MOUNTING THE HIGHER VERTEBRATES. Ill 



preparator, I must call special attention, and that is as follows : 

 Animals of all kinds, even in a state of nature, and entirely of 

 their own volition, often assume attitudes that are highly un- 

 graceful, unpleasing to the eye, and anything but fairly repre- 

 sentative of the creature's form and habits. This being the case, 

 do not make the mistake of concluding that because you have 

 seen a particular animal assume a particular attitude, it is 

 " natural," and therefore you can do no better than to reproduce 

 that attitude in the specimen you are mounting. No, a thou- 

 sand times no. This mistake will lead to the reproduction of 

 many an ugly attitude, even though like life itself. 



Every animal is capable of assuming scores of different atti- 

 tudes, and from all these you should choose the one which is rttoff 

 strikingly characteristic of the subject, most truly representative, 

 and which does the animal the same sort of justice that you 

 seek at the hands of the artist when you go to have your own 

 picture taken. On such occasions you do not lounge ungrace- 

 fully, nor "stand stoop-shouldered," nor look listless ; you stand 

 erect, at your full height, and look your very best. Make your 

 animal do the same. 



For your own picture you do not assume a violent and tragic 

 attitude, nor anything strained. You stand or sit at. ease, quietly 

 but intently regarding something in particular ; or your attitude 

 may with equal propriety represent a moment of rest in the 

 course of some quiet action. Pose your mounted specimens ac- 

 cording to the same principles, and the results will be most satis- 

 factory to all. The choice of an attitude depends wholly upon 

 your artistic instincts, " upon your eye," so to speak. Choose 

 that one which is most graceful or grand, and is at the same 

 time truly characteristic of the siibject. To my mind, the atti- 

 tude taken by an animal when startled by visible or suspected 

 danger, is the one par excellence in which it appears at its best 

 when mounted. Under such conditions the animal always stands 

 fully erect, head aloft, and with every sense keenly on the alert. 

 The next best attitude is that which represents an animal 

 quietly walking or climbing, according to its habits and modes 

 of progression. 



The subject of groups and grouping will be considered in full 

 later on in this work. 



