
the cabinet to be well clear of the paper, and is the mode now
generally adopted by those entomologists who effect a com-
promise between the ridiculous English low setting and the
Continental “high-set.” What the real objections are to this
latter setting it has always puzzled me to discover, unless it is
the true British objection to anything foreign or “ French.”

276 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

In a foreign Camberwell Beauty (Vanessa Antiopa) which I
have just measured, the relative proportions are as follow:
The whole length of the pin is lin, it comes through
the body on the underside fin., whilst above the body it
shows but a little more than jin. Its advantages are mani-
fest. First, it brings the insects much nearer the eye when
placed in the cabinet. Secondly, by its position the body-is
prevented from greasing the paper of the cabinet (a not unim-
portant item when the reader is told that the white velvet
of a newly-lined cabinet drawer has been utterly ruined by
the grease from the bodies of low-set insects). Thirdly,
the almost total immunity from “mites” which high-set
insects enjoy. This last consideration ought to induce our
entomologists to adopt the Continental set nem. con. For what
entomologist dare tell me that he has no mites in his cabinet P
Is it the user of camphor, of creosote, of phenic acid, or of
corrosive sublimate? Why, then, this foolish prejudice against
the high-set? Ihave tried both plans, low setting for fifteen,
and high setting for ten years. I have, as an experiment, mixed
high-set insects in with low-set “exchanges.” The brown dust
underneath the latter tells their tale too well. In a box of
foreign high-set insects which I have had by themselves for four
or five years little or no trace of the destroyer is to be seen.
Reform your “setting boards,” then, say 1; plough your grooves
deeper, and if you object to the flat appearance of the foreign set
insects, there is no earthly reason why you should not “pitch”
your boards to the angle I show in Fig. 47, or to any other angle
you desire. The objection to this “ high-set” lies in a nutshell:
it looks “ odd” to one accustomed to the English method, and
that is really all to be advanced against its general use.

Let me, therefore, ask my brother entomologists to give the
“high-set” a fair trial, and not to be deterred by the sneers of
any novice. It may strengthen my pleading and terminate
the hesitation of the young entomologist if I mention here that
the officer in charge of the collection of lepidoptera in the British
Museum—the well-known authority, A. G. Butler, F.L.S., &c.
—is not only setting all newly-received butterflies and moths in
precisely the fashion advocated above, but is actually re-setting
all the old “low-set” insects in the same manner!

SETTING LEPIDOPTERA. APPA

Whilst on the subject of foreign insects I should like to
impress upon the young een not too greedily to rush
after ‘“‘real British” specimens of rariti ag may find that
he has purchased, at the dala of some a ounds, perhaps,
a reset continental type worth as many pence. I ney I see
our wo pete be Soe gist sha ene his head oa very eae

saying, “ Oh no ieaeends collect all my insects myself.” My
young fri end, Jet me tell you that yo wil ha e to collect far
beyond the prescribed thre e years and ten ‘eyo Hoult

(it ii
au i | s il

Fia. 48.—BurTtre 5*Bracep’? ON Board,

yourself collect all the British lepidopter tee efor

in collecting as hard as you can, and when you want a aed
fill up a void in your cabinet, go at once to some respectable
dealer and ask Se continental Le of ae inse me you want,
place it in yot cabiiet, label it ‘For ey and when you can
sane se ee ubted “ Britisher ’ think yourself lucky.
eae e my me aning ia ain, we will take the Bath White but-
terfly (Pieris Daplidice) as an example. An undoubted British

278 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

specimen of this, caught, say, at Dover, is certainly worth a
sovereign—the price of a continental one precisely similar, but
captured on the other side of the “silver streak,” 5d. Differ-
ence in cost for a mere fancy, 19s. 7d.! Again, what would be
the price of an English captured Oleander Hawk (Cherocampa
Nerii)—shall we say from £12 to £20, according to the con-
science of the vendor and the pocket of the purchaser? A fine
foreign specimen, beautifully set and precisely similar, can be
bought for about 5s.

To set your butterflies, see Fig. 48, which shows a common
white butterfly braced on the setting board. To do this your
insect must be truly pinned as before directed, and placed in
the centre of the groove A B (which is also shown in section at
B, Fig. 47); four pieces of thin cardboard, each about lin. long,
are cut to the shape shown at CC COC. An ordinary pin is
pushed a little way through them at their bases. With a fine
needle now lift up from underneath the left hand upper wing
of the insect to about the angle shown in Fig. 48; picking
up a brace with the left hand, push the pin in the cork in
such a manner that the brace lightly holds down the wing. Do
the same with the underwing. Repeat with the other side.* I
have been assuming that the wings of the insect previously lay
flat. If they are folded up above the back they had better be
pushed down with the braces instead of with the needle, and
pinned to any position they will readily fall to, and from that
gradually worked up by means of another brace to the angle
required. The fore pair of legs should be braced to the front,
and hind pair of legs, especially of moths, are to be braced out
to fall neatly between the body and the wings. Sometimes very
fine cambric needles are thrust through, just underneath one
of the wing rays, to lift up and keep it in position, until the braces
can be brought to bear. This ought not to be resorted to except
in extreme cases, or for other than cabinet specimens.

A correspondent (Mr. G. H. Bryan) writing in Science
Gossip for December, 1883, says:—“The grooved cork, instead
of being glued to one wooden board, is fastened on to the two
boards, the groove between them corresponding exactly with the

* The braces shown in Fig. 48 shculd be a little nearer the tips of the fore wings. or
supplemented by stitf paper pinned across, otherwise the tips are likely to curl up when
drying.

“ SETTING ”-BOARDS, AND “ SETTING.” 279

groove in the cork. These in turn are held together by three
slips of wood, to which they are firmly nailed. In setting insects,
the pin should not be run into the groove just above the slips.
If run into the cork anywhere else, the pin can be pushed
through to any depth required, and, as a rule, the slips are so
high that, when the board is laid down on a table, none of the
pins touch the table.”

I some time ago saw, at the house of a well-known naturalist
and traveller, residing near Cirencester, an ingenious arrange-
ment applied to setting-boards, by which the groove of each
board could be altered so as to take in the body of the smallest
or the largest butterfly or moth at will. It was managed by one
half of the board being movable from its fellow, and capable of
being adjusted to any size, by simply turning a screw working in
a slot in a brass plate at top and bottom.

Another method of setting insects is by means of “blocks,”
sections of varying widths cut from the uncorked setting-board,
the grooves only being corked. The insect being pinned in the
groove is extended with the setting needle, and the wings lightly
wrapped, when in position, with silk coming over and over, from
side toside. To do this nicely requires practice, to avoid marking
the wings with the silk. The “block” system of setting is more
used by collectors in the Midlands and the North than about
London or in the South. Insects should be left on the setting-
boards or blocks from two or three days to a week, or even more,
according to their size; and during this time should be kept
out of the dust, but allowed air to dry them thoroughly.

The German system of setting by means of pieces of glass
dropped over the wings when in position is a clean neat method
of “flat” setting, allowing the insect to be clearly seen if it be
truly “set” or not.

When insects are from any cause too stiff to set without first
relaxing them—placing them in the cyanide bottle for a day or
night will often do this effectually, or placing them in a wet
corked zine box, or in a box with damp sand, or in a small
“plaster box” will do equally as well. This is made by lining the
whole of the inside of a wooden box with plaster of Paris mixed
with water, and laid on from one to two inches thick. The
’ plaster is, of course, thoroughly damped, and the insects enclosed

T

280 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

in the box. The same pins with which they are pinned whilst
relaxing should not be permanently left in, if it be possible to
remove them without injuring the aspect of the thorax. Pins
so left in, being more corroded than usual, frequently break
after being in use a short time.

Old insects, which it may be dangerous to relax, or large
foreign un-set lepidoptera, may sometimes be set by a skilful
hand by having their wings carefully pinched off by forceps,
and replaced in the required position by using a strong paste
or cement (see Formula No. 33, page 89): Repairs may be
“executed with promptness and despatch” by cementing on
parts of other wings to replace torn or missing pieces, or tissue
paper may be used, providing the repairer is a skilful artist. I
once saw avery poor specimen of Urania rhipheus—a splendid
moth from Madagascar—so cleverly pieced by tissue paper and
coloured, that it would deceive any but an expert.

Beetles (in science—Coleoptera) may be sought for everywhere
—in woods, fields, ponds, rivers, underneath stones and exuviz
of cattle; in decaying leaves, trees, and fungi; in and under-
neath dead animals; in cellars, outhouses, and even in what
would be supposed the most unlikely place to find them—
ant hills, bees’ and wasps’ nests—and in the rubbish collected
at the sides of streams, especially if after a flood. They may
be taken by sweeping, beating, sugaring, or by carefully
prospecting tufts of grass, moss, leaves, and flowers. Bags
of moss or ant-hills may be brought home and looked over
at leisure for minute beetles—throwing rubbish into water, or
sifting it over white paper, being the handiest way to reveal
them. For those which inhabit water, a net made of any
strong material, which allows water, but nothing else, to run
through quickly (a net fashioned as in Fig. 41 or 46 will do for
this), should be used as well as for collecting other water insects,
Beetles may be brought home in small test tubes, corked at
the open end, or in quills stopped at one end with sealing wax,
and at the other with wadding, or a quill may be inserted in
the cork of a larger bottle, into and through which they may
be dropped, or they may be killed at once in the cyanide bottle,
or otherwise thrown into a bottle containing alcohol, in
which corrosive sublimate (in the proportion of 6gr. to the

KILLING AND SETTING BEETLES. 281

ounce of spirit) has been previously placed, which effectually
kills and ultimately tends to preserve them. On reaching
home, the contents of this bottle may be turned out into any
shallow dish kept specially for that purpose (a photographer’s
“print” pan) and fished for with small pieces of paper or
cardboard, and the spirit afterwards returned to the bottle.
The larger beetles are to be pinned through the right wing case,
and never in the centre, their legs being nicely arranged in
the proper positions, and in some cases the wings may be
displayed. The more minute beetles may be gummed on a
small slip of card through which the pin passes, their legs
arranged by the aid of patience, a fine crooked pin, a camel-
hair pencil, and a pair of small forceps, the latter being also
very handy for picking up any other small objects.

In setting the larger beetles, as well as the various thick-
bodied insects, belonging to the orders Orthoptera, Newroptera,
Diptera, and Hymenoptera, double braces instead of “ setting ”-
boards may be used in the following manner: The insect being
pinned high on a board or piece of cork, with legs extended, two
jarge pieces of card, one for each side, are brought up under-
neath the wings and close to the body by pins stuck through the
corners. This forms a rest for the wings when extended, which
are then braced on top of the cards by smaller braces in the
usual manner, the pins, however, of the braces falling outside
the supporting cards and fixing in the wood or flat cork under-
neath. Many exotic insects—hutterflies and moths—are set
in this manner, which is really “flat setting.” If the braces
are at any time too limp and do not seem to clip the wings
properly, a little piece of cork just sufficient for the pin to slip
through may be added on top of the brace.

The larger beetles and other insects, such as the dragon-flies,
cicadas, grasshoppers, and “walking leaf” insects, should
always have the contents of the abdomen removed either by
pressure, or by being cut underneath, and, when empty, injected
with a little of the corrosive sublimate preparation, and after-
wards filled out with wool or blown out with a small blowpipe
until the abdomen is again distended and dry. Some insects
which are narrow at the “waist” may be advantageously
snipped through at that part to remove the contents therefrom,

Tt 2

282 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

the body being afterwards fixed with gum or cement to its
normal position.

In the setting of beetles—as in other things—the ubiquitous
Germans and the Frenchmen beat us. Compare the beautifully
foreign set coleoptera, with our wretchedly lame and uneven-
sided attempts. It is impossible to mistake the ordinary
English for foreign setting, and of this I was curiously con-
vinced on my arrival at Leicester, in the Museum of which town
I found some exquisitely-set specimens of coleoptera. I said at
once, “These are German-set.” ‘ No, indeed,” I was told, “they
are set by a local man.” I could not believe it; and after great
difficulty, the man himself even persisting in this assertion, I
discovered that they were all procured from Germany or were
set by a German friend.

This gentleman having subsequently shown me his method, I
now give it for the benefit of coleopterists: The beetles, after
being killed, are plunged into benzoline (benzol) for two or
three days, to cleanse them from grease and impurities. Indeed,
it considerably simplifies matters to carry a bottle of benzol,
as I do when collecting beetles, to plunge them into when first
taken. It instantly kills, and the cleansing operation goes on at
once. On reaching home the beetles are, after a day or two,
pinned, or gummed unset on to any pieces of card in any manner
most suitable at the time to economise space; the cards can
then be pinned into a store-box. During the winter months, or
at any time when required, the beetles may be set, thus: first,
plunge them into water for a day or so until quite limp, then
take them out and place them one by one on separate pieces of
card, well gummed in the centre to retain them firmly by the
abdomen whilst being set. A very little time will suffice to do
this should the gum be strong. After twenty or so are fixed,
the first one gummed down can be finished off. The card is
smeared with gum where the legs, or rather ‘‘ tarsi,” will come
into place, and arranged with a setting needle. Now carefully
place the limbs into a natural and even position, their feet
resting on the gummed surface; adjust the antenne, &c., and
leave the insect to dry by pinning the card in any suitable
receptacle. When perfectly set and dry, the final operations
are once more plunging the beetle into benzoline, then wetting

“ COLLECTING” AND “POSTAL” BOXES. 283

its abdomen and feet to release it from the dirty card, and
lastly shghtly re-gumming the underneath and tips of the
feet with cement (see Formula 33, page 89) and finally adjusting
it on a clean card, which may be labelled or numbered, and
secured by a small pin at each end in the cabinet or store-box.

COLLECTING AND OTHER Boxes.—The collecting box is a
small box made to fit the pocket, corked top and bottom, open-
ing in the middle, and made of sufficient depth to allow the
heads of the pins on one side to well clear the insects, which may
be pinned on the other. Collecting boxes may be made of
various woods and of various sizes to suit the pleasure and
pocket of the collector. They should be made lhght but
strong, and a little fillet of thin wood should be inserted
along one side on the front edge, to ensure the close fitting of
the box. Another sort of collecting box is that corked at the
bottom, having a flat lid, on which a piece of cork is glued,
and cut to fit the box tightly when closed, thus forming the
top lid. This style is also used for postal boxes.

In very hot weather, or if the collector roves far afield, he
will find that many of his butterflies, if placed in the ordinary
wooden collecting box, will have become stiff before he can
reach home to set them. The remedy for this is a zine box:
lined with cork, which latter is soaked in water before com-
mencing the day’s collecting. These boxes are made in various
shapes and sizes. A handy one for the pocket is a 7in. by 4in.,
23in. deep, made of an oval shape if desired, corked on top and
bottom, the cork held by clips of zine soldered to top and
bottom. For more extended operations a larger box will be
required, say, 13in. by 9in., 23in. deep, with loops soldered to the
back, through which a strap passes to suspend it from the
shoulders. These boxes are lighter if made in tin, and the
water does not corrode them so rapidly if they are japanned
inside as well as out.

“Postal boxes,” by which entomologists transmit their cap-
tures to one another, should be made of strong white pine, the
tops and bottoms nailed on, on the cross. They may open in
the middle or at top, as before mentioned, and further have a
strengthening piece of thick cork glued all over them outside and
rasped down te the shape of a rough oval. Inside, the cork

284, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

should be glued down on top and bottom; on this a few small
strips of the same cork running across with interstices left
between them. On top of this another sheet of cork, thus
forming three thicknesses, in which the pin is pushed as far as
it will go. In the case of large-bodied moths, or any valuable
insects, it is as well to support the abdomen with a layer of
wool, cross-pinning the body on either side to prevent it jarring
or shifting. The box may then, for greater security, be wrapped
in a sheet of wool and tied up. The address should not be
written on the box, or the stamps affixed thereto, but on a
direction label, otherwise some vigorous post-office sorter, or
stamper, will convince you to your sorrow that he scorns such
paltry protection as is afforded by the triple alhance of wood,
cork, and wool.

The Germans cover the bottoms of a great many of their
entomological boxes with peat, and this certainly holds the
long pins firmly in transit; and it is also much less expensive
than cork.

Foreign insects, when space is limited, may be sent home
unpinned and unset, their wings folded over their backs, and
each specimen wrapped in silver or tissue paper. It is asto-
nishing what a number of them will pack in this manner in the
compass of an ordinary cigar box.

“Drying houses” are sold by most of the dealers, but are
expensive and cumbersome, and are really only of service when
travelling, or collecting away from home. For this reason I
suggest the following—which is a store box and receptacle for
setting boards combined.

Make of iin. deal a box 20in. long and 15in. wide by 4in.
deep (all inside measurements), glue up all but the front piece
(4in. wide by 20in. long), which merely tie in its place whilst
glueing up the others. Cut the box when dry through the
4in. back piece to exactly halve it. Hinge each half with strong
hinges. It now resembles an open backgammon board box,
without its two fronts. Take now a strip of lin. deal, ldin. .
long, and form it with a plough plane to the shape shown in
Fig. 49. The part marked A will be in. thick, the parts marked
BB overhang jin., and rise from A to B B to the height which
the thickness of your setting boards determine. Divide this

IMPROVED SETTING-BOARD BOX. 285

down the whole length with a cutting gauge where shown by
the dotted lines; glue one of these halves to the side of one of
the bottoms of the box, and from here measure
off 5in., which will be the size of your largest
setting board for hawk moths. At this point
glue down a whole strip, as shown in Fig. 49,
which (supposing you have commenced from
your left) clips the right-hand side of the first or Fie, 49.—Sxc-
din. setting board, and the left-hand side of the TON coe eal
second. Proceed in this manner until the bot- :
tom of the box is covered with setting boards, which will now
slide in and out between the 2in. divisions. Turn the box round
and do precisely the same with the other half.

As many more insects under, than above, 4in. in expanse of
wing will be captured, the most useful sizes for setting boards,
as also the proper proportions cf boards and divisions to fill up
the bottom of each half of the box, are as follow:

First half.—ziin. oa din. board; gin. strip, 4in. board; 3in.
strip, 331n. board; Zin. strip, 3in. board; gin. strip, 23in. board;
qin. strip =20in. total. Second half—djin. strip, sin. board;
#in. strip, 3in. board; fin. strip, 23in. board; in. strip, 23in.
board; #in. strip, 24in. board; #in. strip, 2in. board; Zin. strip,

3in. board; jin. strip = 20in. total.

There are thus twelve setting boards 15in. long, of the most
useful sizes, contained in this box. The front is still as it was,

OHO Mh; yn
My i
th MN

Ny Nyt
i it tt

Fic. 50.—FRont OF SETTING-BOARD BOX, WITH FLAPS OPEN.

open. The loose piece of wood, 20in. by 4in., must now be cut
down the length, and each half must (making 20in. by 2in.) be
hinged to the top and bottom of the box; a lock can then be

286 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

fixed to bolt together the two halves, hooks also being fixed
at each end of the box to further secure the front flaps. Fig. 50
shows the arrangement of the box at this stage—shut, but with
the front flaps lifted up and down, showing the “sliding ”-
setting boards snugly fixed within. Insects may by this method
be left on the boards whilst travelling without the slightest
risk, as nothing can come loose, and the pins of one side miss
those of the other when the box is shut and locked.

A more simple plan, serving equally as well perhaps, and
having the advantage of dispensing with the intervening slips,
therefore giving more space for setting boards, is simply fixing
a slip of wood at each inner end of the box, and another on each
flap, so arranged as to hold all the setting boards down when
shut. This is managed by allowing the wood of each setting
board to protrude beyond its cork to the thickness of the slip—
say half an inch.*

Insects, after removal from their “sets,” require to be stored
in glazed cases or cabinets for greater security and protection
against evils previously glanced at. Some collectors content
themselves with using for this purpose the ordinary store-box,
made in the same manner as the collecting box, but of greater
capacity. One loin. by 10in. by 4in. deep will be found a useful
size; this—opening in the same manner as a backgammon board
—is corked with cabinet cork, each sheet of which is usually
llin. by 33in. or (double size) 12in. by 73in. The cork being
glued evenly over each half of the box,is rubbed down with
pumice-stone, and afterwards with sand-paper, to get an even
surface and reconcile the joints one with the other. It is then
papered with white blotting-paper, toned, or black paper, pasted
down over the cork with paste, in which has been previously
stirred a little carbolic acid or corrosive sublimate (both poisons).
It has also been recommended to previously steep the cork,
especially if for “foreign service,” in a solution of—

Corrosive sublimate, 30z. Camphor, 1 oz.
Spirits of wine, 1 pint.
Some little care is, of course, required in the handling of poisoned
cork, &c., but I do not write expecting that infants will be

* This box should be made in oak or mahogany; put together with brass screws, if for
** foreign service.” ij

“ BOOK ’’-BOXES AND CABINETS. 287

allowed to handle the various lethal agents with which these
chapters necessarily abound.

Another sort of store box is the book box, hinged at the back
and opening along the front, representing two distinct volumes of
a book. This is either covered in cloth, labelled with gilt letters,
or is made in mahogany, the bands let in in ebony, or white
wood, and strips of lettered leather pasted in between them.* All
around the box inside runs a little ledge of wood for the reception
of glass, which, as each half is filled with insects, is pasted in
with ornamental paper. For those who delight in camphor, a
piece of perforated cardboard or cork should be placed in the
corners, forming angle pieces, and enclosing within the triangle
thus formed, the (un)necessary morsels of the drug. When
filled, it should be pasted over on the top, and the glass then
fits close on top of it. Book boxes have one or two advantages :
they look well in a library and take up but little room, and are
easily handled when showing them to friends. As exhibition
boxes they are nearly perfect.

