148 TAXIDERMY AND ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTING. 



mammal, like the bison, moose, and all such animals, should ac- 

 curately represent a section through the centre of the body 

 from top to bottom. In the absence of measurements and liv- 

 ing- models, the closest approximation to the desired form is ob- 

 tained by laying the skin upon the floor, hair inside, and folding 

 it loosely upon itself so as to get what looks like the general 

 shape of the animal, and then taking the outline thus obtained. 



A very large manikin may be made hollow in the manner 

 represented in the accompanying plate (Plate IX.), which is 

 self-explanatory. This is often desirable to avoid making the 

 figure too heavy, as would be the case were the entire bulk to 

 be made a solid mass of excelsior. For the smaller buffaloes, I 

 made the bodies of excelsior alone. Each side was built up 

 separately by driving a row of nails along the top of the centre 

 board, and another along the bottom to carry the twine over in 

 binding 011 the layers of excelsior. At the last, these nails 

 were driven home. 



During all this process the skin has been tried on the mani- 

 kin from time to time, to make sure that the structure is of the 

 right size in every respect. Beginners nearly always make a 

 manikin too large, especially in circumference. 



It is the commonest trick in the world for legs and necks to 

 be made so large they have to be reduced. If a skin does not 

 fit when it is tried on, the manikin is generally to blame, 

 though sometimes the skin is badly shrunken, and requires to 

 be further thinned down to make it more elastic. It is easy 

 enough to make a manikin larger or higher, especially on the 

 hind quarters, even while the skin is being put on for the last 

 time ; but woe to him whose manikin is too large at the last mo- 

 ment. That means serious delay. 



When the manikin is finished at every point, shear it all over 

 with a large pair of shears to clip off the ends of the wisps of ex- 

 celsior, and then poison the skin, thoroughly on the inside with 

 arsenical soap, and on the outside with arsenic water,' if the hair 

 be long. While the poison is being absorbed, mix up enough 

 clay to cover the entire animal with a coat an eighth or a quarter 

 of an inch thick, and smear it on with the hand. Have it soft 

 and pasty, so that it will rub into the excelsior, and catch hold 

 of it. If the clay is too stiff, it will neither spread nor stick. 



