CHAPTEE XIV. 



PRINCIPLES OF UNIVERSAL APPLICATION IN MOUNTING 

 THE HIGHER VERTEBRATES. 



GENERAL REMARKS. We may assume that any one who is am- 

 bitious to excel in taxidermic work desires to do so by the high 

 character of his productions, and the recommendation they si- 

 lently give him. I am well convinced that any one who takes 

 the trouble to read this book will welcome the following prin- 

 ciples that apply very generally in mounting the higher verte- 

 brates, and are, at all events, intended to increase the average 

 of general excellence and permanency in mounted specimens. 



A place in the front rank of taxidermists is not to be easily 

 won. It can only be accomplished by the studious methods of 

 the sculptor, the experience and observation of the field natural- 

 ist, and a combination of these with technical and mechanical 

 skill in the laboratory. The painter paints but one side of his 

 animal, and he is not hampered by bulk or measurements. The 

 sculptor blithely builds up his clay model, with neither skin, 

 bones, nor hair to vex his soul. The taxidermist must not only 

 equal the form of the sculptor's clay model, but he must also 

 make it to fit a certain skin with exactitude. 



The ideal taxidermist must be a combination of modeller and 

 anatomist, naturalist, carpenter, blacksmith, and painter. He 

 must have the eye of an artist, the back of a hod-carrier, the 

 touch of a wood-chopper one day, and of an engraver the next. 



With increased skill on the part of the workers has come in- 

 creased appreciation on the part of museum officials, and 

 higher salaries. Let me say to aspiring beginners, there is 

 plenty of room at the top, and money and glory to spare for 

 those who get there. But there is no royal road to fortune in 

 this business. Success means years of earnest work and study. 