CABINETS.—The entomological cabinet is a much more serious
matter; there is no limit to its size, from the modest one of six
drawers to the “working” one of thirty. The size of the
drawers varies with individual taste. A nice size, however, is
183in. long by 163in. by 23in., or the 20in. by 18in. by 23in., or
deeper if for large insects. No amateur, unless he is a past
master at joinery, can hope to construct a thoroughly well-made
cabinet; indeed, few cabinet makers know how to turn out
one to suit a veteran entomologist. Briefly: the drawers of a
first-class cabinet should be made of the best Spanish maho-
gany, or oak, in every part; no “baywood,” “cedar,” or any
such spurious stuff should enter into its composition (good
white pine being preferable to such). Cedar is totally unfit for
store boxes or cabinets, owing to its tendency to throw out in
time a gummy exudation, which settles on the wings of the
insects and utterly ruins them. This remark applies also to
cabinets for eggs. The frames which hold the covering glass
should preferably fit by a tongue resting in a groove, ploughed
with a “filister”’ in the substance of the drawer itself. A fillet
should rest inside, fitting against the inner edge of the frame,

* See remarks on page 228,

288 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

which should also be lined with velvet, to further exclude the
dust. Drawer and frame should be made so true that the latter
should fit back to front, if required, equally with its normal
position. The carcase, or part into which the drawers fit, either
by runners or in grooves by tongues attached to the drawers,
should be made so truly that No.1 drawer should fit in the place
of Nos. 15 or 30, and vice versd, and all should “suck” back
when pulled out half way. The drawers should be locked by
“pilasters,” or have glazed and framed doors. There are but
few makers of such cabinets as I have just described, and prices
are proportionately high, a sovereign a drawer being about the
figure. Fair cabinets in mahogany or walnut, quite good
enough for ordinary purposes, can be made, however, for half
this sum, and deal ones a little less. The corking of these best
cabinets is generally done before the bottoms are fixed, as thus
an open surface is obtained for rubbing down, by leaving out
the bottom until corked. White or black velvet, instead of
paper, is often used to cover the cork. Some little skill is requi-
site to do this without soiling the delicate material; the best
way is, perhaps, to glue the cork on cardboard, cut to the size
of the drawer, less the thickness of the velvet all round; on this
glue the cork, rub it down as before directed, and strain the
velvet over it, bringing its edges underneath the cardboard; glue
the bottom of the cabinet drawer, and drop the prepared velvet-
covered cork and cardboard into it, place clean paper over the
velvet, and weight it down for a day or two. This plan ensures
the cleanliness of your covering medium—a highly necessary
precaution if using white velvet.

There are many other ways of fitting glass to drawers than
that recommended. For instance, a hinged frame may be used,
dropping in a “rabbet,” ploughed around the front, back, and
sides of the drawers; or the top frame may have a tongue fitting
inside the whole substance of the drawer, or the glass may
be a fixture, beaded or puttied in on top, the whole of the
bottom unscrewing from the drawer frame. This latter is very
well for a collection when fully made up and complete, but if
required for an incomplete collection, the risk and annoyance of
unscrewing and screwing up, to constantly remove or insert a
specimen, are great.

CABINET DRAWERS AND PINS. 289

In view of the almost impossibility of keeping dust out of even
the best-made cabinet drawers, if made on the top-lifting system,
and also to do away with the screws, I have devised what I call
the “dust-proof cabinet drawer.” The glass is “beaded” and
puttied in as a fixture on the top of the drawer, either from the
inside or out. At the usual distance from the glass, to clear
the pins, a strip is fixed all around the frame of the drawer.
Below this, at a depth settled by the thickness of the bottom, a
eroove runs all around, except at the back, which is cut out up to
the bottom edge of the groove. The bottom, when corked and
papered, fits inside the frame, “butting” up to the strip which
clips it all around to about the width of jin. A false bottom
now slides in the groove below, and fastens with a catch,
making all perfectly secure and altogether dust proof. If well
made, this drawer is easy to open, as, directly the false bottom is
removed the inner one slips down and is found on the table
when the upper part is lifted off. The only thing to be said
against this drawer is that the fronts show a little deeper than
usual to allow for the extra bottom.

A modification of this is a closely glazed cabinet drawer, with
a false corked bottom, loosely held down by a slip affixed to each
side of the drawer, and sliding out from the back; managed by
hinging the back piece or fixing it by brass eyes and hooks.
Note, that all loose flaps to drawers or door-frames, in best
cabinet-work, should be worked and fitted by ‘‘ Dust-joint ”
planes. This reduces risk and dust to a minimum.

Pins.—The pins used are those called entomological, and are
made in various sizes to suit various insects. An insect should
be pinned with one of these exactly in the centre of the back,
running through truly to the underneath, slanting, however, a
little downward toward the body, thus throwing the pin’s head
a little forward, but exactly in a line with the longest axis of
the body. These are specially made by one or two firms only.
Messrs. D. F. Tayler and Co., of Birmingham, issue a sample
card, the most useful sizes of which are No. 11 (at 6d. per oz.)
for the hawk moths, No. 13 (at 6d. per oz.) for smaller moths
and butterflies, and No. 7 (at 2s. 6d. per oz.) for small moths, and
such butterflies as the “Blues.” I have, of late, almost confined
myself to No. 2 (at 2s. per oz.), a long fine pin, useful for many

299 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

purposes (see page 109). There are many other sizes, but these
will be found quite sufficient for the beginner. These pins are
also gilt, under the impression that gilding tends to prevent the
corrosion of verdigris which the juices from the bodies of some
moths, the Hepialide especially, induce. This is not so; the
Continental black varnished pins are better safeguards, but pre-
judice forbids their use. Messrs. Tayler now make all their
sizes in “enamelled black” to order, at the same prices as their
gilded ones. Varnishing the common entomological pins with
a hard and nearly colourless varnish has been tried with good
effect, though it is a trial of patience to do this to pins ene by
one. Really the only thing to stop grease appearing in the
bodies of moths, to the subsequent breaking of your pins and
soiling of your cabinet paper or velvet, is to open all the insects
underneath, take out all their internal organs, carefully paint
the inside with a little of the corrosive subliimate preparation
(see page 78), and fill up the void with cotton wool. Unfor-
tunately the evil of greasy exudations from the bodies of un-
stuffed or low-set insects does not stop at the corrosion of the
pins or greasing of the paper, but in many cases extends to the
underlying cork, which is sometimes so badly greased as to
necessitate the cutting out of the damaged patch to prevent
the grease reappearing when the drawer is newly papered.
GREASE AND MITES.—“Grease” and “mites” are in fact the
bétes noires of the entomological collector. When you have an
insect, therefore, old and greasy, but yet “too fondly dear” to
throw in the fire, place the offender on a piece of cork weighted
at the bottom with lead and sink it bodily in a wide-mouthed
bottle, partly full of benzoline; leave it there from a day toa
week, according to its state. When it comes out it will look even
worse than before, but after being covered up with a layer of
powdered chalk, magnesia, or plaster of Paris, it will often come
out as good as new. I say often, for cases occur now and then
in which no amount of pains restores the insect to its pristine
freshness; but these exceptions are few and far between.
“ Mitey ” insects are cured in a similar manner ; in fact, I would
advise that all exchanges be submitted to the benzoline test. I
have also used Waterton’s solution (see page 69) to plunge them
in, though 6gr. of corrosive sublimate to the ounce of alcohol are

GREASE AND MITES. 291

about the proportions of the bath for most insects; but the spirit
may be increased, if, on trial with a common insect or black
feather, it should be found that the mercury is deposited as a
white stain on the evaporation of the spirit.

Rectified ether (pure) is a better medium than alcohol for ra-
pidity of drying (especially in a draught), but is more expensive.

Nothing, I believe, prevents mites (psocide) appearing now and
then even in poisoned insects. Constant care, stuffed bodies,
and soaking in benzoline, are the deterrent agents; camphor is
a pleasant fiction, so is wool soaked in creosote, phenic acid,
eajeput oil, crystals of napthelin, &c.—in fact, it may be laid
down as an indisputable doctrine that no atmospheric poison is.
of the slightest avail against mites.* Get them to eat poison, or
drown them and shrivel them up in spirit and you may settle
them, but not otherwise. I have heard of cabinet drawers
suffered to remain upside down to prevent mites getting to the
insects; but I very much fear that such a plan as this, is on all
fours with that of a man whom I knew, who, being abroad
in a “ Norfolk-Howard” infested country, turned the head of
his bed every other night to puzzle the enemy !

The late Mr. Doubleday, the father of English entomology,
never admitted camphor in his cabinet (thinking, as I do, that:
it conduces to grease),t but used the corrosive sublimate prepa-’
ration instead, to touch the underneath of the bodies of doubtful
strangers. Loose quicksilver or insect powder is by some
strewn amongst their insects; but the danger of the first to the
pins, and the untidy appearance of the second, militate against.
their general use.

Haunts.—Having given a brief outline of the capture, setting
and storing of an ordinary insect, I will,in as few words as.
possible, give a short history of any peculiarities attending the
capture of extraordinary insects.

Some butterflies and moths (the autumnal appearing species)
live through all the winter hid up in hollow trees, outhouses,
&c., appearing at the first rays of the spring sun to lay their

* See remarks on this at page 86.

+ It is quite true that, although camphor evaporates rapidly, and settles on anything,
80 as to be perceptible even to the naked eye, yet that it re-evaporates and ultimately dis-
appears. This, to my mind, is the most fatal object'on to its use: its ready evaporation
leaving the insects, &c., ultimately without any protection.

292, PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

eggs and die.* Others pass through the frost and snow as
pupe, bursting their cerements in the sunshine, to live their
brief life and perpetuate their race; others eke out a half
dormant existence as minute larve, others pass the winter
in the egg state. In fact, each species has its idiosyncrasy.

The swallow-tail butterfly, first on some British lists, must
be sought for in the fens of Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire, and
Northamptonshire. It is a strong flyer, and requires running
down, unless when settled on the head of one of the various
umbelliferous plants it delights in. The clouded yellow is
usually a lover of the sea-coast during the months of August
and September—though in that year of strange climatic changes
(1877) it appeared in considerable numbers from the beginning
of June, whether hybernated, or an early brood evolved from
pup lying dormant throughout the last summer, is an open
question.

The Purple Emperor, now one of our rarest insects (I have not
seen it alive since the time when I was a boy, and saw it around
the oaks of Darenth Wood), was formerly captured by the aid
of a net fixed to a pole 30ft. or 40ft. long. But accident or
science discovered, however, that this wearer of Imperial purple
possessed a very degraded taste, descending, in fact, from the
tops of the highest oaks to sip the juices from any decaying or
excremental matter. Now, therefore, the recognised bait is a
dead dog or cat in a severe state of “highness.” The “game-
keeper’s museum” in the few places where Iris now resorts may
be searched with advantage, yielding also a plentiful supply of
beetles of various sorts. The “Holly Blue” I have noticed to
have a similar degraded taste.

Mud holes also in hot weather attract many butterflies, as
do the sweet exudations from various trees, or from fallen or
over-ripe fruit.

* Here, perhaps, I may explode that myth and ‘‘enormous gooseberry” of the mild
winter or early spring, headed _ in the newspaper every year as ‘‘ Extraordinary Mildness
of the Season”: ‘‘ We are credibly informed that, owing to the mildness of the past week,
Mr. William Smith, of Dulltown, Blankshire, captured a splendid specimen of a butterfly,
which a scientific gentleman to whom it was sent pronounced to be the small tortoiseshe 1
Vanessa, &e.’? Now the fact is, that Urticze merely came out for an airing, awakenel
from its winter sleep by the extraordinary warmth of the dav, and it might just as likely
have been ‘‘ shook up” on the preceding Guy Faux or Christmas-day; ail the Vanessidw,
and many others, being hybernators. Far different, however, is it when any of the
““ Whites ’’—Pieride—are seen or caught. They, indeed, do herald the coming spring, as,
lying in the chrysalis state throughout the late autumn and following winter, some degree
of continuous warmth must take place ’ere they can emerge.

COLLECTING INSECTS BY DAY AND BY NIGHT. 293

Occasionally a high-flying insect may be induced to follow to
the ground a stone or piece of turf thrown up in front of it.
The persistent manner in which some species will return again
and again to the very same spot is something wonderful. The
same flower head, the same muddy puddle or patch of road, is
selected. The collector, if foiled in his first attempt, will do
well, therefore, to wait for the probable return of his prize.
Certain species frequent the chalk district only, others woods
and sandy lanes; some are found only high up in the moun-
tains of the north, others but in the low-lying valleys of
the south. The sea coast has its specialities, some insects
even flying well out to seaward, in crossing from land to land.
I remember a “crimson-speckled footman” moth, Detopeia pul-
chella, flymg on board a steamship whilst we were fully a
hundred miles from the nearest land. No place, in fact, should
be disregarded in which to search for insects, for some are so
exceedingly local that a district of perhaps twenty miles in
extent may be searched in vain for a desired species, until the
collector suddenly comes upon one or two fields swarming with
them. Nor is this all, for in the case of two or three extremely
local species, but one or two spots in the British Isles are their
favoured haunts. Bean fields in flower, clover and lucerne fields
in sunshine, are first-class hunting grounds, whilst on cloudy or
very windy days many butterflies, such as the Blues, may be
found resting on grasses or on tree trunks in woods; or, as in
the case of the Hairstreaks, higher up under the leaves. Beating
the boughs with a long stick will often force insects to fly, when
their presence 1s unknown to us.

I have hitherto spoken of the collecting of insects by day
only, but as there are many insects—moths—which appear but
at night, we must follow them to their haunts, prepared with
lantern and net. In the dusk of the evening, just as the sun
sets and twilight comes on, we must take our stand near the
flowers frequented by certain moths. In spring the blue bell,
cherry, and apple blossom may be watched. Later on, the
blossoms of lime trees, flowers of the honeysuckle, bramble,
petunias, scabious, and a host of others. Nettle beds also are
great hunting localities at this time of the evening for many
moths. Dark and sheltered hedgerows of lanes, fields of

294 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

mowing grass, willows near water, heather, the seashore, all
add their quota to the persevering entomologist. The sallow
blooms (commonly called “ palm”), both male and female,
must be searched early in spring time for the whole of
the genus Toeniocampa and many other newly-emerged or
hybernated species. As they usually drop at the first
contact of the lhght from the lantern, the net must be
held under them, or a sheet may be spread under the bush,
and those which do not fall at first may be shaken off the
blooms with a smart stroke or two of a stick. If the bushes
are not high, “ hand-picking ” with the net held in readiness
is really the best.

Ivy blooms in the autumn are also sure finds, several species
—many of great rarity—being taken off this plant at night.
Owing to the usual localities in which ivy is found, the spread
sheet and subsequent “beating” come in more often than the
safer method of “netting” and “ bottling.”

Light is also a great attraction to many moths, some of our
greatest rarities being captured frequently, inside or outside
street lamps, and the spectacle is by no means rare to see
a “grave and reverend signor” climbing up the lamp-posts
at a most unseemly hour of the night in search of specimens.
Lighthouses have also yielded important captures, and there
are worse things than being on friendly terms with the cleaner
of street lamps, or the keeper of a lighthouse. True, you
will get some awful rubbish, but the day will come when
Alniaria or Celerio (which latter I once received alive), or
some other rarity, will reward your faith. Light surfaces,
such as white cloths or sheets left out all night, sometimes
attract moths.

SucARING.—The great nostrum for capturing moths is—
“Sugar!” <A legend tells that many years ago someone disco-
vered (or imagined) that moths came to an empty sugar cask,
situate somewhere in a now unknown land; and acting as the
Chinaman is said to have done, in re the roast pork—thought
perhaps that the virtue resided in the barrel, and accordingly
carted it off into the woods, and was rewarded by rarities.
previously unknown. A sage subsequently conceived the grand
idea that the virtue resided in the sugar and not in the cask,

“SUGAR” AND “SUGARING.” | 295

and afterwards came the idea of an improved “sugar,” made as
follows :

Coarse brown sugar (foots), 1lb. | Porter (or ale), 1 gill.
Treacle (common), 4lb. Rum, @ wineglassful or } quartern.

Mix together the sugar, treacle, and beer in a saucepan, and bring
the mixture to the boiling point, stirring it meanwhile. Put it
in corked bottles, and just before you wish to use it add the rum.
Aniseed is sometimes used as the flavouring medium. Honey
is also substituted for sugar, and sometimes the whole is mixed
unboiled; but if the collector will try the foregoing recipe, the
result of many years’ experience, he will, I am sure, be
thoroughly satisfied.

The entomologist having provided himself with a bottle of the
foregoing mixture, a tin pot to pour it into, and a brush to lay
it on with, the net figured at Fig. 46, the cyanide bottle, a
collecting box, and a lantern, is equipped for sugaring.

A special sugaring can may be made from a tin canister, to
the rim of which a sort of funnel has been
soldered in such a manner as to prevent any
spilling of the contents, and to the lid of
which a brush has been affixed. The wood-cut
(Fig. 51), will explain.

This is, however, but a ‘“‘fad,” intended to
do what it never does—viz., keep your fingers
from sticking, and “your tongue from evil
speaking” about the “messiness” of the
“sugar.”

All seasons of the year (except when too great
an abundance of a favourite flower abounds)
yield a certain percentage of moths attracted
by sugar. Mild nights in the depth of winter,
or in very early spring, sometimes afford rari-
ties, and certainly many hybernated common Fie. 51.—Suaar-
species. Warm, cloudy nights, with a little vas ae
wind stirring, are generally the most favourable; but one of .
the best nights I ever had amongst the “Peach Blossoms”
and “ Buff Arches” (Thyatira batis and derasa) was in a wood
in Warwickshire, when the rain fell in torrents, accompanied
with fierce lightning and thunder, from about 11 p.m. until 6

U

296 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY,

the next morning. On this night everything swarmed, a
hundred or more common things on one patch of sugar being
of frequent occurrence. Moonlight nights are, as a rule, blank
ones for the “ sugarer”—(Do the moths fly high to the light ?)
—but I once had a grand capture of many specimens of the
“sword-grass” (C. exoleta) on a bright moonlight and very
windy night in February; and Dr. Knaggs says that on one
occasion he met with night-flying moths literally swarming on
a sugared fence in a field once in his possession, whither, in the
small hours, he had taken a stroll with a friend on the brightest
moonlight morning it was ever his lot to behold.

Many nights which appear the most favourable will, on the
contrary, be unaccountably disappointing; not a single moth
will make its appearance. The presence of ground-fog, “ honey-
dew,” more attractive flowers, or a coming change of wind or
temperature (nothing caring to stir in an east, north, or north-
east wind) will sometimes account for this.

“ Showers, rain, thunderstorms, provided they are accompanied
by warmth, are,” says Dr. Knaggs, “very favourable, and the
catch during these conditions of the atmosphere will generally
repay the inconvenience of a wet jacket. On one terrible night,
when the lightning was perfectly terrific, almost blinding even,
though my companion’s eyes and mine were kept upon our work,
an incredible profusion of moths of various kinds were hustling
one another for a seat at the festive board, and continued thus
to employ themselves until a deluge of rain swept both sweets
and moths away from their positions. On another stormy
night, I well remember having counted no less than a hundred
and fifty moths of several sorts and sizes struggling for the
possession of two small patches of sugar. Perhaps the best
condition of the air may be described as cloudy overhead, but
clear and free from ground-fog near the earth; and when this
state of things has been preceded by sultry weather, and a
steady west, south, or south-west wind is blowing at the time,
the collector need not fear the result, for he can hardly fail to
be successful.”

July is usually one of the very best months for sugaring,
and, if warm, what can be more charming than to select a fine
night at this season of the year and to spend it in the woods?

CAPTURING LEPIDOPTERA AT NIGHT. 297

Just before dusk get your sugar painted on the trees, at
about the height of your chest, in long narrow strips, taking
care not to let any fall at the foot of the tree or amongst the
adjacent bushes (though I have sometimes done very well by
sugaring low down near the foot of the tree). Just as the
nightjars and bats begin to fly you will have finished the last
tree of your round, and rapidly retracing your steps to the first
you will perhaps see a small moth, with wings raised, rapidly
flitting up and down your patch of sugar. This is most pro-
bably the “Buff Arches,” usually the first to come; in fact,
during the summer months, it is perhaps as well to get the
sugar on at eight o’clock, as I have known this species, the
“Peach Blossom” and the “ Crimson Un-
derwings ” (Catocala promissa and sponsa),
to come on the sugar in bright ight while
yet the last rays of the sun were lighting
the westward side of the tree-trunk, when
all the rest lay in shadow.

If you are not facile princeps at
“bottling,” do not attempt it with the
three or four species named above, but
strike them with the net at once, for they
are the most skittish of noctue, especially
in the early part of the evening. Strik-
ing down such insects with a parchment-
covered battledore, which Dr. Guard Knaggs considers inflicts
the least injury, or impaling them with a triangle of needles
stuck in cork, in the manner shown in Fig. 52, or even with
a single darning needle, has been recommended, but after a
trial I have come to the conclusion that such plans are
clumsy in the extreme. A little practice will enable the
beginner to dispense even with the net, which tends to
“rub” such dashing or unquiet insects, and to rapidly cover
them with a large cyanide bottle, or, failing this, with the
instrument shown in Fig. 53, which is a combination of the
“drum” and cyanide bottle, and will be found very useful for
skittish insects. A, represents a cyanide bottle with no neck—a
wine or ginger-beer bottle cut down, by filing it around, and
then tapping it smartly, does very well on an emergency. On

U 2

Fia. 52.—IMPALER.

298 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

this is fixed a tin cylinder, B, having a slot cut in at D, in
which a diaphragm, ©, works, and is prevented from falling
out by a stud fixed to its inside, and from falling inside by
the stud above C. To use this, the bottom must be stopped
with a cork, through which a piece of stout wire is bolted,
the wire to come up to, but just underneath, the slot D, allowing
the diaphragm to close. In action this machine is worked thus:
Supposing an insect is seen resting on a flat surface, such as
palings, a wall, or the trunk of a tree, you having previously
removed the cork and pulled the diaphragm out of the slot
to its full extent, take aim, as it were, at the insect with the
open mouth of B, and rapidly cover him with it. The moth, or
what not, as a matter of course, flies

toward the light which is at the bot- B

tom of the bottle, A; directly it has (g@gttiinm
done so you push in the diaphragm, ti)
which of course effectually bottles
him up. Now enter the cork in the
mouth, B, and pull out the diaphragm lll it

again to allow the cork to pass to |

its place in the mouth of the cyanide a A :

bottle, which stopping is of course ill

fatal to the insect. |

The “sugaring drum” referred to
is thus described and figured by Dr. F!4-53.—Draruraem Borttz,
Knaggs; and it will be seen that in
its main principle it is similar to my diaphragm bottle, sans
cyanide :

“This is a hollow metal tube of two or three inches diameter,
over one end of which a piece of gauze has been strained, while
at the other end a valve, to open and shut the mouth, works in
a transverse slit (shown in Fig. 54). To use it we open the
valve and deftly place the mouth of the drum over the insect.
which, in nineteen cases out of twenty, flies towards the gauze.
We then seize the opportunity to close the valve, and pushing
the corked piston represented at the right side of the figure
against it, once more open the valve, and force the capture up
to the gauze, through which it may be pinned, and the piston
should then be withdrawn with the insect stuck upon it.”

“DRUMS” AND CYANIDE-BOTTLES. 299

After all, I like nothing so well as working two or three large
cyanide bottles in this manner: Get some 60z. or 8oz. bottles,
with as large mouths as possible—a confectioner’s small and
strong glass jar is about as good a thing as you can get. To
this have a cork, cut as tightly as possible, sloping outwards
above the bottle some little distance, to afford a good grip. Fill
with cyanide as before directed, putting in enough to make the
bottles work quickly. When you see one of the restless hover-
ing kind of insects at your sugar, aim at him stealthily, as it
were, with the mouth of your bottle, and when near enough

Fic. 54.—Sucarine Drum.

rapidly close the mouth over him—ten to one he flies to the
light, and with a little management you can contrive to get the
bottle recorked. Let him remain in the bottle until stupefied,
meanwhile using another bottle. When this is tenanted and the
insect drops, gently shake him into the first bottle, using the
last to capture the next insect, and so on. By using three
bottles you can always have one disengaged, and the bottled
insects can thus be allowed to remain a sufficient time to go dead
before pinning.

Many insects sit very quietly at the sugar, but some few have

300 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

a nasty trick of “dropping ” at the least alarm; to prevent this,
the whipcord of the net (Fig. 43 or Fig. 46), should be always
pressed close to the tree to receive them. The cyanide bottle
should be held with the left hand, and the insect gently
“flicked” in with a disengaged finger, the cork held in the right
hand to close the bottle as quickly as possible. My readers will
say, How is the necessary lantern held all this time? Between
the teeth by a piece of wood, or leather, fixed round the top or
swinging handle; or by being strapped on the chest at the
height of the sugar patch. This is, of course, on the assumption
that you work solus—not too pleasant if in a lonely wood for
three or four days and nights. Unless you are greedy, there-
fore, and wish to make a regular trade of your loneliness, you
will find that a friend, holding the lantern or net while you
“)bottle,’ is not by any means prohibitory to enjoyable col-
lecting. Two working together can get over more ground than
one, and what one friend misses, the other stops.

From dusk to eleven on a favourable night in the summer
months the fun is fast and furious; thousands of moths of the
common sorts come and go; now and then a “good thing” to
sweeten the toil. The “Peach Blossoms” and ‘ Buff Arches ”
slacken at about half-past nine, and do not reappear until
exactly the same light reappears in the morning, going on well
into the daylight. In fact, I have taken them still coming to
the sugar as late as a quarter past three, when the first rays oz
the sun were just appearing. This is one of the most curious
things about sugaring. The swarming of one species at a
certain hour of the night, their almost total disappearance, and
their replacement by moths of quite a different genus, giving
way again to others; then comes a lull—remarked by everyone
—hbetween half-past eleven and one or half-past, then a rush
again up to daylight, when they all disappear, save one or two,
who remain until they tumble dead drunk off the tree—a
shocking example to the wood fairies, who are popularly sup-
posed to draw the line at rum! Another curious thing is that
you may sugar in a wood for years and will always find certain
trees unprofitable. Iremember one tree in a favourite wood, which
tree I sugared for years without taking a single moth fromit. You
can assign no reason for this, as the unproductive tree may

SITUATIONS IN WHICH TO “SUGAR.” 301

be precisely similar to others on which insects swarm. As a
rule, however, rough-barked trees are the best; and smooth, or
dead or rotten ones, the worst. Still there is no hard-and-fast
line in this.

Failing trees on which to put your sugar, paint palings,
walls, bushes, leaves of plants, and even flower heads: or, if
working on the seashore, on which several rare and local species
are found, “sugar” flat stones, rocks, or even make bundles of
the mat weed, as you will have to do on the “ denes” of Norfolk
or similar places, and sugar them. If you are entirely at a loss
for bushes or grasses, soak some pieces of cloth or calico, before
leaving home, in the sugar, and peg them down on the ground,
or stick them in the crevices of the rocks, if the latter are, from
any cause, too wet to hold the sugar.

It often happens that moths will come to sugar, even when
not freshly painted on the trees. I remember once taking
several Crimson Underwings (C. promissa), and several other
things, on sugar which was painted on the trees by a collector
four nights before I arrived at the spot. Butterflies and several
other things are often attracted by sugared trees, whether old
or fresh; and Dr. Knaggs says that by day several butterflies,
chiefly Vanesside, a group comprising the ‘“ Peacock,” the
**Tortoiseshell,” the “Red Admiral,” the “ Painted Lady,” and
the “Camberwell Beauty,” have a penchant for the sugar, and
may, by this means, be enticed within our reach; and the
“ Purple Emperor” has thus been frequently entrapped.
Sugaring constantly in the same tract of woodland is certain
ultimately to yield something out of the common, for moths
have been proved to fly many miles in search of natural or
artificial sweets, and even a barren locality may be made
exceedingly productive by perseveringly sugaring it.

Some very curious things come to sugar now and then. Such
insects as beetles, woodlice, slugs, &c., are expected as a matter
of course, but toads, dormice, and bats—all attracted, however,
I suspect, as much by the insects as the sugar—you do not
expect, nor the sundry caterpillars which you occasionally can
catch sipping at the sweet juice. The Hawk moths and Bom-
byces are popularly supposed not to come, but I have a distinct
recollection of catching, near Woolwich, many years ago, a

302 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

“goat moth” certainly “inspecting” the sugar, and analogous
but isolated instances now and then occur.

In the grey of the morning. when sugaring is finished, it
will be as well to keep your eye on the hedgerows or
heaths you may pass, as occasionally certain insects swarm
at an early hour, and now and then important captures may
be made.

Before dismissing the subject of sugaring, it may be as well
to say a few words on lanterns and chip boxes. With regard to
the first, bull’s eyes are generally recommended. Possibly, I
may be prejudiced against them when I say that I think they
concentrate the glare of light too suddenly and in too narrow a
focus, causing thereby many insects to drop, which the broader
stream of light from an ordinary lantern does not appear to do
to such an extent. I recommend, therefore, a medium-sized
ordinary lantern, about 7in. high by 43in. by 33in., back to front,
fitted with a double-wicked reservoir, holding sufficient oil to
burn seven or eight hours. A screw cap should be fitted over
the burners to prevent the oil running out and spoiling every.
thing with which the lantern may be packed when travelling.
The usual plate glass door should be made to open from the
front, the glass sides, however, being replaced with bright metal,
converging the rays from a strong reflector at the back; a swing
handle should be fixed at the top and two at the back, all folding
close to the lantern when not in use. Plenty of ventilation,
without allowing actual wind to penetrate, should be provided,
and only the best colza oil be used. If made to order, a great
advantage will be found in having the right-hand side to
open outwards (from the back) instead of opening on the
front, as the lantern can then be more easily trimmed when
strapped on the body without the necessity of its removal for
that purpose.

The chip boxes, which some entomologists use instead of the
cyanide bottle to take the moths off the trees, are simply the
various sized ointment boxes of the druggist, strengthened by
papering, or by pieces of glued linen crossing them. Many
use them, chiefly those of the old school, in preference to
anything else—De gustibus, &c. The objections to a general
use of these boxes are many. First, you must provide yourself

“ CHIP-BOXES” AND “ASSEMBLING.” 303

with a large bagful or pocketful of these boxes on starting
out, as one moth only goes in each box, leaving one pocket
empty on the reverse side of your coat to receive the boxes
when filled, in order not to mix the empty with the full ones.
Second, you are not quite sure at night as to “rubbed” or
“chipped” specimens, and may find in the morning your boxes
filled with worthless things, which a brief introduction to the
cyanide bottle would long before have revealed. Third, the
most important fact, that though there are many insects which
rest quietly when boxed, there is a large percentage which pass
the time of their captivity in madly dashing themselves against
the walls of their prison, and a boxed insect of this turn of
mind presents a sorry sight in the morning, many stages, in
fact, on the wrong side of “shabby-genteel.” Then when, after
a night’s severe work, you are limping home in the morning,
thinking how cold it is—until roused to action by the appearance
of some unexpected insect—then, indeed, how much more cold
- and hollow seems the world, when, suddenly catching your tired
foot in a stump or tangle of grass, you roll over on the full
pocket side and hear (and feel) the boxes burst up on the
unhappy moths within. I have gone through it all, and I
don’t like it!

ASSEMBLING.—I had almost forgotten to mention another ex-
traordinary way of catching moths (chiefly Bombyces), by what is
ealled “assembling,” which is exposing in a gauze-covered box
a virgin female, who, by some mysterious power “calls” the
males of the same species around her in so infatuated a manner
that they will even creep into the collector’s pocket in their
quest of the hidden charmer.

In a highly interesting paper in the “ Country,” of 2nd Oct.,
1873, Dr. Guard Knaggs gave a very full account of the theory

and practice of “assembling,” so interesting, indeed, that I
venture to reproduce it in extensc. He says:

“The generally accepted theory is that each female should,
at one or other period of her existence, captivate at least one of
the opposite sex, though it will be found by experience that
some species possess 2 far more potent influence for this purpose
than others.

“It may be set down as a rule that females which are captured

304 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

at rest during the time of day or night at which they should
naturally be upon the wing are unimpregnated, and may be used
for attracting with fair chances of success. There may be
exceptions to this rule; my opinion inclines to the belief that
the butterflies take wing before impregnation; but of this I am
certain, namely, that the females of butterflies—at any rate of.
certain species—have considerable influence over the males.
Doubtless, too, there are many skittish Geometre or slender-
bodied moths, and Pyrales, or Pearls, which are easily frightened,
the females of which will rush from their places of concealment
even before they are prepared to start on the mission of oviposit-
ing. The converse of this rule, that female insects captured on
the wing are almost invariably impregnated, may be taken as an
axiom, at least so far as the moth tribe is concerned. Of course
females which have made their appearance in our breeding cages
are the most eligible for the purpose of attraction; but whenever
we breed these with the intention of using them for attracting,
we must bear well in mind that the rearing process, whether
from the chrysalis, the caterpillar, or the egg, must be conducted
under surrounding conditions of temperature, &c., as nearly as
possible resembling those to which they would be subjected in
their natural state. Otherwise, if we retard their appearance by
keeping our breeding-cages in too cool a situation, we shall be tco
late for our sport, or at best capture only worn specimens; while,
if we force them by an unnatural state of warmth, the males
will not have made their appearance at large by the time we are
ready to arrive upon the hunting-ground. Having furnished
ourselves with a bred female, the next procedure will be to con-
struct a cage for her reception in such a manner that the males
will be compelled to keep within a respectful

distance, and formed of such material as will

permit the air to readily permeate the sides of

the prison. The cage (Fig. 55) adapted to our

requirements is a very simple affair; it is

formed by bendmg our three strips of cane of

Fic. 55.—Assem- about equal lengths each into the form of a
cn circle, and fixing them in that form by means
of twine; these three circular pieces are then placed in such
a manner that they cross one another at right angles (Fig. 55),

CAPTURING MOTHS BY “ASSEMBLING.” 305

thereby forming the rudimentary outline of a hollow sphere,
over which it is an easy matter to stretch and tie a piece of
leno. When required for use the female may be put in, either
loose or clinging to a twig of the length of the diameter of the
globe, and the leno tied afterwards.

“The theory of the peculiar action of the female upon the
senses of the males is usually considered to be due to a subtle
scent which emanates from her, and is wafted on the breeze to
distant parts; and it is believed that by means of this scented
track the males are enabled to discover the whereabouts of the
object of their search. And that this would appear to be the
true solution, no one who has witnessed the grand spectacle of
the ‘Kentish Glories’ or the ‘Emperor’ moths coming up
against the wind can, I should say, for a moment doubt.

“To be attractive the female must be in that condition which
is known by the fraternity as ‘calling,’ that is, she should be
slightly convulsed with tremor, and the last segment of the
body should be denuded of fur. Then, if the weather be pro-
pitious—bright for such males as fly in the sunshine, warm at
dusk for those whose hour of flight commences with the shades
of evening—and if also the wind be blowing steadily from a
favourable quarter, such as west, south, or a gentle south-west,
we may reasonably hope for success.

“ But the young collector must remember that it does not by
any means follow that because he captures a female, say an
‘Oak eggar,’ on the wing in the evening, he has detected the
time of flight of the males. In fact, it very frequently
happens that the males fly in the daytime and the females
in the evening.

“In the case of species which inhabit open parts of the
country, such as moors, mosses, commons, chases, fens, and fields,
we should take care that no obstacle is in the way to prevent the
current of air from carrying the scent freely over the locality.
On the other hand, if it be the inmates of a wood or copse which
we are desirous of attracting, we must either select a ride down
which the wind finds its way, or else we shall have to allow the
breeze to convey the scent from some part of the surrounding
country to the outskirts of the wood.

“As arule, it is quite sufficient for our ends to lay the baited

306 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

cage upon the ground, and then to he down at a little distance
off and keep watch. But in some cases it is advisable to tie the
cage to the trunk or branch of a tree, or to fix it in a bush. I
have found the latter very effective with the red-belted apple
clearwing (Sesia myopifor mis), and no doubt it would also prove
so with other species of the class.

«« Any Londoner who would like to judge for himself can easily
manage it. He has only, in the first place, to hunt about in his
own or some one else’s garden for a handsome little caterpillar,
of a blackish colour, spotted with pink, with four rows of thick
tufts of yellowish hairs resembling brushes upon its back, with
two long tufts of blackish hairs pointing forwards in front,
almost like horns, and a similar one behind pointing backwards,
something lke a tail. It eats almost anything, and is easily
reared. When full fed it spins a web, in which it changes toa
chrysalis; and, in due time, from some of the cocoons thus
formed, spider-like creatures will emerge and attach themselves
to the outer part of the web. These should at once be removed
(web and all), and placed securely in the cage already mentioned,
when, if there be any males about, I will warrant it will not be
long before the proprietor has a very tolerable idea of what is
meant by attracting by the bred female.”

COLLECTING AND REARING LAaRv#.—Very many insects are
more easily collected in the larval or caterpillar stage than in the
perfect one. Every tree, bush, or plant, the grass, and even
the lichens growing on trees or walls, produce some larve
feeding on it. It would, I feel, be a work of supererogation to
attempt to give detailed descriptions of food-plants and the
insects feeding on them, when we have a book so good and cheap
to fall back on as “ Merrin’s Lepidopterist’s Calendar,” which
gives the times of appearance of butterflies and moths in all
their stages, with localities and the food-plants of the larve,
and this for every month of the year. For bringing caterpillars
home, a larve box is necessary; this should, if possible, be
made of a cylinder of wire gauze or perforated zinc (see Fig. 56),
capped top and bottom with zinc, the bottom a fixture, the
top to lift off, dished inward towards an orifice with a tube
soldered in it, which is kept corked until it is wanted to drop
larve down it. The tube coming well through into the cylinder,

LARVAE-BOXES AND COLLECTING LARVZ. 307

and narrowing inside to half its diameter at the top, prevents
anything escaping, even if the cork should be left out, and also
prevents the swarming out of the enclosed
larve, which would take place if the top were
lifted off bodily. Wooden canisters, such as
tobacco is often stored in, make very good sub-
stitutes if small holes are bored in the side.
Tin canisters, or, indeed, anything made en-
tirely of metal, unless plenty of ventilation is
afforded, as in Fig. 56, have a tendency to cause
the enclosed larve to sweat.

Some few hints as to collecting larvee may not
be unacceptable. In the spring, just as the
buds of various low plants and bushes break
forth, they should be searched by night, by
the aid of a lantern, for the larve of various
noctuce and geometre then feeding. The best
plants to search will be the mountain ash, Gia Geen
bilberry, honeysuckle, and bramble, given in “8cTINe Larva.
their order of merit. Many other plants may be advantageously
searched, in fact, all low plants and bushes ought to be well
looked over by the persevering collector. Later on, sweeping,
1.€., pushing a strong ring net through the grass, may be
resorted to. The net for this should be made of strong wire in
the shape of the net at Fig. 46, or 43, if without the joints, a bag
of strong dowlas and a stick are attached, and the front square-
ended part is pushed by the collector through the grass, in
order to trap any low feeding or invisible insects. When the
leaves are fully out on the trees, beating will shake many
larve, pups, certain moths, beetles, &c., into the net or sheet
spread to receive them. Both sweeping and beating may be
practised by night as by day.

The situations in which larve are found are many, some
rolling themselves in nettle, oak, or other leaves; others boring
into the substance of the wood itself, and some feeding in the
stems of various bushes, plants, reeds, &c. For life histories of
such consult the pages of the Hntomologist’s Monthly Magazine,
or Entomologist, both published every month at 6d. each; or
Newman’s “ British Butterflies” and “ British Moths,” published

308 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

as complete volumes at 7s. 6d. and 20s. respectively. These
latter are the finest works at the price in any language whatever,
giving figures—perfect specimens of the wood engraver’s art—
of the whole of the Macro-Lepidoptera, backed up by exhaus-
tive descriptions.

“Digging” in the dead months of the year, when the weather
is mild, for pups, is another method of getting insects. Corners
where roots meet or spring from the trunks of trees, are good
“harbours of refuge” for pup#; so are inner angles of walls,
underneath sheltered hedgerows, or under isolated trees in parks
or meadows, and a host of other spots. The best places for
“‘ digging” are not always, as you would suppose, in the thickest
parts of woods or shrubberies, but under skirting trees or
in avenues. The best times for pupe are from October to
January. Many people attain great proficiency in finding—the
Rey. Joseph Greene, to wit. For my own part I must confess
that I have never “earned my salt” at it, but that is possibly
due to want of skill or perseverance. The tools required are
‘simply a trowel, a curved piece of steel fitted in a handle, or a
three-cornered instrument similar to, but smaller than, the
scraper used by shipwrights; anything, in fact, handy to carry,
and efficacious in scratching up the sod at the roots of trees, or
tearing off the pseudo-knots of bark which veil the pupe of
various moths.

When larve or pupe are brought home, it will be necessary
to place them in something which, though retaining them in
captivity, yet allows them as natural conditions of living as is
possible in a circumscribed space. Pupz may be kept ina flower
pot covered with earth, or in moss damped from time to time
with water of not too cold a temperature. Over the flower pot
may be strained two pieces of wire or cane, crossing each other
in the form of arches, the whole covered with muslin; or a
handier plan to get to the insects quickly when emerged, or
to damp the pupz, is to procure from the glass merchant the
waste cylinders of glass cut from shades, pasting over one end
with “leno” or muslin, and placing the other in the flower pot
on top of the earth or moss. This also makes a cheap sub-
stitute for the breeding cage for larve, if a little earth only is
put in the flower pot in which a bottle of water is placed

BREEDING-CAGES AND “ FORCING.” 309

containing the food plant. Wire gauze cylinders are handy as
affording plenty of air to delicate larve. Bandboxes with a
square piece cut out from the top lid, the hole thus made
covered with muslin, will do very well for breeding a quantity of
a hardy common sort.

The usual wooden breeding cage is shown at Fig. 57. This
requires hardly any explanation: A is a glass door, B B B are
sides and top of perforated zinc, C is a tray fitting inside, where
dotted lines are shown, to hold the earth in which the bottle of

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water holding food is placed, or where the larve bury themselves
to change to pup. Properly, the inner tray of box C should be
constructed of zinc perforated with a few holes at the bottom,*
in order that it may be lifted out to allow the pupz to be well
damped when “forcing.”

“ Forcing” is a method adopted to cause any moth to emerge
at the collector’s will, and several months before its proper time,

* For those larve of butterflies and moths which do not require earth, it will be sufficient
to have a zine pan, with covered top perforated with holes, in which the stalks of the food
plants can be inserted in the water which fills the pan, whose covering prevents the insects
from drowning themselves therein.

310 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

it having been proved that certain moths more than others die
in the chrysalis or pupa state if left to go their full time, notably
the “ Death’s Head,” the “Spurge,” and other hawks. The
best time for forcing is about Christmas, and the conditions are
simply heat and moisture, the pupz being placed over a spirit
lamp, in a hothouse, on the kitchen mantelpiece, or by the fire
grate even, kept for a week or so at a temperature of 85deg. or
thereabout, and constantly damped with moss wrung out in
warm water. Bear in mind that heat without moisture will not
do by any means.

The breeding cage itself need not be used, but only the tray,
provided that gauze is stretched over in such a manner as to
allow room for the moth to dry its wings on emergence. But if
the whole of the breeding cage were made of framed zinc (such
as aquaria are made of), and the glass and perforated zinc fixed
in, the cost, though greater at first, would be more than counter-
balanced by its greater strength, with lightness and capability
of resisting wear and tear, added to which is the advantage of
being used as a whole during the operation of “ forcing,” wood
not standing, of course, the heat and moisture necessary.
Breeding cages should not be painted. Fresh food, and plenty
of it, should, if possible, be supplied to the larve. Dry fvod is,
as a rule, the best, though the larve of one or two of the
foreign Saturnide require their food to be sprinkled with water,
and sometimes even with the addition of salt, to make them
thrive. Moths on emergence should not be killed at once, as
they are then too flaccid, and have not sufficiently purged
themselves. Yet they should not be left too long or over night,
as they often fly at that time, and knock themselves about in
the cage, to the detriment of their beauty; destroying, in fact,
the whole aim and end of breeding, which is, of course, insti-
tuted to procure specimens for the cabinet as fine as it is
possible to get them.

In collecting insects it is always as well to bear in mind that
a “worn” female, though not of the slightest use to the ento-
mologist, unless she can be induced to lay in confinement, may
become the progenitor of many, and may thus afford you
during the next season great pleasure in collecting. This being
so, I should like to impress upon my readers (the young espe-

SEAKCHING FOR EGGS OF INSECTS. 311

cially) the propriety of giving all insects, not actually noxious,
their liberty, if on examination they prove to be useless as
specimens. These remarks apply also to the case of hybernated
females. Many female insects, though unwilling to lay in con-
finement, may be watched at large, and the flowers and plants on
which they have from time to time rested, searched for their
eggs.

In concluding this chapter, I feel that I might have said
much more upon nearly every section—have explained many
new “dodges,” and so forth, were it not that the limit of space
has been reached. One thing, however, may be noted as an
omission, and that is the recommendation as to what books
should be procured by the young entomologist. This is so
difficult a matter—depending entirely upon the aim of the
individual—that I prefer to leave it an open question, merely
making the general statement that nearly all our advanced
systems are founded upon the labours of German and French
entomologists.*

*Mr. Wm. Wesley, Essex Street, Strand, London, publishes monthly a ‘‘ Natural History
Book Circular,’’ which he will send to naturalists if asked.

rs

CHAPTER XVI.

On Naturat History Musrums, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
to A New System or Picror1AL ARRANGEMENT OF
VERTEBRATES.

i must confess that, at one time, the consideration of the best
method of dealing to advantage with the limited space usually
existing in the older provincial museums would have dismayed
me. Even at that time, however, I had glimmerings of the
brighter light which has since illumined the way, and I was,
perhaps, aided by the persistent manner in which I haunted
museums both abroad and at home, until at last I never
went on a journey without managing to break it, or to make it
end at the then summum bonum of my happiness—a museum.
Like Diogenes, I went about with my lamp to find, not an
honest man, but an honest museum—a museum with some
originality, and with some definite idea as to its sphere of
work, Leaving out, of course, such complete and technical
institutions as the Museum of Geology, the Museum of the
College of Surgeons, and such institutions which really have
a motive in view—steadfastly adhered to—I saw, then as now,
that every provincial museum was nothing if left to its own
devices, and, if “inspired,” was, at the best, but a sorry and
servile imitator of the worst points of our national museum.
Everyone must have observed, no doubt, in any provincial
museum which dates back thirty or forty years, that the great
curse of the collection, so to speak, is sketchy versatility.
In walking through the usually “dry-as-dust” collections you
find numbers of very atrociously-rendered mammals, a greater
sprinkling of funereal and highly-disreputable birds, some

EDUCATION OF CURATORS. ole

extremely-protracted fishes, some chipped insects, and a lot
of shells, chiefly marine, which suggest association with
the word “stores.” I allude to those odds and ends which
people do not want themselves, and which are, therefore, so
kindly brought as an offering—would I might say a “burnt ”
one—to any institution so reckless of consequences as to admit
them.

Nearly all museums of early days were imitators of the British
Museum, whilst those of later days affect the newer treatment
of South Kensington. Hence, in walking through any museum,
a technical observer can easily detect the sources of inspiration
and the lines of demarcation between the old and the new.
Really it amounts to this, that hardly any institution in
England thinks for itself. Museum authorities, like sheep,
follow the lead of the most ancient bell-wether; and the reason
of this is not far to seek. Curators, as a rule, are men with one
hobby—*‘ one-horse” men, as the Americans so aptly put it—
“sometimes wise, sometimes otherwise,” but in many cases
totally devoid of that technical education so much needed in
reconciling the divergent atoms of the institutions they repre-
sent; in fact, head and hand seldom work together. Often,
owing to the want of technical advice, money is wasted in more
than one department, cases are too highly paid for, and have
not been thought out sufficiently as to their fitness for their
future contents, or the position in which they are to be placed,
or the more fatal error has been perpetrated of considering
them as merely units of a certain department instead of parts
of a whole. I contend that if it be necessary for a civil engineer
or other professional man to have mastered the various techni-
calities of his profession, it is also incumbent on curators to
have done or to do likewise, in order that they may grasp
the treatment of their museum as a whole, and not fall into
the grave fault of working up one department whilst ignoring
the others. Nothing is more distasteful to my mind than that
a man in the position of a curator should impertinently ride
one single hobby to death, to the utter exclusion and detriment
of all other branches of knowledge entrusted to his care. What
is the sum total of thisP In looking around any museum of
old standing we see twenty different styles and colours of cases,

x 2

314 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

which may be briefly summarized as representing the eocene,
miocene, and pliocene formation of cases; space has been wasted,
or not utilized as it might be, and the result is a confused
jumble of odds and ends, consequent on some persons con-
sidering that the end and aim of a museum should be the
preservation of “bullets” collected by “ Handy-Andy” from
the field of “ Arrah-na-Pogue,” “ My Grandfather’s Clock,” and
so on. This is certainly not the mission of any museum, nor
should it lay itself out with avidity to collect disjointed scraps
of savage life, such as portraits of the “ladies” who ate cold
missionary, and who—horresco referens !—“ drank his blood.”*
Such a museum object as this, awfully, yet ludicrously, reminds
me of that showman who enticed his audience in with—
“Here youll see the Duke of Vellington at the battle of
Vauterloo, with the blood all a-runnen down his ‘fut,’” or of
poor little “Totty” (in ‘‘Helen’s Babies”), who loved to hear
about “ B’liaff ” and his headlessness, and the sword that was
all “bluggy.” This is, I think, one of the mistakes which most
museums fall into. They collect a vast quantity of rubbish
utterly useless to anyone but a schoolboy or a showman, and
in consequence they find valuable space wasted to make way
for tops of teapots, bits of leather,+ Kaffirs’ or Zulus’ knives
made in Sheffield, native ornaments, in beads and brass, made in
Birmingham, and such-like members of the great family of
“curios.” All such as these should be firmly and respectfully
declined without thanks.

I have spoken, in somewhat sacrilegious terms, of imitation:
of the worst points of the old British Museum and of South
Kensington (I don’t mean the new Natural History Galleries,
but artistic South Kensington); but perhaps I may be forgiven
when I state that I consider, and always considered, the
weakest part of our old natural history galleries at Bloomsbury
was the arrangement of all the mammals, birds, &c., in that
provokingly “fore-and-aft ” manner (spoken of before), on unin-
teresting stands or perches (hat-pegs) such as the skeletons in

* A fact:

+ When I first came to the Leicester Museum I was requested to present to the Museum
and enclose in a suitable receptacle—No. 1, a piece of thick leather, which the donor thought
“just the right thickness ior the heel of a boot ;”’ and No. 2, a teapot lid with no particular
history, only that—as the dame who brougit it phrased it—‘* maybe it’s summat old.”

CASE-FURNITURE OF MUSEUMS. 315

Plates IT. and III. are represented on. This, which was, perhaps,
inevitable in a national collection professedly showing to the
public every species of bird and mammal in the least possible
space, is unpardonable in a provincial museum, which has
not the task imposed upon it of attempting to vie with the
national collection in point of »wmbers. Provincial museums,
then, if electing to show only animals collected in their imme-
diate vicinity or county (which some authorities—of whom
anon—say is the only raison détre of a provincial museum), or,
if electing to supplement these by showing a few foreign forms
of striking appearance, fall into grievous error by mounting
the necessarily few specimens they can get together on “ hat-
pegs,” simply because the national collection, with which they
are not cn “all fours,” sets them the bad example in this. Now
for South Kensington: the imitation I decry is that of black, or
black-and-gold cases, suitable the exhibition of art treasures,
but objectionable for natural history objects, which, usually
dreary enough in their abject condition on pegs, are rendered
more funereal by their black, or black-and-gold surroundings ;
yet, with these obvious disadvantages, what do we see in some
provincial museums ?—a servile adoption of South Kensington
“ebonized ” cases, without any reference to fitness. It is positively
painful to see elaborately carved and gilded cases, costing, per-
haps, a hundred guineas a-piece, entombing a few wretchedly-
mounted specimens worth, perhaps, less than £5 thelot. I have
technical objections to “ebonized” cases, which I am sure have
been lost sight of by all but the makers of such articles. These
are—first, that if deal, or pine, or common cedar is used to make
the cases with, they will shrink, lose colour, or be easily chipped
or dinted, becoming in a short time useless and shabby; and,
on the other hand, if made by first-class makers out of good
mahogany, afterwards blacked or ‘“ebonized,” their price is
enormous, end out of all proportion to their appearance, added
to which they get worn on their edges in a short time and show
the mahogany underneath in reddish, rust-coloured streaks on
their most prominent parts. How ridiculous, then, does it seem
to cover up serviceable and handsome (and expensive) mahogany
with a coat of black simply for the sake of getting an effect
which is, to say the least, depressing! Well, you will say, you

316 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

have fallen foul of the fundamental principles of nearly all
museums—black cases, and animals on “hat-pegs.” What do
you propose? I propose, in the first place, mahogany, walnut,
or oak cases; and, in the second place, the pictorial mounting
of all specimens, and not only do I propose it, but I claim in
the Leicester Museum to have done on a large scale what has
hitherto been applied to small matters only. First, as to the
wood; I delight in oak, and, although I know how much more
lable it is to “twist” than first-class mahogany, yet if of good
picked quality, dry and sound, and properly tongued and framed,
there is not much to fear, and its hight and elegant appearance is
a great gain in a large room, added to this it improves by age
and is practically indestructible.

Now for the pictorial mounting of specimens; and here
let me say that, for any person to lay down a hard-and-fast
line as to what natural history specimens should be, or
should not be, collected by provincial natural history museums
as a whole, is about as sensible a plan as saying that a
nation as a whole must drink nothing but beer or nothing
but water. It is apparently forgotten that general principles
cannot apply to museums ranging in size from 20ft. by
12ft. to that of Liverpool with its several large rooms, each
one larger than the entire “museum” of small towns. I
think it may be laid down as a common-sense proceeding
shat, if a provincial museum consists of only one or two
rooms of the size above given, the managers should strictly
confine themselves to collecting only the fossils, animals, and
vlants of their own district. If, however, like Leicester, they
possess a zoological room 80ft.in length by 40ft. in width, and
of great height, together with smaller rooms, then the proposi-
tion to strictly confine themselves to local forms is unwise in
the extreme. How would it be possible to fill so much cubic
space with the few specimens—even if extended unwarrant-
ably, and elaborately mounted—which many years of arduous
collecting might obtain? ‘Taking the list of vertebrates of any
midland county, how many of them do we find could be collected
if we left out of count the “accidentals?” Here is a list:
Fishes, 26; reptiles, 10; birds, 110;* mammals, 26 (the fox

* About 80 only, of the 110, breed in any given midland district.

COLOUR, ETC., OF INTERIOR OF MUSEUMS. OL?

being the largest of these). It would be impossible to fill the
wall-cases, if properly proportioned, with these few, even given
all the favourable conditions of procuring the “accidentals”
and varieties, under ten years. It is quite true, also, that the
contemplation of purely local fauna, though giving interest to,
and holding undue importance in the eyes of a few men, who
narrow their views to their own county (which, perhaps, they
believe in to such an extent as to seldom pass its boundaries),
is misleading and even possibly damaging to the student of
biology, who must be shown, in the clearest possible manner,
the affinities—say, of such a well-known bird as the heron,
which a local collection will tell him, by means cf a huge and
unblushing label, is a “ Blankshire bird,” shot somewhere in
the vicinity ; not a word is said as to its being also a “ British”
bird and also a “ Foreign” bird, the heron ranging throughout
every county in Britain, throughout Europe, the greater paré
of Africa and Asia, and even penetrating into Australia. The
remedy for this is a typical “general” collection—running
around the room, let us say—and a “local” collection entirely
distinct and separate.

First, in the structural necessities of a museum, I place well-
lighted rooms— preferably from the top. Of course, side
windows, though giving an increase of light, yet by that very
increase become objectionable by making cross lights, which
the sheets of glass enclosing the various objects tend to
multiply ; next, the colour of the walls—this is very important,
Some museums have blue or Pompeian-red* walls, under the
impression that it suits certain objects; in the instances of
pictures or statuary, &c., it may be right, but, for natura!
history objects, nothing suits them and shows them: up better
than a light neutral tint—one of the tertiaries—lightened con-
siderably, until it arrives at a light stone, very light sage, or
pale slate colour. The pilasters, if any, must be ignored, and
blended into the walls by being painted of the same colour as
the remainder; otherwise, the first things which strike the

* The Leicester Museum, when I first came to it, had the walls of its chief room, ¢he then
** Curiosity Shop,” painted a dull dark red, cut up by twenty-four pilasters of a deep green, in
imitation of marble; the ceiling had not been whitened for twenty yeais, and the birds and
animals on “‘ hat-pegs,” in cases with small panes of glass, &c., were trightfully contrasted by
a backing of crude, deep ultramarine-blue! Three primary colours. Could human per-
versity and bad taste go much further?

318 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

observer on entering are the walls and pilasters, and not the
objects; whereas the impression’ to be secured on the mind
should be exactly the reverse of this, for be sure that, if the
colour of the walls be noticed at all by the casual visitor,
something is radically wrong. This is one of the reasons
why I prefer light oak wall-cases to anything else, by their
being so unobtrusive, and not dividing the room so sharply
into squares as the black and gold. I venture to say that
the first thing noticeable on entering the zoological-room at
Leicester is the form and colour of the objects, and this is
as it should be. Having now got light in the rooms from
the top and, possibly, from the north, supplemented by, and
radiating from, the light walls and ceiling, we, having our oak
cases in position, must glaze them with as large sheets of plate
glass as are manageable or as we can afford; a very handy
size is—say, 8ft. in height by 5ft. 4in. in breadth, this prevents
cutting up the enclosed specimens by many bars, enclosing
small panes, so prevalent in the older museums, also, of course,
adding greatly to the general effect. The backs of the wall
cases should be, if the specimens are mounted on pegs, of
some light tint slightly contrasting with that of the walls,
or, if the specimens are to be pictorially treated, with softly
graduated skies applicable to each group. Perhaps a sketch
of the treatment of the zoological-room of Leicester Museum
would help the reader to grasp the facts of the case better. In
the first place, the walls were cut for more windows, at a
height of 12ft. above the floor, the top hght not being sufficient
nor properly available, nor end lights obtainable, owing to the
structural defects of the existing building; the ceiling was
then whitewashed, and walls painted of a nice warm stone
colour, quite unobtrusive in itself; the artificial light was:
provided for by twelve gas pendants* of twenty-four lights
each, 7.e., eight arms, each holding three burners. The heating
—a most important matter, not only for the comfort of visitors,
but for the proper preservation of the specimens—was managed
by hot-water coils running around the walls under the cases.

* Tam not af all sure if the artificial lighting of wall cases is not best managed by gas

arms shaded from the eye of the spectator, and throwing their light into the cases by a
simlar arrangement to that adopted for lighting jewellers’ and other shops from the

outside.

FURNITURE OF THE LEICESTER MUSEUM. 319

The cases themselves were framed in oak, rising 10ft. from
the floor, thus—lft. 33in. of plinth and frames, enclosing
panelled gratings to allow the hot air to escape; on this the
wooden bottoms of the range was built; then 31in. and 3in.
frame at bottom and top, enclosing 7ft. 6in. space for glass, and
8in. frieze moulding; the divisions of each were arranged to
suit the space at disposal to represent all orders of vertebrates.
The doors or sashes were round-headed and glazed with plate
glass, three plates of which were 7ft. 6in. by 4ft. 43in.; eight,
7ft. 6in. by 4ft. 6in.; eleven, 7ft. 6in. by 5ft. lin.; eleven, 7ft. 6in.
by 5ft. 23in.; one, 7ft. 6in. by 4ft. 7Zin.; and three, 7ft. 6in. by
4ft. lin.; thirty-seven plates in all. All but twelve of the
cases were 2ft. Gin. from back to front, these twelve being 3ft.
from back to front, all glazed at the top, to admit light, by
glass fixed in iron |-pieces at intervals of 2ft. 6in., making
two divisions. To these, two cases were subsequently added;
one, 7ft. 6in. by 2ft. 6in.; the other, 7ft. 6in. by 6ft. The division
frames, being rebated and lined with “moleskin,” had the
sashes, previously glazed from the inside, lifted in and screwed
to them, the screw heads being hidden by turned “buttons ”
of oak. I objected to these doors or sashes being hung in the
ordinary manner, it being so difficult to hinge large and weighty
frames without danger of “twisting” or of straining the sur-
rounding parts, to say nothing of the almost impossibility of
keeping dust from getting in through hinged doors; accordingly
it was felt that, although there might be a little inconvenience
in unscrewing the eight or ten screws which held them in their
places, yet that the trouble of their removal, not being an
every-day occurrence, in any instance, would be more than
compensated by the increased strength, and air and dust-proof
advantages. (That these predictions were justified is proved
by the fact that the cases, being filled, were opened at the
end of 18835 to allow of their contents being photographed—
without the intervention of glass—and the air which then
issued from them was strongly charged with turpentine and
other agents used about the birds, and the rockwork, nearly
two years before, whilst not a particle of dust was observable
anywhere.) These cases were, as regards workmanship, strongly
and well made by a local man, working under my direction,

320 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

and although, of course, lacking the minute finish of such
champions of case-making as Sage, yet, taking into con-
sideration that quite £300 was saved in the construction, we
may be fairly proud of our success. Regarding the classifi-
cation of the vertebrates, it was admitted on all hands that we
might take Huxley as our standpoint; but I felt that, in
this age of specialists, we ought to be guided by those who,
taking the labours of the leading physiologists and men of
science for their groundwork, compiled, so to speak, from these
results, and being anatomists and men of great learning them-
selves, were generally accepted throughout the world as the

leading exponents of the branch of biology they represented.

Accordingly the plan was sketched out, and, selecting Professor
W. H. Flower, F.R.S., the president of the College of Surgeons,
for the mammals; Dr. P. L. Sclater, F.R.S., secretary of the
Zoological Society, for the birds; and Dr. A. C. Giinther, F.R.S.,
chief of the British Museum, for the reptiles and fishes, I
submitted my plans to each gentleman, who did me the honour
to return them corrected where necessary. Since then I have
slightly modified where the latest views of these great men have
undergone some slight change; and now the scheme of our
zoological room is as in the accompanying plan (see Plate). Of
course, for purposes of convenience and reference, a linear
arrangement has been adopted, but it will not be necessary
to point out that no actual linear arrangement can exist in
nature, the chain being broken, not only in links, but by large
portions being twisted off. Rather may we liken biology to a
tree whose branches ramify in many directions from the main
trunk of life.

The classification—superseding the old, unscientific Vigorsian
and other systems, founded on external characteristics—being
decided on, the style of mounting of the specimens had to be
settled. The “peg” system was to be discarded; but here
occurred the most serious hitch of all. . In accordance with
the plan now being pursued in many provincial museums, it
was wished by one party to elevate the local exhibits into
undue importance, at the expense of general zoology, by taking
up much more of the room at disposal than was practicable
or necessary. The suggestion was to furnish cases of a certain

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OF

Projected Plan
ARRANGEMENT OF VERTEBRATES IN THE ZOOLOGICAL ROOM,
LEICESTER TOWN MUSEUM.

CLASSIFICATION AND ARRANGEMENT. 220

size, one or more of which was to be devoted to each order of
animals. Taking birds (for convenience) as the standpoint, we
were to place on the ground line “local” birds, male and
female, with nest and young, and eggs, mounted with appro-
priate accessories, in the most complete and artistic manner.
This division taking up 3ft. 6in. in height out of a possible 8ft.,
leaving 4ft. 6in. to be disposed of thus—another division for
“ British” birds which have never been found in the locality.
These “ British” were to be in pairs, but not very well mounted,
and without nests and young. Above these, again, another
line, exhibiting a few of the most striking typical foreign birds.
These “ Foreign” birds were not to be well mounted, but plain
“stuffed.” It was claimed for this that “each order would be
distinct, and that there would be the best opportunity of com-
paring the local birds with those of Britain generally and of the
whole world, while a real notion of the life of birds would
be conveyed by the full portraiture of those forms with which
the local visitors would be most familiar, making them distinct
items of knowledge in a manner scarcely ever attempted, and,
in fact, almost impossible with the usual methods of arrange-
ment. It is an elastic system, admitting of many variations,
while retaining the fundamental principle; and of all really
effective systems it is the least expensive, because it depends
mainly upon objects procurable in the locality. The Leicester-
shire species should occupy the ground line, and come up to the
front. The British species should be set back 8in. to 12in.,
and the Foreign 15in. to 18in.; but these limits might be
occasionally infringed where it seems necessary.”

To give the reader an idea of how disproportionate these
divisions would be when comparing “local” with “foreign,”
see the diagram (Fig. 58) on page 324, representing one division
or “ bay ” marked on Plan.

Again, it was urged that “The three sections should be divided
horizontally, but tke lines of division need not be straight. They
may be broken so as to preserve the pictorial effect, but not to
destroy the division.”

Regarding this part of the contention, it is only necessary
to point out that no “ pictorial effects” were possible under such
a system, which is really a lucus a non lucendo.

324 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

By this scheme, we have “local” birds at bottom (very
well arranged), “ British” next (not so well arranged), and
“foreign” at top (not well arranged at all), and these arbitrary
and totally unnatural divisions were supposed to “drive home
the truths of natural history into the minds of casual visitors,”
to be “applicable to all the departments of a museum, so that,
if it were adopted, a uniform plan might be carried through
the collections from end to end, giving a systematic complete-

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ness which is rarely found in museums at the present time. It
utilises the breaks and blank spaces in every series.”

Never was there a more impracticable theory broached. The
whole arrangement was based on an utter disregard of the
requirements of science, leaving out art altogether, and, worse
still, upon an utter ignorance of first principles of zoology.
May I ask if anyone can define a “local” bird from a “ British”
bird, or a “ British” bird from a “foreign” bird? Lastly, every
one should know that every bird found in Leicestershire is a

“LOCAL, “BRITISH,” AND “FOREIGN.” 325

“British” bird, and that every “British” bird is a “ foreign”
one;* and that each of these imaginary divisions is being con-
stantly recruited from the division immediately above it. For
instance, the golden eagle is not a “local ” bird, but it may be so
to-morrow, should one stray from North Britain, as they some-
times do, and be shot by some person within the boundary
of the county. It then becomes “local”! This bird, which is
as distinctly “foreign ”—being found in Europe, North Africa,
America, &c.—as it is “British”! Put this in, or leave it out
of the “local” division, and what does it teach P

Arguing per contra, the osprey has been killed in our
own county more than once; it is thus “local;” it is also
“British,” nesting in North Britain; it is also distinctly
“foreign,” being found positively in every quarter of the globe
—in Australia even—sharing with the common barn owl the
distinction of being actually cosmopolitan. In which division
are we to place thisP It is “local,” and yet cannot be
mounted in that division, with its nest and young, because
it has never bred in the Midlands; but it has bred in
North Britain, and might be shown in the “ British” division
fully displayed; but, says this contention, which I have
called “Scheme A,” no “ British ” specimens shall be mounted
with nest and young! Being “ foreign,” it should also come
in the “Foreign” division. What, then, can this teach?
- Hither the bird must be repeated in all three divisions, or it
must, according to the foregoing, appear only in the “local”
division, thus acting an ornithological lie, and leading the
unlearned to believe that it 1s a very rare bird, peculiar only
to Leicestershire. These examples might be repeated ad
nauseam. The sparrow, the swallow, the kingfisher, the heron,
the wild duck, the wood-pigeon, the pheasant, the coot, the
woodcock, the terns, the gulls, &c., are some common forms
which occur to me.

Again, there are five orders of birds not represented in
Leicestershire, nor in England even. These contain nearly
five hundred species. Are these to be entirely eliminated from

* There are but two birds belonging to the Parid& (Titmice), which are claimed as being
peculiar to Britain; and these merely on the ground of being climatic varieties—hardly
sufficient towarrant the founding of new ‘’species.’?

326 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

the collection? or does it teach anything to put cards in the
“Local” or “British” divisions of the parrot cases to say
that no parrots occur (out of cages) in either Leicestershire
or Britain? Again, what can this teach P

Well, we will take a representative group—say, the order
Galline, or game-birds, and, taking our own county of Leicester-
shire as an example, we shall find that, although there are nearly
four hundred species of this order known, but eleven at the
very outside are claimed as having occurred in Britain, whilst
but three of these are commonly found in the county.
I give their names and values under each heading:

A Motes LOCAL: BRITISH. | FOREIGN
Ptarmigan «2 ce «« « Yes. Yes.
Red Grouse .. «. «. ws | Has cecirred, Yes. | Yes.*
Capercaillie .. .. .. «. | Yes. | Yes
Black Grouse... .. .. .. | Has ane Yes. ; Yes
Pheasant . eee | Yes. Yes i Yes
Red-legged Partridge... ale Aa | Yes | Yes
al 0 have
Barbary ” “+ +*91 once occurred. } Doubtful. | Yes
PATI ORs cis cial Sinan e's Yes. Yes. Yes
Virginian Oolin: 62 leer vs) No. Doubtful. Yes
Quail .. .. | Has occurred. Yes. Yes
Andalusian Hemipode ~ te No. Doubtful. Yes

Or, putting it into a tabular form, as if supposing that the
whole four hundred known species could be shown, we should
have it presented thus:

ORDER—GALLIN A.
(400 SPECIES.)

589 ee ee a0 400 | FOREIGN.
8 so ee ee ee att ee ee eo ee BRITISH.

3 oe ee es ee ee ee ee ce ee LOCAL.

That is to say, that, although it was wished to claim the 3ft. 6in.
division in height, of indefinite length (really ten feet when

* Formerly indigenous to Britain, but now found in Sweden, &c.

“TOCAL, “BRITISH,” AND “ FOREIGN.” 327

worked out) for the three “local” birds, yet it will be seen by the
foregoing tables that those three “locals” would do equally as
well if placed in the “ British” division, and the sum total of
the “local” and “ British” might be placed correctly with all
the rest in the “foreign.” Why, then, should valuable space be
wasted for three birds, simply to perpetuate an error in work-
ing out acrotchet? The question again arose, What could such
a “model” system as this teach? This was effectually answered
by a specimen case, representing the above, being fitted up, when
the glaring errors of the proposed system were at once evident,
there being fully a space of 1l0ft. x 3ft. 6in. x 2ft. 6in. =
8735f{t. cube, devoted to five birds only—three of which
were not now found in the county. These represented the
“locals.” In the “British” division, of 10ft. in length x
2ft. 6in. in height x lft. 6in. back to front, viz., a cube of
373ft. there appeared but six others—three of which were
doubtful. Furthermore, as if to point to the crowning absurdity
of the whole scheme, but 10ft. x 2ft. x 1ft. = 20ft. cube, was
provided for the great remainder of the “foreign ” specimens,
nearly thirty-seven times as numerous as both “local” and
“ British ” combined.

Now for the cheapness of the system advocated. In the first
place, local specimens of rare birds are not cheap. For instance,
anyone can get a foreign specimen of—say, the honey buzzard—
for about 8s., but a locally-killed specimen would be very likely
to cost several pounds. As for the “elasticity” of such a
system, if it is meant that it will stretch any way but the right,
I agree, but if meant to be applied to any department of
natural history it is distinctly wrong.

Let us take the case of the invertebrates, nearly all of which,
as the birds, have a wide range. Many instances occur to me,
but one will be sufficient, Vanessa Antiopa, the “ Camberwell
Beauty” butterfly. Now this insect has been taken three times
(perhaps more ?) in the county, and I suppose it has occurred
in nearly every county in England, but as itis found also com-
monly throughout the greater part of Kurope, parts of Africa,
Asia, and America, we are confronted by the unpleasant
reminder, “what shall we do with it” under the system pro-
posed? It is, according to that theory, “local,” ‘ British,” and

328 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

“ foreign ;” it is rarest as “local,” being, of course, of accidental
occurrence; yet it is proposed to show it only in that division,
to the extent of ignoring the two other divisions which have
manifestly a greater claim onit. If this, then, were adhered to,
the student would at once have presented to him an incorrect
view of the distribution of species. One other way only is there
out of the difficulty, which is to show a specimen of the same
insect in all three divisions; but this would, though more
correct, be as embarrassing to understand, to say nothing of
the loss of space involved, because the same thing would have
to be repeated with nearly every invertebrate possessed by a
museum arranged on these lines.

The proper way, I contend, to give real information is to
shake off all insular prejudice and not call things by their
wrong names, 7.e., claim as “ British,” things which are not
essentially so. To this end I have labelled the butterfly in
question :

VANESSA ANTIOPA, E.
(Camberwell Keauty,)

Range: Asia, Africa, America, Europe
generally, including Britain (rarely),
and has occurred in Leicestershire
three times.

This, Iam quite sure, is the proper method to educate the
public, who cannot understand, or are misled by, such crudities
as placing specimens in arbitrary divisions such as “ Local,”
“British,” and “ Foreign.”

The same rule applies to the plants; and I remember a case
occurring but a short time since when a young botanist, wishing
to name a few plants collected abroad (in Europe), came to
our herbarium, modelled on these misleading lines, and at
once turned to the ‘ Foreign” division to find specimens by
which to compare his own. An hour was wasted in trying to
puzzle some of them out, and he then came to me saying, “ You
hav’n’t got them.” At once I saw he had things of world-wide
distribution, and turning, much to his amazement, to the
“Tocal” division, found them for him. All this comparison,
and waste of time and temper, might have been saved had the
plants been arranged in their proper orders and families, irre-

AN “ELASTIC” SYSTEM. 329

spective of imaginary divisions, with a label attached stating
their range and if occurring locally.

Leaving biology now, we shall see how this “elastic system ”
can “be carried through the collections from end to end.” Take
the rocks as an example. Is it real science—or what is it
—which would label syenite a “Leicestershire” rock? Such
queries and replies could be multiplied ad infinitum, for it will be
observed that I have said nothing about the mammals, where the
loss of space and want of cohesion in such a group as the carnivora
—hest represented of all in “local”—are patent. The fishes—
fancy a “local” salmon! yet they occasionally run up the
rivers. But I need not enlarge on this, further than to say
that under this “elastic” system it was gravely proposed to
pictorially mount the “local” freshwater fishes under the
sea fishes, not because it was a direct violation of the physics of
salt and fresh water, but because the “local” division must come
in its place at the bottom of the range of cases! I had almost
forgotten to say that these precious divisions were to be made
self-evident to the bucolic intellect even, by means of colour
—thus, “ Local” was to be brownish-red rock; ‘ British,” green ;
and “ Foreign,” blue; and these colours were, without reference
to any artistic considerations such as the laws of contrast in
colour, or light and shade, to he rigidly adhered to, and to be
carried in distinct, if “wavy” bands, all around the room.
Fortunately, it was pointed out that shelves of wood would
carry out that idea more effectually than playing with science
and art in such a manner, therefore these absurd propositions
were promptly discarded. And now, having described what I
take to be the evils to be guarded against in plain or “ pictorial ”
mounting, if founded on such lines as those in the scheme I
have called “A,” I will briefly sketch out what I take to be the
lines of the museum of the future.

I must confess I had thought a great deal of arranging the
vertebrata in zoo-geographical order, in a manner founded on
A. R. Wallace’s great and concise work on the “ Geographical
Distribution of Animals.” It seemed to me a fairly compre-
hensive and scientific, certainly a novel, method of treatment,
and I had gone so far as to sketch out several of my groups,
when I was confronted by difficulties, and saw that it was not a

XY

330 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

system which was thoroughly coherent throughout the whole of
the collections, and I finally abandoned it, on the advice of Dr.
Sclater, the originator, I believe, of the “ zoo-geographical
divisions.”

I wanted a system which might be carried out throughout
the whole biological collections, and this end was best gained by
arranging them in zoological order, so far as is possible in these
days, when the microscope tells us that a plant may be an animal,
or vice versd, or that an organism may be a plant now and
something very like an animal a short time after (see Saville
Kent on the ““myxomycetes”). With the plants and invertebrates
this was comparatively easy, for though, as I have before
pointed out, no linear arrangement is correct, yet in a small
museum the “table cases” for invertebrates must run on in
lines, and the mounting, owing to their enormous numbers and
usually small size, must be tabular, and not pictorial (except,
of course, in rare instances).

I was aware that several naturalists had “laid down the law”
as to the position to be taken by local museums, and that
notably Mr. John Hopkinson, of the Watford Natural History
Society, had written his views upon the subject; but these
views are, I think, probably somewhat narrowed by the small
size of the museum he had in mind whilst writing. Though
agreeing with him in the main, I considered that very few
provincial museums, excepting Liverpool, could boast of having
anything like so large a space for the exhibition of specimens
as we possessed in our zoological room. It may be taken,
therefore, for granted, that what was written specially to
suit the requirements of Watford is not of the slightest
use when sought to be applied to larger museums. When,
however, Mr. Hopkinson quotes the opinions of such well-
known scientists as Professors Flower, Rudler, Dr. Sclater,
and other practical workers, his compilation becomes of some
value. Professor Rudler, it will be seen, points out that, how-
ever full and perfect a local collection may be, it would teach
nothing if narrowed down to purely local limits, and that,
therefore, it must be broadened for the sake of comparison; and
he very properly says: ‘ Whilst we should patriotically aspire
to render the local collection as perfect as possible, I would not

“LOCAL” AND “GENERAL” COLLECTIONS TO BE SEPARATED. 331

by any means have the usefulness of museums stop here. Com-
paring any local collection with a general collection, it will,
of course, be found that many important groups of animals,
vegetables, and minerals, are but imperfectly represented, whilst
others are altogether blank. There is, consequently, great
danger of very limited and inadequate notions of the great
system of Nature being formed by the student who confines his
attention to local natural history. To counteract such a
tendency, it is eminently desirable to form, under proper
conditions, a general collection, which will give the visitor some
notion of, at any rate, the larger groups in which natural
bodies are classified. There should, consequently, be two
departments to our central museum—one lecal and the other
general—each with distinct aims, and each appealing to a
distinct class of visitors.” These being exactly my views,
but with the radical change of wishing to mount both collections
pictorially, I considered that, although the newly-erected wall-
cases in oak, with single sheets of plate-glass, 7ft. 6in. by 5ft.,
were, when filled as I projected, admirably suited to interest
the general public, who comprise, perhaps, nine-tenths of
museum visitors, yet that the claims of the respectable minority
of students, artists, and quasi-scientific people should not be
neglected, and for these the local fauna, &c., should be perse-
veringly collected and mounted with all the appliances which
science and art can suggest. To do this properly, and to
preserve groups for an indefinite time, it is necessary, and
indeed indispensable, that each group of male, female, nest
and eggs, or young, should be mounted in a separate case, or
in separate divisions of a row of cases quite distinct from the
general collection. Although I had assumed, and, indeed, had
the courage of my opinions, that the pictorial method of
displaying natural history specimens was a great improvement
upon the old peg system, I recognised the difficulties attendant
upon this and also that many excellent authorities were adverse
to any pictorial arrangement whatever. And, indeed, if we come
to the consideration of ‘‘true science,” I unhesitatingly assert
that end is best served by a collection of properly authenti-
cated birds’ skins scientifically arranged in cabinets, and not
mounted in any way whatever; but although this method might
x2

aes PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

satisfy a few workers, I very much fear that the gencral bulk
of the ratepayers would be hardly satisfied with a museum
arranged on so severely scientific principles. It must be con-
sidered that a public museum differs from a private one in
a very material point. In the former there is a diversity of
tastes to please, and it is often difficult to know the exact
point where the line should be drawn; in a private museum, on
the contrary, there is but one person to please, and that the
owner, consequently he may indulge his crotchets without fear
of doing damage to anyone but himself. I considered that
public museums must always be affected by matters of expe-

diency and local feeling, and that the will of the majority must. -

always be studied, when it has common sense for its basis. To
this end I worked, and not wishing to be so much in love with
my own system as to be blind to advice, I wrote to ten of the
most eminent men of science—men of European reputation, and
whose dictum on museum matters cannot be questioned—setting
forth, under the heading “Scheme A” and “Scheme B,” the
pros and cons of both, not favouring one or the other in the
slightest, giving no clue whatever to my leaning to either, and
resolving to be guided entirely by the opinion of the majority,
or, should it be a close tie, to refer 1t to an umpire. Of these
ten, eight returned unqualified approval of having a general
collection for Leicester, and also of that plan which kept the
“oeneral” and “local” collections entirely distinct; one gave
no opinion, and one eminent man suggested an alternative.

scheme of a typical collection somewhat like Professor Owen’s.

“Index Museum” at South Kensington, and which could be
carried out afterwards without reference to the question at:
issue.

As regards the pictorial mounting of the specimens in.
zoological order—the thing I was most doubtful about—both
for the “ general” and the “local” collections, five out of the ten
unhesitatingly favoured pictorial mounting—if well done—of
both collections, and four more said nothing for or against it.

Nearly every one of these gentlemen wrote me a lengthy
letter, giving most valuable advice—advice which has in all
cases been acted on where practicable.

Dr. A. C. Gunther, F.R.S., &c., Keeper of the Department of

ARRANGEMENT OF ORDERS AND FAMILIES. 333

Zoology, British Museum, has kindly allowed me to quote his
views embodied in a letter to me. He says:

I should recommend you to adopt the following pian: Arranging the
general and British collections together, strictly systematically, receiving,
of the foreign animals, typical forms only, but making the British series
as complete as possible, and ckocsing in preference Leicestershire
animals when practicable.

Excluding from the general series specially mounted objects, such as
groups of birds showing nidification, change of plumage, or illustrating
the habits of animals—such groups te be mounted on separate stands
in the middle of the room.

I believe this plan would best meet the requirements in your museum.

Having now something to work upon, the Museum Committee
rejected “ Scheme A,” whose weak points have been detailed at
length, and sanctioned “Scheme B” being carried out, which
not only separated “local” from “general,” but provided for
the pictorial mounting of both. Taking, therefore, any of the
orders marked on the plan (see Plate) as an example, the best
known, and therefore “local” or “British” species of the
first family (or genera) of that order is selected, then the
least known or most striking “foreign” species of the same
family (or genera) to compare with it, and so on throughout.
Space being limited, however, species closely allied are not
always represented, but are collected as skins to fill up the
unavoidable blanks. In all cases, however, typical specimens of
the families and genera of animals are attempted to be shown,
and as many species as possible are collected as skins.

The highest form of each order is placed at the top, the
next underneath, until the bottom of the case is arrived at,
then ascends again, forming a serpentine line, which, taking
the first order, Passeres, as an example, begins at the top of the
first case, and takes the song thrush—one of the “locals ”—as
being of the first genera of the first family; this is contrasted
by a “ioreign” form of the same family (and genus), the
« American Robin,” and thus runs on throughout the whole of
the wall-cases on that side of the room devoted to birds (see
Plan), until it ends at the ostrich, as being the last. It will
be seen by this that, although the so-called “local” birds are

304 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

often, nay nearly always, represented, they have no fictitious
value given to them, but simply take their place in the great
scheme of Nature in a proper manner, being often close to
so-called “foreign” forms, with which they are easily compared.
The whole arrangement of accessories is “ pictorial,” birds being
represented on trees or on “ rockwork,” many of them swimming,
or flying, or eating, surrounded by mosses and the few dried
plants available for such purposes—in fact, represented in as
natural a manner as is possible under the circumstances.
Exception may be taken to the close contiguity of an American
or Indian form with an European, sometimes “British” form,
which, though scientifically correct, is artistically and topo-
graphically wrong; and this certainly was a crux of mine until I
reflected that, under the vid peg system, the same state of affairs
existed. JI have endeavoured to isolate as much as possible such
incongruities one from the other, often by partially surrounding
them with ferns, &c., of their native habitat, and by leaving
little blanks here and there. Apart from this, the general
opinion of both scientific* and unscientific people is that the
scheme is a success, and that such trifling and inevitable irre-
concilements are amply condoned and compensated for by the
increased beauty of the groups, and by the pleasure it affords,
not only to artistic people, but to the general public; indeed, if
vox popult be vox Dei, there is no doubt upon the subject
whatever. Other defects there are; for instance, repetitions of
grasses} in “fitting-up,” which proves how little can be done
with dried things, and how much better it would be to replace
them by modelled foliage (mentioned at pp. 256-8).

I would now wish to point out why I object so much to care-
fully-managed groups of so-called “local” birds, their nests and
eggs, being introduced in a general collection, especially if the
latter be arranged ina pictorial manner. First, because small

* In this category I may place Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen, C.B., &c.; Mr. R. Bowdler
Sharpe, F.L.S., &c.; Mr. Smith Wocdward, all of South Kensington; Sir J. A. Picton,
F.s.A., &c., of Liverpool; Professor St. George Mivart, F.R.S., we. ; Professor L. C. Miall ;
Professor Wm. Knight; Professor A. Schuster, &c.; Mr. Jas. Orrock, Member of the Royal

Institute of Water-colour Painters; and several other gentlemen who have done me the
Lonour to speak in most flattering terms of the new arrangement.

+ One would-be critic wrote to the papers condemning the whole arrangement, because, in
one of the cases, one plant was about a foot nearer the water or a yard nearer to another
plant than it should be! The same wiseacre, or his friend, wrote quite an article upon
:ome supposed *‘fir twigs,’’? which, much to his confusion, were nothing of the sort, buta
p.ant quite proper to its place in the case.

LABELLING ON THE OLD SYSTEM. 335

groups, such as of necessity the greater number of pairs of local
birds would cut up into, would be lost amidst their larger
surroundings, and be really as if an artist were to paint a
small, highly finished picture in the corner of some large,
“broad” subject; secondly, the great difficulty there is in
protecting such choice groups from moth if exposed in, say, a
cubic space of 100ft. filled with other specimens, some of
them old and doubtful as regards freedom from insects. A
general collection, even should great care be taken, requires
constant watching to seize upon any specimen showing signs of
damage; but why a choice group of young birds in their nest,
with parents— birds in change of plumage, surrounded by
accessories which perhaps have cost hundreds of hours to
execute—should be exposed to all the evils imaginable when
isolation is so much moye practicable and practical, passes
comprehension.

No; Iam convinced that the only way to manage, in a museum
of sufficient size to have a general collection, is to arrange it as I
have sketched out, and to make a separate collection close at
hand, if need be, for comparison of the animals collected in the
district.

Now for labelling. 1+ was proposed originally in “Scheme A”
in this form:

“Tt will be essential to have labels in the cases. These may be
made simple, however, with references to a descriptive catalogue.
The labels should bear the English name, with ‘ Resident,’
‘Summer Visitant,’ or ‘Winter Visitant’ on all British species.
Nothing more.

“The three sections should have labels of distinct colours—
say, yellow for local, pink for British, white for foreign. The
labels will probably be best glued on to some part of the stand or
setting. They should be as small as possible, so as to be legible,

“Local species may be distinguished as ‘ Native’ and ‘ Casual,
or Accidental.

“The latter might have a dark line above, and below the name
on the label—thus, Stork, or be marked ‘ Casual—Spring,’ or
‘ Casual—Autumn.’”

To this I objected that if the arrangement was to be “pictorial,”
the “spotty” appearance of labels, especially if of light tints,

336 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

was destructive to the effect sought to be gained; that yellow
is not distinct from white by gashght; and that pink often fades
to yellow; also that to colour-blind people these labels would
have no significance whatever. In addition, I submitted that
there are educated people as well as people of the other class,
and that the system of labels written with common names
inside the cases is not only unscientific but ugly in the extreme,
for these reasons—that there are many birds whose “ English ”
names are just as puzzling as their scientific to the uneducated ;
whereas, for those who care to learn, the scientific name is
a factor of knowledge. Regarding their inexpedience and
ugliness, such a word as the “ Lesser-spotted-Woodpecker,”
with the marking underneath it of “Resident,” would fill up
a large label if it were to be read at any height or distance.
Taking it as a whole, the proposition was behind the age, and
was commonplace aiso.

To dispense altogether with the necessity for labels, I proposed
that a chart might be made for every group—a picture, in fact, ©
of the contents cf each case, every bird numbered, and a list
prepared, whose corresponding number would give the whole
history of each specimen; but, in any case, the adoption of a
mass of printed matter clumsily introduced amidst pictorial
effects must be condemned.

That all this was practicable is now proved by the present
state of the Leicester Museum, provisionally* finished in its
general zoological coliections so far as the birds and fishes are
concerned.

The reference to species in the general collection is now
managed as I proposed. (See list, on p. 337, of part of the
Order Axseres, printed on sage-green cards.) This is, I contend,
a great advance on the old system of labelling, which has
this defect, that the labels, even if small, are “spotty” and
obtrusive near the eye, and if placed 10ft. from the floor, as
they must be in many instances, it is impossible to read
themy unless both label and type be very large, which is an

* That is to say, that many of the ill-mounted and old specimens will ultimately be

replaced by better ones of the same species, and that some modelled foliage will take the
place of many of the dried grasses, rushes, &c., which are not quite truthfully arranged.

+ When I first came to Leicester the birds, mounted on stands and perches 9ft. from the
floor, were labelled by slips of yellow paper pasted on the stands, the type being that known
as Pica and Bourgeois !

LABELLING ON A NEW SYSTEM. Sov

absurdity in a pictorially-mounted collection. Fancy Ram-
phomicron microrhynchum, Boiss. (one of the humming-birds),

LIST OF THE SPECIMENS CONTAINED IN THIS GROUP.

(Arranged from the most highly specialized to lowest form.)
For REFERENCE see coloured CHART below.

ORDER—ANSERES.
From the Latin Anser—a Goose.

INCLUDING GEESE, SWANS, TREE-DUCKS, DUCKS, MERGANSERS, &C.

Total number of Species of this Order known to inhabit the World 185
Of this number there are as visitants to, and residentsin Britain, but 44
19 only of which remain to breed.

Of these 44 for Britain, there are as visitants to, and residents in
Leicestershire ae ok a3 x te se) 2S
3 only of which breed in the County.

FAMILY—ANATID A.
From the Latin Anas—a Duck.
(Ducks, Geese, &c.)

No.—. EGYPTIAN GOOSE
Chenalopex zgyptiaca (L.). RANGE—Africa. Domesticated in
many parts of Europe, including
Britain and Leicestershire.
Shot at Withcote Hall, near Oakham (probably escaped from confine-
ment), and presented by F. PALMER, Esq.

No.—. BLACK-NECKED SWAN.
Cygnus nigricollis (Gm.). RANGE—Antarctic America.
‘From River Plate, S. America.
Presented (in the skin) by C. J. MUSSON, Esq., 1876.

No.—. BLACK SWAN.
Cygnus atratus (Lath.). RAaNGE—Australia,
(mmature.)
From Sydney, New South Wales.
Presented by W. M. SQUIRES, Esq., 1875.

No.—. SHELDRAKE.
Tadorna cornuta (Gm.). RAaNGE—N. Africa, Asia, as far
east as Japan, Kurope including
Britain, and has occurred as a
rare straggler in Leicestershire.
From Scotland, by purchase, 1881.

No.—. WILD DUCK oR MALLARD.
Anas boscas (L.). RANGE—North Africa, Asia, from
the far North to China and Japan,
N. America to Mexico, Europe
generally, including Britain, and
commonly occurring in Leicester-

shire.
From Barston, Warwickshire. Presented by the Curator (M.B.), 1882.

peeping over a label long enough to take his name—say, 3in. x
lin.! Multiply this by fifty, and fancy a typical collection of

309 _ PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

pictorially-mounted humming-birds labelled in this manner! A
well-known naturalist and scientific zoologist, personally unknown
to me, to whom I wrote, advised, as usual, the labels to be of .
different colours as distinguishing marks. I sent him one of my
lists and charts, and he wrote: “I return the printed description
which seems to me admirably calculated to convey instruction
in a becoming and sightly way. It is undoubtedly an advance
upon labelling.” Again,a scientific gentleman of local celebrity
wrote an article on the museum, and did me the honour to
especially note the substitute for labels. He says: “ Affixed to
the front of each group case, and on a level with the eye, is
a neatly-printed explanatory tablet, suitably framed, comprising
a list of the specimens (numbered), class, sub-class, order,
family, &c., with their scientific terms. The literal interpretation
of these several terms is then given. Then follow the scientific
names, with sex (where determined); and, lastly, the known
range of each species—a matter of acknowledged importance.
This is supplemented by an artistically-coloured chart, repre-
senting each example (also numbered), in the corresponding
position which it occupies In any given group case. Thus is
conveyed, in a concise and intelligible form, all the information
which can fairly be embodied in the lmited space at command.
Another redeeming feature, consequent upon this instructive
and unique method, is the dispensing with the formidable array
of labels mounted on unsightly coils of wire dotted about,
reminding one of the labels displayed in the shop window of
a hatter or haberdasher—‘The Latest Novelty,’ ‘New this
Season,’ &c. They are not cnly obtrusive to the eye, but have a
decided tendency to mar the neat effect and appropriate mounting
of the general collection, and materially interfere with the sur-
roundings, outline, and beauty cf the objects to which they
are appended, and their multiplied form only enhances this
confusion. Beside which, these labels are of necessity frequently
placed at such a height that, in order to decipher them, the
head of the observer needs to be perched on a neck somewhat
like the giraffe. So forcibly impressed am I with the soundness
and value of this newly-devised plan, that I am led to predict
that its adoption will sooner or later find favour among other
kindred institutions even of a larger growth.”

LABELLING OF SPECIAL GROUPS. 309

The animals collected in the district are now being placed in
the middle of the room in oak cases, with plate-glass all around,
on the tops of table-cases holding at present the invertebrates,
and will show the male and female, young in nest, the eggs,
birds in change of plumage, all surrounded as in nature by
earefully-modelled plants and other accessories, the food, and
the skeleton. The labelling of these latter groups requiring a
mass of information, as being of local interest, is in this wise
(on hight sage-green coloured cards):

| TOWN MUSEUM, LEICESTER.

Studies illustrating the Habits, §c., of Animals collected in
the County.
CLASS—AVES. ORDER—PaSssERES. FAMILY—TURDID&.

Group No. .—TIilustrative of the Life-History of the Whitethroat
(SYLVIA CINEREA, Bechst), a Bird of Passage, or Spring Migrant to
Britain (winters in Africa).

ne C Tee een FEUER ORS at Aylestone, August, 1883. _

NOLe'l Sinner OF ? The ¢ (Male) and 9 (Female) are

NOOO Loitec Los | the actual builders of the nest,
Four YOUNG OF and parents of the young birds

wD here shown.

No. Male,and No. Female,inSpring plumage To beprocured

RANGE.—N. Africa, Western Asia, Kurope generally, common in
Britain (except in the North), and also in Leicestershire.

Foop.—Caterpillars, various small insects, and occasionally small
fruits.

EaGes.—Four or five. Builds its nest amongst nettles or brambles, in
low bushes near to the ground. (N.b.—Eggs shown at back of
group.) Duplicate Skin and Skeleton.

BRAMBLE (Ltubus fruticosus, L.). VAR.:\ Flowers and
discolor. leaves mo-
PLANT RANGE.—Whole of Europe except ex-\ delled from
EXHIBITED. treme North, Russian and Central} Nature by
Asia and Northern Africa (not high| the Curator

\ Alpine). Common in Leicestershire.

The whole collected by the Curator

Now for the invertebrates. Not having a special room at
present for these, they are best displayed in the centre of
the vertebrate-room, if possible, in table-cases, which are—for
convenience, though incorrectly in science—arranged in linear
order, beginning at the Protozoa and running on to the Cepha-
lopoda. As I before pointed out, a tabular arrangement is
inevitable except in some rare cases, where a group might be
taken to be pictorially displayed to give an idea of the creature’s
mode of life.

340 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

By far the best arrangement of invertebrates I have ever seen
is that adopted at the Liverpool Museum under the auspices of
the Rev. H. H. Higgins, M.A., whose views on the invertebrates
are very clearly defined in his Introduction to a “Synopsis of an
Arrangement of Invertebrate Animals” contained in the Liver-
pool Museum. He says therein:

“The series had to be conformed to a linear arrangement.
In some respects this was a serious disadvantage. The classes
of invertebrate animals cannot well be represented in a single
ascending or descending series. Probably it would not be
possible on any symmetrical plan to assign to them their proper
positions relatively to each other; but some palpable incon-
gruities might be avoided by the use of table-cases on a ground
plan resembling a genealogical tree, one proposed form of which
is represented by a diagram in a work published by Professor
Rolleston.

“The importance of a suitable ground plan for cases in
museums seems to be much underrated. When a class of
students visit a museum frequently, the localities of cases
containing special groups become indelibly impressed upon the
memory. This might be turned to good account.

“In preparing the first scheme of the collection, 14 seemed
essential that plain and moderately-simple printed descriptions
of the life-history of the animals should accompany the
specimens; therefore, as it was clearly impossible to describe
every genus, it became necessary to fix cn some mode of asso-
ciating in groups a number of examples to which the
descriptions might apply. Such divisions as ‘classes’ and
‘orders’ were manifestly too large, whilst ‘families’ varied
from a single genus, including a solitary species, to an army
of more than a thousand genera—e.g., the Linnean families
Ceranbycide and Curculionide in the Coleoptera. It was
with some regret that the idea of attaching a readable sketch
to each division of a given rank in recent systems of classi-
fication was relinquished; but it was found to be impracticable,
and the life-history sketch thus became the foundation of
the arrangement eventually adopted.

‘“‘ Whether it might be a few species, or a genus, or a family,
er an order, that seemed to afford suitable scope for a page

THE INVERTEBRATES IN THE LIVERPOOL MUSEUM. 341

of readable and instructive matter, it was decided that, through-
out the entire collection, such a group should be segregated,
so as to form the unit of the series. Eventually, in order that
the sketches, which it was proposed to print for that purpose
on tablets, might all be in positions where they could con-
veniently be read, it was found to be expedient that each group
or unit should occupy an equal space; and as the blocks on
which the table-cases rested were to be fitted up with trays
or drawers, twelve of which would occupy the table-case without
loss of room, these trays or drawers were adopted as the
receptacles and boundaries of the groups.

“The entire plan of the table-cases, and the limits of many
of the groups, were committed to writing before any considerable
advance had been made in procuring specimens. In one respect
this circumstance was found to be very advantageous —our
desiderata were at once well defined. It was an object that
each of the groups should be illustrated by carefully-selected
specimens, and, until this could be attained, other acquisitions
need not be sought for. In making purchases, such an object,
steadily kept in view, exercises a powerful influence against
the seductive attractions of ‘great bargains,’ which often turn
out to be great misfortunes to a museum. Moreover, in
accepting donations, it is sometimes convenient to be able
to refer to a fixed plan. Where room is scanty, as in most
museums, nothing is more subversive of order, or more fatal
to an instructive arrangement, than the gift of a collection,
coupled with a stipulation that it must be displayed in some
special way.* It is far better to forego the possession even of
a valuable series of specimens than to sacrifice order for their
Sake....- The following is the plan of arrangement adopted
in connection with each group: Wherever circumstances per-
mit, the plan for each group includes (1) A printed schedule,
(2) Exotic species, (3) British representatives, (4) The printed
tablet, (5) Harliest fossils, (6) Diagrams and other illustrations,
(7) Species and varieties on a more extended scale.”

* We possess in the Leicester Museum a very fine collection of the whole of the “‘ British ”’
Birds (totally devoid, however, of a history of the specimens) called the “* Bickley Collection ”
—bequeathed to the town under these conditions—which, could we have used it to embellish.
our present arrangement, would have saved money, and, what is still more important, the
entire wall space of a small room now devoted to them.

342 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

The schedule, of which an example follows, is printed in large
type, and is attached conspicuously to the drawer:

GROUP 222.
SuB-KINGDOM .. Annulosa .. .. Skeleton external, ringed.
PROVINCE .. .. Arthropoda... .. Limbs jointed.
@UASS =. (oo. eelNsecidien ee en ueSSySixe
SuB-CLass .. .. Metabola .. .. Transformations complete.
ORDER.. .. .. Lepidoptera... .. Wings with scales.
SUB-ORDER.. .. Rhopalocera.. .. Horns clubbed at the apex.
FAMILY.. .. .. Papilionide .- Middle nerve of fore-wing four-

branched.

The whole “Synopsis,” published at a shilling, by the autho-
rities of the Liverpool Museum, is well worth reading. It contains
a store of information, not the least interesting being the Greek
and Latin derivations of the scientific names. I am especially
glad to see that the Greek characters are not barbarously
replaced by English “‘ equivalents,’ which nearly always fail to
give the key to the roots.* The cases themselves are excellently
adapted to show the specimens, and the plan—if we except the
division labelled “ British,’ which might be advantageously
altered, I think, to “Animals belonging to the above group
(&c.), found also in Britain”—is admirable. Not only are
objects dried, mounted, or shown in spirits, but first-class
coloured drawings of such creatures as Medusez, &c., are pro-
vided. This is, 1 am sure, a step in the right direction, and I so
recognise the importance of this, that I am preparing charts
of parts, &c., of animals as keys to their structure, and also
enlarging minute forms under the microscope, to be placed in
position in the invertebrate cases for the Leicester Museum.

Another very fine feature of the Liverpool Museum, and
worthy of imitation, is the manner in which the osteological
preparations are managed. Not only are complete skeletons
of mammals shown, but parts for comparison—that is to say,
there is a large series of skulls of various mammals, birds,
reptiles, and fishes, and, again, leg and arm bones, and their
parts, arranged side by side; hence you may compare the
fore-limb of the human subject with that of a monkey, a lion, a

*T noticed **Ocnai gunaike”’ written in a scientific work lately, and I thought I never saw
a sentence so ugly and so unlike what it would be if written in Greek characters or properly
pronounced.

RECAPITULATION OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 343

whale, a marsupial, a bird, a reptile, or a fish.* It is needless to
say—taking into consideration the fact that these are pre-
pared under the direction of the curator, Mr. Moore, and his
accomplished family—that all are beautifully arranged and
classified. In short, Liverpool is to be congratulated on its
collections of bones and invertebrates. Turning, however, to
the vertebrates, we see that, although the management begins
to recognise the importance of “ pictorial” mounting, it is done
in a half-hearted manner—isolated groups here and there, on
square boards, placed in the general collection amongst the
birds, on pegs, serving only to render the latter more con-
spicuous in their shortcomings. This system of Liverpool is
being copied at Nottingham, Derby, and other places, and was
being copied also at Leicester, but not being, to my mind, half
thorough enough, has been discarded for the more ambitious
—certainly more effective—and quite as scientific method of
arranging the vertebrates pictorially, and in their proper se-
quence in orders and families, endeavour being made to represent
specimens of each genus also, where practicable, in this manner.

As will be seen, in making a brief résumé of what has gone
before, I am in favour of large, top-lighted rooms, painted
in a light neutral tint, well warmed; cases built in oak, with
single sheets of plate-glass not less than 7ft. 6in. by 5ft. or 8ft. by
5ft. 4in., artificially lighted by pendants shaded from the eye; the
vertebrates to be pictorially mounted both in the “ general” and
“local” collections, but, of course, zoological sequence and science
not to suffer in consequence; I think that the “local” and
“general” typical collections should be entirely distinct though
close to each other in the same room for comparison; that ex-
treme care should be taken in the collection and mounting of the
animals inhabiting the district, and that no opportunity be lost
of making this latter as complete as possible; that anything for
which the locality is famed, be it fossils or antiquities, be the
chief motif of any provincial museum; that, failing this, some
groups or forms be collected to establish a monograph, such
as Norwich is doing with its Accipitres; that, where practicable,

* Of course, all this may be seen in the Museum of the College of Surgeons, or at Oxford
or Cambridge, &c., but these are special institutions, and I am merely taking provincial
general museums as my standpoint.

344 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY.

bones and complete skeletons of animals should be collected, as
being of the greatest service to all students, be they medical
or biological. Also that explanatory charts and lists take the
place of labels for the vertebrates, and that all information as
to range and distribution of species be given. Further, that
anatomical diagrams and figures explanatory of the structure
and form of animals be provided, together with all facilities for
the study of biology from a scientific stand-point. I have also
laid down the axiom that a very small museum must and should
confine itself to objects collected in its immediate vicinity, but
that a fairly large museum would ever be in a disjointed and
unfurnished state if it relied solely on such specimens. It must,
therefore, have a general collection; and care should be taken
in the selection of specimens so that they may fill up the blanks
occurring in the “local.”

Another thing Iam quite assured of; itis that the manage-
ment should exercise a wise discretion in refusing unsuitable
objects (chiefly of ethnology) or duplicates of common forms,
and never receive a collection if fettered with the condition that
“it must be kept separate.” Order, method, neatness, and care-
ful cataloguing I say nothing about, for I assume that all
principals must practise these virtues to do any good whatever
with the collections entrusted to their care.

—s
222 - —_—___—_—-

NOD EEX

Hs

Acid, picric, 229
Adjusting lips of mammals, 136
Air gun for collecting small birds,
46
Alcoholic solution, 79
Animals, decoying and trapping,
17
Making skeletons of, 207, 220
To group artistically, 254
To model, 151
Tissue, to preserve, 229
Anti-insect nostrums, 228
Antiquity of hawking, 30
Aquaria, 248
Arrangement of collection of inver-
tebrates, 339
Of museum, 324
Arzenical paste, 67
Soap, 63
Artificial backbone for fish, 178
Body for birds, 122
Artistic mounting — general re-
marks, 249
Grouping of animals, 254
Assembling cage for moths, 304
Moths, 303

B.
Backbone for fish, wire for, 178

Backhouse on dressing skins, 195
Bait for gulls, 39

Baiting gin or box trap, 42
Bare skin of mammals, colouring,
207
Bats, to skin, 150
Beetles, 280
Killing and setting, 281
Bellhanger’s or compound pliers,
58
Benzine collas for feather cleaning,
203
Best glue, 228
Bichromate of potash, 229
Bills and feet of birds, colouring,
207
Binding birds into shape, 109
Bird brace or knot, 36
Catching with nets, 30
Lime, directions for making,
27
Lime for trapping birds, 26
Relaxing skin of humming, 202
Birds and their young, groups of,
256
Artificial body for, 122
Bills and feet of, colouring,
207
Binding into shape, 109
Cleaning white plumage, 204
Glass shades for, 235
Mounting, 106
Setting up, 106
Skinning and preserving, 91
Skins, cleaning, 203
Skins, drying board for, 102

Z

346 INDEX.

Birds, to preserve by carbolic acid,
230
Wattles and combs of, to pre-
serve, 209
Blocking heads, 162
Blocks for setting insects, 279
Blood from feathers, removing, 204
Imitation of, 216
Blowpipe for collecting warblers,
- 45
Boards, setting, for insects, 275
Book boxes for insects, 287
On natural history, 311
Bottling fish and reptiles, saline
solution for, 80
Bow net, 39
Boxes, book, for insects, 287
For collecting insects, 283
Postal, for insects, 283
Box trap, 42
Braces for shaping birds, 111
Bracing butterflies on board, 278
Breeding cage for insects, 309
Brick trap, to set, 18
British Museum, specimens in, 13
Brown cement, 89
Browne’s Preservative Powder, 71,
72
Preservative Soap, 68
Preservative Solution, 80
Brushing mammal’s fur, 196
Buff Arches moths, sugaring, 300
Bullfinches, to trap, 43
Bullock’s Preservative Powder, 71
Butterflies, to brace on board, 278
Purple Emperor, haunts of,
292
Swallowtail, haunts of, 292

C.

Cabinets for eggs, 232, 238
For insects, 287
For skins, 238
Cage for assembling moths, 304
For breeding insects, 309
For collecting larve, 307
For mounting skins of animals,
165
Trap, 43
Calabashes for wild fowl, 44

Camphorated fluid for preserving
fishes, &c., 81
Carbolic acid to preserve birds, 230
Acid wash, 77
Wash, 77
Carbonate of soda, or natron, 5
Cases, 232
And mounts to colour, 237
Casing up with rockwork, &c., 239
Casting a horned head, 153
Fish, 183
Fishes in plaster, &c., 173
Rays, 187
Sharks, 187
Casts to colour, 185
To hollow out, 157
Catapult for small birds, 45
Gun, 46
Caterpillars, to preserve, 219
Cement, 88, 89
Brown, 89
For moulding, 215
Chameleon, to preserve, 191
Chemicals used in embalming, 5
Chip boxes for sugaring moths, 302
Clap-net, method of laying, 30.
Classification of specimens in
museum, 322
Clay modelling, 214
Or composition substituted
for loose stuffing, 151
Cleaning skins, 199, 203
White plumaged birds, 204
Cleansing the intestines, 7
Climbing irons for collecting eggs,
225
Cloth to stick to towel, 228
Collecting and preserving eggs,
207, 223
And preserving insects, 264
And rearing larvee, 306
Boxes for insects, 283
Eggs, climbing irons for, 225
Insects by day and by night,
293
Nets for insects, 266
Colour, &c., of interior of museums,
317
Colouring and drying ferns, 207
And grasses, 207
And seaweeds, 207

INDEX.

Colouring bare skins of mammals,
207
Bills and feet of birds. 207
Cases and mounts, 237
Casts, 185
Skin of fishes, 207
Comic groups, 253
Of monkeys and frogs, 253
Combs and wattles of gallinaceous
birds, to preseve, 209
Commencement of taxidermy
proper, 10
Composition for modelling tongues
and muscles, 211
Or clay substituted for loose
stuffing, 131
Compound or bellhanger’s pliers,
58
Corrosive sublimate, solution of,
Waterlow’s, 69
Corals, to clean, 230
Cork, virgin, for rockwork model,
240
Corncrake or landrail, to decoy, 51
Crabfish, 2238
Crabs, 223
Crustaceans, 223
Curators to museums, education of,
313

D.

Damp and mildew in specimens,
231
Dead-falls for small animals, 24
Decoying and trapping animals, 17
Birds by notes, 47
Ducks, 49
Gannet or Solan goose, 49
Gulls, 49
Landrail or corncrake, 51
Quails, 48
Terns, 49
Wildfowl, 44
With stalking horse, 47
Wood pigeons and doves, 48
Decoys, 44
Decoy whistle for thrushes, 48
Derivation of taxidermy, 1
Digging for pup, 308
Dissecting knives, 57

|

O47

Doves and wood pigeons, to decoy,
48
Ducks, to decoy, 49
Dressing skins or furs as leather,
192
Drum for sugaring moths, 299
Drying and colouring ferns, 207
And colouring grasses, 207
And colouring seaweeds, 207
And storage of specimens, 247
Board or ‘‘set’’ for birds’
skins, 102

EK.

Education of curators, 313
Egg cabinets, 232, 238
Collecting and preserving, 207,
225
Eggs, emu, 262
Egyptian mode of embalming, 8
Elastic system for collections of
vertebrates, 329
Embalming, 1
Chemicals used in, 5
Egyptian mode of, 8
Guancheg’ mode of, 8
Preservatives for, 3
Emu’s eggs, 262
Entomological pins, 289
Eyes, glass, 211
Hollow, 211
Inserting, 121

F.

False body for mounting animals,
164
Feather cleaning, benzine collas
for, 203
Flowers, 263
Pliers, 59
Feet and bills of birds, colouring,
207
Ferns, drying and colouring, 267
_ Grasses, &c., for “ fitting up,”
242
Fieldfares and redwings, to trap,
21
Figure of 4 trap, 24
Fins of fishes, to repair, 210

348 INDEX.

Fish casting, 183
Fishes and reptiles, preservative
fluids for, 78
Camphorated fluid for preserv-
ing, 81
Colouring skin of, 207
Fins of, to repair, 210
Fish, cast in plaster, &c., 173
Large, to mount, 172
Mounting, 173
Paper casts of, 186
Pike, to set up, 173
Preserving. 173
Skinning, 173
Skins, relaxing of, 181
Stuffing for, 181
To prepare, for casting, 183
Wire backbone for, 178
‘‘ Fitting up’’ with grasses, ferns,
&e., 242
With mosses, 244
With shells, seaweeds, &., 245
Fixing rockwork, 247
Flour paste, 88
Flowers, feather, 263
Flur, or play-stick, 36
Foliage modelled as an accessory,
256
Forceps, 61
Forcing moths, 309
Fox, to preserve and skin, 128
Foxes’ pads, 262
Fox’s tongue, to pickle, 134
French method of mounting large
animals, 147
Frog, to skin, 190
Frogs and monkeys for comic
groups, 253
Frost, snow, and ice, 216
Fruit in plaster, modelling, 207-217
Furniture of the Leicester Museum,
318

G.

Gannet or Solan goose, 49
Gardner’s preservative, 70
General principles for arranging
museums, 343
Remarks on artistic mount-
ing, 249

General remarks on preserving, 84
Gin or box trap, 42
Glade nets, 37
Glass eyes, 211
For setting insects, 279
Shades for birds, &c., 235
Glue, best, 228
Marine, 228
Mould for modelling, 213
Glycerine, 230
Goadby’s Solution, 80
Grasses, drying and colouring, 207
Ferns, &c., for fitting up, 242
Grease and mites in insects, 290
Grouping animals artistically, 254
Groups, comic, 253
Mounting, 252
Of birds and young, 256
Special labelling of, 339
Guanches’,the,modeofembalming,8
Gulls, bait for, 39
To decoy, 49

H.

Hard stuffing for mammals, 137
Haunts of insects, 291

Of swallow tail butterfly, 292
Hawking, 30
Hawks, to trap, 42
Head, horned, to cast, 153

Of bull, to mount, 141
Heads, blocking, 162

Of animals, shields for, 238
Hedgehogs, to mount, 150
Herodotus on embalming, 1
Hill sliding net, 271
Hints on snake bites, 190
Hollow eyes, 211
Hollowing out casts, 157
Horned toads, to preserve, 191
Horns, to polish, 207, 223
Humming bird, relaxing skin of,

202

Il

Ice, frost, and snow, 216

Imitating blood, 216

Insects, book boxes for, 287
Breeding cage, 309

INDEX. 349

Insects, cabinets for, 287
Collecting boxes for, 283
Fggs of, searching fcr, 310
Glass for setting, 279
Grease and mites in, 290
Haunts of, 291
Pins for, 289
Postal boxes for, 283
Setting, 274
To collect and preserve, 264
To destroy, nostrums, 228
Yo kill, 273
To store, 286
Works on collecting and pre-
serving, 265
Inserting eyes in the specimen, 121
Intestines, cleansing the, 7 ;
Intoxicants, or poisons, 24
Invertebrates, arrangement of, 339
In the Liverpool Museum, 340

J.

Jewellery, objects of natural his-
tory for, 261

KS

Killing and setting beetles, 281
Insects, 273
Lepidoptera, 273
Kingfishers, nets for, 38
Knives for skinning, 52
Dissecting, 57
Knot on bird brace, 36

16¢

Label for birds when skinned, 104
Labelling of special groups, 339

On the new system, 337

On the old system, 335
Landrail, or corncrake, to decoy, 57
Lanterns for sugaring moths, 302
Lapwing, to decoy, 39
Larve, cage for collecting, 307

To collect and rear, 306
Leather, conversion of skins into,

10
Dressing skins or furs as, 192
Softening skins or furs as, 192

Leather, to stick to wood, 228
Leaves, skeleton, 207. 221
Lepidoptera, killing, 273
Lips of mammals, adjusting, 136
Lithocolle, for sealing bottles, 83
Lizards, to preserve, 191
Lobsters, 223

Claws, to makeup, 263
Luting for stoppers, 83

M.

Making birdlime, 27
Making up lobster claws, 263
Skeletons of animals, 207, 220
‘Making up’’ from pieces, 199,
205
Mammals, colouring bare skins of,
207
Hard stuffing for, 137
Skinning and preserving, 128
Mammal’s gkin, to preserve as a
Osi 7)
Mantelpiece screens, 260
Marine glue, 228
Marten, to trap, 41
Mechanical calls for birds, 47
Medlock’s and Bailey’s Preserva-
tive, 74
Mending glass of an aquarium, 248
Method of setting clap-net, 30
Methylated spirits, 79
Mice or rabbits, roughly stuffed,
150
Microscopic objects, preparation of,
227
Mildew and damp in specimens,
231
Mites and grease in insects, 290
Modelled foliage as an accessory,

Screens as an ornament, 259
Modelling animals, 151

Cement for, 115

Fruit in plaster, 207, 217

Sea rocks, 241

Tongues, muscles, in composi-

tion, 211

Trees, 242
Models in clay, 214
Moles, to mount, 159

350

Modller’s solution for preserving
fishes, &c., 81
Mollusca, preservative fluids for, 82
Monkeys and frogs for comic
groups, mounting, 253
Mosses for ‘‘ fitting-up,’’ 244
Moths, Buff Arches, sugaring,
300
Peach Blossom, to sugar, 300
Sugaring, 294
To assemble, 303
To force, 309
Mould for modelling glue, 213
Moulds, piece, 207, 211
Mounting animals, false body for,
164
A saurian, 191
Birds, 106
Bull’s head, 141
Fish, 173
Hedgehogs, 150
In groups, 252
Large animals, French method,
147
Large fish, 172
Reptiles, 188
Skins trom the flat, 167
Skins of animals, cage for,
165
Skins, packing case for, 165
Mounts, 232, 235
And cases, to colour, 237
Waste cylinders of glass for,
236
Mummies, Mons. Rouyer on the
preparation of, 4
Preparation of, 3
Wilkinson on the preparation
of, 3
Museum, arrangement of, 324
At Leicester, furniture of,
318
Classification of specimens in,
322
Colours of interior of, 317
General principles for arrang-
ing, 343
Of natural history, 312
Sir Hans Sloane’s, 13
Specimens in British, 13
Unsuitable objects for, 344

INDEX.

N.

Natron, 5
Or carbonate of soda, 5
Thos. W. Baker on, 6
Natural. History Book Circular,
oll
Jewellery, 261
Museums, 312
Neck board for skin of head, 143
Net, ring, for collecting insects,
268
Nets for bird catching, 30
For collecting insects, 266
For kingfishers, 38
Glade, 37
Hill sliding. 271
Sugaring, 273
Under water, 38
Netting hanks, 39
Nightingale trap, 43

O.

Oil of cedar, 7

Ophthalmic specimens, preserva-
tion of, 75

Ornamental screens, 259

Ortolans and wheatears, to catch,
19

54

Packing cage for mounting skins,
165

Pads of foxes, 262

Palm wine, 7

Paper casts of fish, 186

Paste, 88

Made of starch, 228

Peach Blossom moths, sugaring,
300

Peat as artificial body for birds,
122

Pereira on natron, 5

Permanganate of potash, 230

Picric acid, 229

Pictorial arrangement of verte-
brates, 316

Piece moulds, 207, 211

Pieces, making up from, 199, 205

INDEX. 351

Pike, toset up, 173
Pins for insects, 289
Pitfall for large and fierce animals,
23
Plaster casts or wax substituted
for loose stuffing, 151
Play-bird for birdcatching, 35
Play-stick, or flur, 36
Pliers, 58
Plovers, or snipes, to catch, 19
Poisons, or intoxicants, 24
Polecats and weasels, to trap, 41
Polishing horns, 207, 223
Shells, 207, 224
Stones, 225
Tortoiseshell, 224
Postal boxes for insects, 283
Potash, bichromate of, 229
Permanganate of, 230
Powder, Browne’s preservative, 71,
>)
Powders and soaps for preserving,
63
Preservative, Bullock’s, 71
Preparation of microscopic objects,
227
Of mummies, 3
Preparing fish for casting, 183
Preservation of animal tissue, 229
Of ophthalmic specimens, 75
Preservative fluids for fishes and
reptiles, 75
Fluids for mollusca, 82
For embalming, 3
Gardner’s, 70
Medlock’s and Bailey’s, 74
Powder, Browne’s, 71, 72
Powder, Bullock’s, 71
Priestly Smith’s, 75
Soap, Browne’s, 68
Soaps, powders, &c., 63
Solution, Browne’s, 80
Wash, 73, 78
Preserving a chameleon, 191
And collecting insects, 264
And skinning birds, 91
And skinning mammals, 128
Birds by carbolic acid, 230
Caterpillars, 219
Fish, 173
Fishes, Moller’s solution, 81

Preserving, general remarks on, 84
Liquid, Wickersheimer’s, 74,
75

Lizards, 191
Mammal’s skin as a “ flat,”
197
Reptiles, 188
Spiders, 207, 218
Preventing mildew, 213
Priestly Smith’s preservative, 75
Ptarmigan, to trap, 21
Pupex, digging for, 308
Purple Emperor butterfly, haunts
of, 292

Q.
Quails, to decoy, 48
R.

Rabbits or mice roughly stuffed,
150
Rays, to cast, 187
Rearing and collecting larve, 306
Réaumur on Taxidermy, 10
Recipes for arsenical soaps, 63
For preserving animal tissue,
229
Redwings and fieldfares, to trap,
21
Refusing unsuitable objects for
museums, 344
Relaxing fish skins, 181.
Skins, 199
Removing blood from feathers, 204
Reptiles and fishes, preservative
fluids for, 78
To mount, 188
To preserve, 188
To skin, 188
Restoring shrunken parts by a wax
process, 207
Ring net for collecting insects,
268
Rise and progress of Taxidermy, 1
Rock fowling, 39
Rock-work, casing up with, 239
Fixing, 247
Rouyer on the preparation of mum-
mies, 4

352 INDEX.

S.

Saline solution for bottling fish and
reptiles, 80
Saurians, to mount, 191
Scalpels, 57
Scissors, 57
Scraper with which to dress skins,
194
Screens, mantelpiece, 260
Modelled as an ornament, 259
Searching for eggs of insects, 310
Sea rocks, to model, 241
Seaweeds, drying and colouring,
207
Shells, &c., for “fitting up,’’
245
“* Set,’’ or drying board, for birds’
skins, 102
Setting and killing beetles, 281
Boards for insects, 275
Insects, 274
Up a bird, 106, 121
Up pike, 173
Sharks, to cast, 187
Sheep’s lights as a decoy, 49
Shells for decorating cases of birds,

246
Seaweeds, &c., for ‘‘ fitting-
up,’ 245

To polish, 207, 224
Shields for heads of animals, 238
Sieve trap, to set, 18
Skeleton leaves, 207
Skeletons of animals, making, 207,
220
Skinning and mounting
Waterton on, 111
And preserving birds, 91
And preserving fox, 128
And preserving mammals, 128
A tortoise, 191
Bats, 130
Fish, 173
Frogs, 190
Knives, 52
Reptiles, 188
Turtles, 191
Skin of fishes, colouring, 207
Of mammals, colouring, 207
Skins, cabinets for, 238

birds,

Skin, conversion of, into leather,
10
Mounting, from the flat, 167
Relaxing, 199
Tender, treatment of, 201
To clean, 199-203
To wash, 196
Sloane’s Museum, 13
Snakes and snake bites, hints on,
190
Snake, to stuff, 189
Snare for birds, 22
Snipe, spring for, 22
Snipes, or plovers, to catch, 19
Snow, frost and ice, 216
Soaps and powders for preserving,
63
Arsenical, Bécceur’s, 63
Arsenical, Browne’s, 64
Arsenical, Swainson’s, 64
Preservative, Browne’s, 68
Softening skins or furs as leather,
192
Solan, or gannet goose, to decoy, 49
Solution, alcoholic, 79
For bottling fish and reptiles,
80
For preserving fishes, &c.,
Moller’s, 81
Goadby’s, 80
Of corrosive sublimate, Water-
ton’s, 69
Preservative, Browne’s, 80
Specimen of skinning, 95
Specimens, damp and mildew in, 2381
In British Museum, 13
In Sloane’s Museum, 13
To dry and store, 247
Spiders, to preserve, 207, 218
Spirits of wine, 79
Springe, 19
For snipe, 22
Or snare for birds, 21
Stales for decoys, 49
Stalking horse, the, 47
Starch, as paste, 228
Starling, properly skinned, 103
Showing position when being
skinned, 95
Steel traps, 40
Sticking cloth to wood, 228

INDEX

Sticking leather to wood, 228
Stones, to polish, 225
Stoppers, luting for, 83
Storage and drying of specimens,
24.7
Storing insects, 286
Stuffing a snake, 189
A specimen, 105
For fish, 180
Iron, 61
Sturgeons, to cast, 187
Substitutes for loose stuffing, 151
Sagaring drum, 299
Moths, 294
Moths, chip boxes for, 302
Moths, lanterns for, 302
Net, 273
System for arranging collections of
vertebrates, 324
Swallow tail butterfly, haunts of,

292
‘ES
Taxidermy (proper), commence-
ment of, 10

Tender skins, treatment of, 201
Terns, to decoy, 49 .
Thrushes, decoy whistle for, 48
Toads, horned, to preserve, 191
To clean corals, 230
Toling ducks, 50
Tools for skinning mammals, 134
For taxidermy, 55
To preserve wattles and combs of
gallinaceous birds, 209
To repair fins of fishes, 210
‘TYortoiseshell, to polish, 224
Tortoise, to skin, 191
Tow forceps, 61
Trap, box, 42
Brick, to set, 18
Cage, 43
Gin, 42
Nightingale, 43
Sieve, to set, 18
Trapping and decoying animals,
1
Birds with birdlime, 26
Bullfinches, 43

Bit

Trapping hawks, 42
Lapwing, 39
Martens, 41
Plovers or snipes, 19
Polecats and weasels, 41
Ptarmigan, 21
Redwings and fieldfares, 21
Wheatears and ortolans, 19
Woodcocks or wild ducks, 37
Traps, figure of 4, 24
Steel, 40
Treatment of tender skins, 201
Trees, to model, 242
Turtles, to skin, 191

We

Unsuitable objects for museums,
344

Ni.

Vertebrates, elastic system for
collections of, 329
Pictorial arrangement of, 316
System for arranging collec-
tions of, 324
Virgin cork for rockwork model,
240

W.

Wash, carbolic, for birds, 77
Carbolic, for mammals, 77
Preservative, 73, 78
Washing skins, 196
Water and waves, 217
Waterton on skinning and mount-
ing birds, 111

Waterton’s solution of corrosive
sublimate, 69

Wattles and combs of gallinaceous
birds, to preserve, 209

Waves and water, 217

Wax, or plaster casts, substitute for
loose stuffing, 151

Process for restoring shrunken

parts, 209

Weasels and polecats, totrap, 41

Wheatears and ortolans, to catch,
19

354

White cement, 88, 89
Plamaged birds, cleaning, 204
Wickersheimer’s Preserving Li-
quid, 74, 75
Wild ducks, or woodcocks, to catch,
37
Fowl, capturing, 44
Wilkinson on _ preparation of
mummies, 3

INDEX.

|. Wire backbone for fish, 178

Wires for setting up birds, 106

Woodcocks, or wild ducks, to
catch, 37

Wood pigeons and doves, to decoy,

Works on collecting and preserving
insects, 265

WATKINS & DONCASTER,

— Waturalists,
36, STRAND, LONDON, W.C.

(Five Doors from Charing Cross)

Every description of Apparatus and Cabinets of the best make for
Entomology and general Natural History, &c.

Wire or Cane Ring Net and Stick, 1s. 8d., 2s., 2s. 83d. Umbrella
Net (self-acting), 7s. 6d. Pocket Folding Net (wire or cane), 3s. 9d.,
4s. 6d. Corked Pocket Boxes, 6d., 9d., 1s., 1s. 6d. Zine Relaxing
Boxes, 9d., 1s., 1s. 6d., 2s. Chip Boxes, nested, four dozen, 8d. Entomo-
logical Pins, mixed, “Is. per oz. Pocket Lantern, 2s. 6d. to 7s. 6d.
Sugaring Tin (with brush), 1s. 6d., 2s. Best Killing Bottles, 1s. 6d.
Store Boxes, 2s. 6d., 4s., 5s., and 6s. Setting Boards, from 6d. ; ; com-
plete Set, 10s. 6d. Setting Houses, 9s. 6d. “ie. 6d., 14s. Larva Boxes,
Yd., Is., 1s. 6d. Breeding “Cages, Qs. 6d., As. OSS: 6d.

se Stock of British and Foreign Buteoaiies! Beetles, Birds’ Eggs,
&c., in the Kingdom.

A large stock of live Pupe of British and Honeign Lepidoptera kept
on hand from October to April.

Collections of Natural History Objects, carefully named and arranged.
New and Secondhand Works on Entomology.

Our New Label List of British Macro-Lepidoptera, with Latin and
English Names, 1s. 6d. Our New Catalogue of British Lepidoptera
(every species numbered), 1s.; or on one side, for Labels, 2s.

Consecutive Numbers. Six Series of 1500 consecutive numbers for
Labels—1 to 9000. Each Series is printed on five different coloured
papers, thus making a total of 45,000 numbers. Per sheet, 23d., or the
entire sheet Series of thirty sheets, As.

One each of all the British Butterflies, in a Case, 25s.

A magnificent assortment of Preserved Caterpillars always in stock.

Birds and Animals stuffed and mounted in the best style, by skilled
workmen, on the premises.

A FULL CATALOGUE SENT FREE ON APPLICATION.

COLLECTING
BUTTERFLIES »* MOTHS.

Directions for Capturing, Killing, and Preserving Lepi-
doptera and their Larve. Illustrated. By Montaau
Browne. In paper, price ls.

Lonpon: L. UPCOTT GILL, 170, STRAND, W.C.

TURNING FOR AMATEURS.

Descriptions of the Lathe and its Attachments and
Tools, with Minute Instructions for their Effective
Use on Wood, Metal, Ivory, and other Materials.
By James Lukin, B.A. In cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d.

Lonpon: L. UPCOTT GILL, 170, STRAND, W.C.

Descriptions of the various Tools and Appliances Re-
quired, and Minute Instructions for their Effective
Use. By W. J. E. Crane. Illustrated. In cloth
gilt, price 2s. 6d.

Lonpon: L. UPCOTT GILL. 170, STRAND, W.C.

WOOD CARVING FOR AMATEURS.

Descriptions of all the requisite Tools, and Full Instruc-
tions for their Use in producing different varieties -
of Carvings. Illustrated. In paper, price 1s.

Lonpon: L. UPCOTT GILL, 170, STRAND, W.C.

WORKING IN SHEET METAL.

Practical Instructions for Making and Mending Small
Articles in Tin, Copper, Iron, Zinc, and Brass. Illus-
trated. By James Luxin, B.A. In paper, price 6d.

Lonpon: L. UPCOTT GILL, 170, STRAND, W.C.

BOOKBINDING FOR AMATEURS.

Catalogue of Practical Handbooks
Beeoiished by. by Upcott Gat,
ZO, weteiest London, WC.

—~ ss SSDS COOPSOSS*®Sene==——-~_

ANGLER, BOOK OF THE ALL-ROUND. A Compre-
hensive Treatise on Angling in both Fresh and Salt Water. In
Four Divisions, as named below. By JOHN BICKERDYKE. With
over 220 Engravings. Jn cloth, price 55. 6d. (A few copies of a
LARGE PAPER EDITION, bound in Roxburghe, price 25s.,; the
price will shorily be raised to 305.).

Angling for Coarse Fish. A very Complete and Practical
Work on Bottom Fishing, according to the Methods in use on the
Thames, Trent, Norfolk Broads, and elsewhere. Illustrated. Przce
15., cloth 2s. (uncut).

Angling for Pike. A Practical and Comprehensive Work on
the most Approved Methods of Fishing for Pike or Jack; including
an Account of Some New Tackles for Spinning, Live-baiting, and
Trolling. Profusely Illustrated. Price 15., cloth 2s. (uncut).

Angling for Game Fish. A Practical Treatise on the Various
Methods of Fishing for Salmon; Moorland, Chalk-stream, and
Thames Trout; Grayling, and Char. Well Illustrated. Price
Is. 6d., cloth 2s. 6d. (uncut).

Angling in Salt Water. A Practical Work on Sea Fishing
with Rod and Liné, from the Shore, Piers, Jetties, Rocks, and from
Boats ; together with Some Account of Hand-Lining. Over 50
Engravings. Price 1s., cloth 2s. (uncut).

AQUARIA, FRESHWATER. By Rev. G. C. BENNETT,
A.K.C. Fully Illustrated. J cloth gilt, price 3s. 6d.

AQUARIA, MARINE: Their Construction, Arrangement,
and Management. Fully Illustrated. By R. A. R. BENNETT, B.A,
In cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d.

BEE-KEEPING, BOOK OF. A very practical and Complete
Manual on the Proper Management of Bees especially written
for Beginners and Amateurs who have but a few Hives. Fully
Illustrated. By W. B. WEBSTER, First-class Expert, B.B.K.A.
P7206 Us. ;- cloth; 1s.:6d.

BEES AND BEE-KEEPING: Scientific and Practical. By
Eee ee CHESHIRE, FP L.s.,. KR. M.s., ecturer, on=Apiculturey at
South Kensington. Jz two vols., price 16s.

Vol. I., Scientific. A complete Treatise on the Anatomy and
Physiology of the Hive Bee. Jn cloth gilt, price 7s. 6d.

Vol. II., Practical Management of Bees. An Exhaustive
Treatise on Advanced Bee-Culture. Jn cloth gilt, price 8s. 6d.

BOAT BUILDING AND SAILING, PRACTICAL.
Containing Full Instructions for Designing and Building Punts, Skiffs,

** All Books Post Free. P 1.—7/90.

2 Published by L. UPCOTT .GiLy;

Canoes, Sailing Boats, &c. Particulars of the most Suitable Sailing
Boats and Yachts for Amateurs, and Instructions for their Proper
Handling. Fully Illustrated with Designs and Working Diagrams,
By ADRIAN NEISON, C.E., DIXON Kemp, A.I.N.A., and G.
CHRISTOPHER DAVIES. nz one vol., cloth gilt, price 7s. 6d.

BOAT BUILDING FOR AMATEURS, PRACTICAL.
Containing Full Instructions for Designing and Building Punts, Skiffs,
Canoes, Sailing Boats, &c. Fully Illustrated with Working Diagrams.
By ADRIAN NEISON, C.E. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged
by Dixon KEmpPp, Author of “ Yacht Designing,” “A Manual of
Yacht and Boat Sailing,” &c. Jn cloth gilt, price 2s. Ed.

BOAT SAILING FOR AMATEURS. Containing Par-

ticulars of the most Suitable Sailing Boats and Yachts for Amateurs,
and Instructions for their Proper Handling, &c. Illustrated with
numerous Diagrams. By G. CHRISTOPHER DAVIES. Second Edition,
Revised and Enlarged, and with several New Plans of Yachts. Jz
cloth gilt, price 5s.

BOOKBINDING FOR AMATEURS: Being Descriptions
of the various Tools and Appliances Required, and Minute Instructions
for their Effective Use. By W. J. E. CRANE. Illustrated with 156
Engravings. Jn cloth gilt, price 25s. 6d.

BROADS, THE LAND OF THE. By E. R. SuFFLine.
ILLUSTRATED EDITION.—The most Complete Guide to
the whole of the District—embracing the Broads and their Water-
ways of Norfolk and Suffolk—that has yet been published. With a
good Map, printed in four colours. Price 25. 6d. |
CHEAP EDITION.—An abridged Edition, with Plates of
Characteristic Sketches by J. TEMPLE. A good and clear Map,
in black and white, is also given. Jz coloured cover, price IS.

BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS, COLLECTING: Being
Directions for Capturing, Killing, and Preserving Lepidoptera and
their Larve. Illustrated. Reprinted, with Additions, from “ Practi-
cal Taxidermy.” By MONTAGU BROWNE. Jn Paper, price Is.

CACTUS CULTURE FOR. AMATEURS: Being
Descriptions of the various Cactuses grown in this country; with
Full and Practical Instructions for their Successful Cultivation.
By W. WATSON, Assistant Curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew. Profusely Illustrated. Jn cloth gilt, price 5s.

CAGE BIRDS, BRITISH. Containing Full Directions for
Successfully Breeding, Rearing, and Managing the various British
Birds that can be kept in Confinement. Illustrated with
COLOURED PLATES and numerous finely-cut Wood Engravings.
By R. L. WALLACE. Jn cloth gilt, price ios. 6d.

CAGE BIRDS, DISEASES OF: Their Causes, Symptoms,
and Treatment. A Handbook for everyone who keeps a Bird. By

Dr. W. T. GREENE, F.Z.S. Jn paper, price ts.
CANARY BOOK. Containing Full Directions for the Breeding,

Rearing, and Management of all Varieties of Canaries and Canary
Mules, the Promotion and Management of Canary Societies and
Exhibitions, and all other matters connected with this Fancy. By

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170, Strand, London, W.C. 3

ROBERT L. WALLACE. Second Edition, Enlarged and Revised,
with many new Illustrations of Prize Birds, Cages, &c. Jn cloth gilt,
price 5s., with Coloured Plates, 6s. 6d. ; and in Sections as follows :
Canaries, General Management of. Including Cages and
Cage-making, Breeding, Managing, Mule Breeding, Diseases and their
Treatment, Moulting, Rats, Mice, &c. Illustrated. Cloth, price 25. 6d.

Canaries, Exhibition, Containing Full Particulars of all the
different Varieties, their Points of Excellence, Preparing Birds for
Exhibition, Formation and Management of Canary Societies and
Exhibitions. Illustrated. Jz cloth, price 2s. 6d.

SARD TRICKS, BOOK OF, for Drawing-room and Stage
Entertainments by Amateurs ; with an Exposure of Tricks as practised
by Card Sharpers and Swindlers. Numerous Illustrations. By Prof.
R. KUNARD. Jllustrated wrapper, price 2s. 6d.

CHURCH EMBROIDERY: Its Early History and Manner
of Working; Materials Used and Stitches Employed; Raised and
Flat Couching, Appliqué, &c., &c., including Church Work over
Cardboard. A practical handbook for Church Workers. Illustrated.
ln paper, price is.

~HURCH FESTIVAL DECORATIONS. Comprising
Directions and Designs for the Suitable Decoration of Churches for
Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, and Harvest. Illustrated. A useful
book for the Clergy and their Lay Assistants. Jz paper, price Is.

COINS, A GUIDE TO ENGLISH PATTERN, in Gold,
Silver, Copper, and Pewter, from Edward I. to Victoria, with their
Value. By the REv. G. F. CROWTHER, M.A. Illustrated. lz
stluer cloth, with gilt facstmzles of Coins, price 5s.

COINS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, A
GUIDE TO THE, in Gold, Silver, and Copper, from the Earliest
Period to the Present Time, with their Value. By the late Colonel W.
STEWART THORBURN. Of immense value to collectors and dealers.
27 Plates in Gold, Silver, and Copper, and 8 Plates of Gold and
Silver Coins in RAISED FACSIMILE. Jn cloth, with silver fac-
stmtles of Coins, price 7s. 6d. ©

COLLIE, THE. Its History, Points, and Breeding. By
HUGH DALZIEL. Illustrated. Demy 8vo, price 1s.; cloth, 25.

COEPTE StUD~ BOOK.’ Edited” “by? Hucu’ Darziei.
[lx the press.

CONJURING, BOOK OF MODERN. A Practical Guide

to Drawing-room and Stage Magic for Amateurs. By PROFESSOR
R. KUNARD. Illustrated. J/lustrated wrapper, price 25. 6d.

COOKERY FOR AMATEURS; or, French Dishes for

_ English Homes of all Classes. Includes Simple Cookery, Middle-
class Cookery, Superior Cookery, Cookery for Invalids, and Breakfast
and Luncheon Cookery. By MADAME VALERIE. Second Edition.
In paper, price is.

CUCUMBER CULTURE FOR AMATEURS. Including
also Melons, Vegetable Marrows, and Gourds. Illustrated. By
W. J. May. ln paper, price ts.

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4 Published by L. UPCOTT GILL,

DEGREES, A GUIDE TO, in Arts, Science, Literature,
Law, Music, and Divinity, in the United Kingdom, the Colonies, the
Continent, and the United States. By E. Wooron, Author of “A
Guide to the Medical Profession,” &c. Jn cloth, price 15s.

DOGS, BREAKING AND TRAINING: Being Concise
Directions for the proper Education of Dogs, both for the Field and
for Companions. Second Edition. By “PATHFINDER.” With Chapters —
by HUGH DALZIEL on Work of Special Breeds; Trail or Drag
Hounds; Training Bloodhounds; Defenders and Watch Dogs ;
Sheep Dogs—Stock Tenders; Life Savers—Water Dogs; Vermin
Destroyers ; House Manners ; Behaviour Out of Doors. Illustrated.
In cloth gilt, price 6s. 6d.

DOGS, BRITISH : Their Varieties, History, and Characteristics.
By HuGH DALZIEL, assisted by Eminent Fanciers. NEW
EDITION, Revised and Enlarged. [Illustrated with First-class
COLOURED PLATES and full-page Engravings of Dogs of the
Day. This is the fullest and most recent work on the various
breeds of dogs kept in England. In two Volumes, Demy 8vo,
cloth gilt, price tos. 6d. each, as follows :

Dogs Used in Field Sports. Containing Particulars of the
following, among other Breeds: Greyhound, Irish Wolfhound,
Bloodhound, Foxhound, Harrier, Basset, Dachshund, Pointer,
Setters, Spaniels, and Retrievers. SEVEN COLOURED PLATES and
21 full-page Engravings.

Dogs Useful to Man in other Work than Field Sports ;
House and Toy Dogs. Containing Particulars of the following,
among other Breeds: Collie, Bulldog, Mastiff, St. Bernard, New-
foundland, Great Dane, Fox and all other Terriers, King Charles
and Blenheim Spaniels, Pug, Pomeranian, Poodle, Italian Greyhound,
Toy Dogs, &c., &c. COLOURED: PLATES and full-page Engravings.

DOGS, DISEASES OF: Their Causes, Symptoms, and
Treatment; Modes of Administering Medicines ; Treatment in
cases of Poisoning, &c. For the use of Amateurs. By HUGH
DALZIEL. Second Edition. Jz paper, price 1s.; in cloth gilt, 25.

DUCKS AND GEESE: Their Characteristics, Points, and
Management. Splendidly Illustrated. Jn paper, price 1s. 6d.

ENGRAVINGS. AND THEIR VALUE. Containing a
Dictionary of all the Greatest Engravers and their Works. By
J. H. SLATER, Barrister-at-Law. [lx the press.

EXHIBITION ACCOUNT BOOKS. For use at all Dog,
Poultry, Rabbit, and Cage Bird Shows. In Four Books, comprising :
I. Minute Book; II. Cash Book; III. Entries Book; IV. Ledger.
With Full Directions, and Illustrative Examples for Working them.
N.B.—The Set of Four Books is kept in Three Series: No. 1,
for Show of 500 Entries, 55. the Set ; No. 2, for 1000 Entries, 75. 6d.
the Set; and No. 3, for 1500 Entries, 12s. 6d. the Set. Larger
sizes in proportion. The books can be had separate. MINUTE
BooK—No. 1, 1s.; No. 2, 1s. 3¢.; No. 3,. 25.) CASH@BOOE
No. 1, 25.; No. 2, 25. 6a.; No. 3, 4s. ENTRIES BOOK—No. I, 25. ;
No. 2, 25. 6d. ; No. 3, 4s. Ledger—No. 1, 25. ; No. 2, 25. 6d. ; No. 3, 45,

** All Books Post Free.

170, Strand, London, W.C. 5
FANCY WORK SERIES, ARTISTIC. A Series of Illus-

trated Manuals on Artistic and Popular Fancy Work of various
kinds. Each number is complete in itself, and issued at the uniform
price of 6d. Now ready—(1) MACRAME LACE (Second Edition) ;
(2) PATCHWORK; (3) TATTING; (4) CREWEL WoRK; (5) APPLIQUE;
(6) FANCY NETTING.

FERNS, THE BOOK OF CHOICE: For the Garden,
Conservatory, and Stove. Describing and giving explicit Cultural
Directions for the best and most striking Ferns and Selaginellz
in Cultivation. Illustrated with Coloured Plates and numerous
Wood Engravings, specially prepared for this work. [/z the Dress.

FERNS, CHOICE BRITISH. Descriptive of the most
beautiful Variations from the common forms, and their Culture. By
C. T. DRUERY, F.L.S. Very accurate PLATES, and other Illus-
trations. Jl cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d.

FERRETS AND FERRETING. Containing Instructions for.

the Breeding, Management, and Working of Ferrets. Second Edition,
Re-written and greatly Enlarged. Illustrated. Jz paper, price 6d.

FERTILITY OF EGGS CERTIFICATE. These are
Forms of Guarantee given by the Sellers to the Buyers of Eggs for
Hatching, undertaking to refund value of any unfertile eggs, or to
replace them with good ones. Very valuable to sellers of eggs, as
they induce purchases. Jz books, with counterfoils, price 6d.

FIREWORK-MAKING FOR AMATEURS. A com-
plete, accurate, and easily-understood work on Making Simple and
High-class Fireworks. By Dr. W. H. BROWNE, M.A. Price 2s. 6d.

FOX TERRIER STUD BOOK. Vol. I., containing the
Pedigree of every Fox Terrier that Won a Prize at any of the
Principal Shows in 1888. Over 1400 Entries of Leading Dogs.
Edited by HUGH DALZIEL. Jn cloth, price 2s. 6d.

Vol. II., containing Pedigrees of all principal Prize Winners in
1889 and up till April, 1890.

FOX TERRIER, THE. Its History, Points, Breeding,

Rearing, Preparing for Exhibition, and Coursing. By HUGH
DALZIEL. Illustrated: Price 1s.; cloth, 2s.

GAME AND GAME SHOOTING, NOTES ON. Mis-
cellaneous Observations on Birds and Animals, and on the Sport
they afford for the Gun in Great Britain, including Grouse, Partridges,
Pheasants, Hares, Rabbits, Quails, Woodcocks, Snipe, and Rooks.
By J. J. MANLEY, M.A. Illustrated. J cloth gilt, 400pp., price 75. 6d.

GAME PRESERVING, PRACTICAL. Containing the
fullest Directions for Rearing and Preserving both Winged and
Ground Game, and Destroying Vermin; with other Information of
Value to the Game Preserver. Illustrated. By WILLIAM CARNEGIE.
In cloth gilt, demy 8vo, price 21s.

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6 Published by L. UPCOTT GILL,
GARDENING, DICTIONARY OF. A Practical Encyclo-

peedia of Horticulture, for Amateurs and Professionals. Illustrated

with 2440 Engravings. Edited by G. NICHOLSON, Curator

of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; assisted by Prof. Trail,
M.D., Rev, P. W. Myles, B.A., F.L.S., W. Watson, J. Garrett,
and other Specialists. J# 4 wols, large post ato. Vol. I.,
A to E, 552pp., 743 Illustrations; Vol.’ Il, 1 Sto soy seageee
811 Illustrations; Vol. III., P to S, 537pp., 564 Illustrations;
Vol. IV., T to Z, and Supplement of Pronouncing Dictionary,
Indices to Plants for Special Purposes, Recent Introductions,
&c., 608 pp., 322 Illustrations. Pr7zce 15s. each. In Monthly Parts,
price 2s. 6d. .

GARDEN PESTS AND THEIR ERADICATION.

Containing Practical Instructions for the Amateur to overcome the
Enemies of the Garden. Illustrated. Ju paper, price 1s.

GOAT, BOOK OF THE. Containing Full Particulars of the
various Breeds of Goats, and their Profitable Management. With
many Plates. By H. STEPHEN HOLMES PEGLER. Third Edition,
We Puan and Coloured Frontispiece. Cloth gilt, price
4s. 6d.

GOAT-KEEPING FOR AMATEURS: Being the Practi-

cal Management of Goats for Milking Purposes. Abridged from
“The Book of the Goat.” Illustrated. Jn paper, price is.

GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT FOR AMATEURS.
Descriptions of the best Greenhouses and Frames, with Instructions
for Building them, particulars of the various methods of Heating, Illus-
trated Descriptions of the most suitable Plants, with general and
special Cultural Directions, and all necessary information for the
Guidance of the Amateur. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged.
Magnificently Illustrated. By W. J. May. £# cloth gilt,
price 5S.

GREYHOUND, THE: [Its History, Points, Breeding,
Rearing, Training, and Running. By HUGH DALZIEL. With
Coloured Frontispiece. Ju cloth gilt, demy 8vo, price 2s. 6d.

GUINEA PIG, THE, for Food, Fur, and Fancy. Illustrated
with Coloured Frontispiece and Engravings. An exhaustive book
on the Varieties of the Guinea Pig, and its Management. By
C. CUMBERLAND, F.Z.S. Jn cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d.

HANDWRITING, CHARACTER INDICATED BY.)
With Illustrations in Support of the Theories advanced taken from
Autograph Letters of Statesmen, Lawyers, Soldiers, Ecclesiastics,
Authors, Poets, Musicians, Actors, and other persons. Second
Edition. By R. BAUGHAN. Jn cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d.

HARDY PERENNIALS and Old-fashioned Garden Flowers,
Descriptions, alphabetically arranged, of the most desirable
Plants for Borders, Rockeries, and Shrubberies, including
Foliage as well as Flowering Plants. Profusely Illustrated.
By J. Woop. Ju cloth price 5s.

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170, Strand, London, W.C, 7
HOLIDAY HOMES, INEXPENSIVE. Giving particulars

of how to live in our leisure periods almost where we please, in a
cheap, comfortable, quick erected, and withal comfortable house,
which can be removed if necessary without much expense. J” stzf7
paper cover, price 1s.

HOME MEDICINE AND SURGERY: A Dictionary
of Diseases and Accidents, and their proper Home Treatment.
For Family Use. By W. J. MACKENZIE, M.D., Medical Officer
for Lower Holloway, Medical Referee for North London of the
Scottish Provincial Assurance Company, late Lecturer to the St.
John’s Ambulance Association, Author of ‘“‘ The Medical Management
of Children,’ &c. Illustrated. Jn cloth, price 2s. 6d.

HORSE-KEEPER, THE PRACTICAL. By Gzorcz
FLEMING, LL.D., F.R.C.V.S., Principal Veterinary Surgeon of the
Army. vice 3s. 6d.

HORSE-KEEPING FOR AMATEURS. A Practical
Manual on the Management of Horses, for the guidance of those
who keep them for their personal use. By Fox RUSSELL.
Pee ees. I Cloth, 25;

HORSES, DISEASES OF: Their Causes, Symptoms, and
Treatment. For the use of Amateurs. By HUGH DALZIEL. J
: paper, price 1s., cloth, 2s.

INLAND WATERING PLACES. A Description of all

the principal Spas in the United Kingdom. A companion volume
to “Seaside Watering Places.” [Zz the press.

JOURNALISM, PRACTICAL: How to Enter Thereon and
Succeed. A book for all who think of “writing for the Press.” By
JOHN DAWSON. Jn cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d.

LEGAL PROFESSION, A GUIDE TO THE. A Prac-
tical Treatise on the various Methods of Entering either Branch of
the Legal Profession ; also a Course of Study for each of the
Examinations, and selected Papers of Questions; forming a Com-
plete Guide to every Department of Legal Preparation. By J. H.
SLATER, Barrister-at-Law, of the Middle Temple. Price 7s. 6d.

LIBRARY MANUAL, THE. A Guide to the Formation
of a Library and the Valuation of Rare and Standard Books.
By J. H. SLATER, Barrister-at-Law. Third Edition. Revised
and Greatly Enlarged. : [Jn the press.

LILY OF THE VALLEY: All About It, and How to Grow

It; Forced Indoors and Out of Doors, in Various Ways. By
WILLIAM ROBERTS. Jn paper covers, price 6d.

MEDITERRANEAN WINTER RESORTS. A Prac-

tical Handbook to the Principal Health and Pleasure Resorts on the
Shores of the Mediterranean. By E. A. R. BALL. With a Map and
27 Illustrations. cap. 8vo, price 35. 6d.

MICE, FANCY: Their Varieties, Management, and Breeding.
Re-issue, with Criticisms and Notes by DR. CARTER BLAKE.
Illustrated. Jn paper, price 6d.

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8 Published by L. Upcotr GIL,

MODEL YACHTS AND BOATS: Their Designing, Making,
and Sailing. Illustrated with 118 Designs and Working Diagrams.
A splendid book for boys and others interested in making and rigging
toy boats for sailing. It is the best book on the subject now pub-
lished. By J. DU V. GROSVENOR. Jn leatherette, price Ss.

MONKEYS, NOTES ON PET, and Howto Manage Them.
Profusely Illustrated. By ARTHUR PATTERSON. Cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d.

MUSHROOM CULTURE FOR AMATEURS. With
Full Directions for Successful Growth in Houses, Sheds, Cellars,
and Pots, on Shelves, and Out of Doors. Illustrated. By W. J.
MAy. Jn paper, price Is.

NATURAL HISTORY SKETCHES among the Car-
nivora—— Wild and Domesticated; with Observations on their
Habits and Mental Faculties. By ARTHUR NICOLS, F.G.S.,
F.R.G.S. Illustrated. Jz cloth gilt, price 5s.

NEEDLEWORK, DICTIONARY OF. An Encyclopedia
of Artistic, Plain, and Fancy Needlework; Plain, practical,
complete, and magnificently Illustrated. By S. F. A. CAULFEILD
and B. C. SAWARD. Accepted by H.M. the Queen, H.R.H. the
Princess of Wales, H.R.H. the Duchess of Edinburgh, H.R.H. the
Duchess of Connaught, and H.R.H.the Duchess of Albany Dedicated
by special permission to H.R.H. Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne.
In demy 4to, 528pp., 829 Lllustrations, extra cloth gilt, plain edges,
cushioned bevelled boards, price 21s.; with COLOURED PLATES,
elegant satin brocade cloth binding, and coloured edges, 31s. 6d.

ORCHIDS: THEIR CULTURE AND MANAGE-
MENT, with Descriptions of all the Kinds in General Cultivation.
Illustrated by Coloured Plates and Engravings. By W. WATSON,
Assistant-Curator, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Assisted by
W. BEAN, Foreman, Royal Gardens, Kew. Jz handsome binding,
gilt edges, price 15s. 6d.

PAINTING, DECORATIVE. A Practical Handbook on
Painting and Etching upon Textiles, Pottery, Porcelain, Paper,
Vellum, Leather, Glass, Wood, Stone, Metals, and Plaster, for the
Decoration of our Homes. By B. C. SAWARD. Cheap Edition, price 5s.

PARROTS, THE SPEAKING. The Art of Keeping and
Breeding the principal Talking Parrots in Confinement. By Dr.
KARL Russ. Illustrated with COLOURED PLATES and
Engravings. J cloth gilt, price 5s.

PATIENCE, GAMES OF, for one or more Players. A
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POKER BOOK, THE. A Practical Book on Playing the
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POOL, GAMES OF. Describing Various English and Ameri-
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POULTRY AND PIGEON DISEASES: Their Causes,
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RABBIT, BOOK OF THE. A Complete Work on Breeding
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