1894- SUPPLEMENT. iii 



and to lend to the eyes the flash of anger, are all accomplishments 

 that demand of the artist his best judgment, knowledge, skill, and, 

 what is more, his infinite patience." Hear also that eminent artist 

 in this line, Mr. James Hornaday. " The large Felidae are the finest 

 subjects for the taxidermist that the whole animal kingdom can 

 produce. They offer the finest opportunities for the development 

 of muscular anatomy, and the expression of the various higher 

 passions." 



A specimen in which difficulties of a similar nature have been 

 admirably coped with is the Burchell's Zebra, of which the head is 

 shown from the side in Plate VII. This is thus described by 

 Dr. Shufeldt. — " The animal has been given an attitude indicative 

 of moderate movement, with the evident idea in its mind of making 

 an attack or standing at bay, in which he will use his teeth to bite — 

 a habit so familiar to us in some cases of vicious horses. The short 

 mane is semi-erect, the ears are thrown back, the eye looks the 

 owner's intent, while the quivering and nearly rigid lips drawn apart 

 show the glistening upper ' nippers ' and the crowns of the lower 

 ones ; the nostrils are somewhat closed by the elevation of the 

 superior lip ; finally the entire rendering of the whole animal is most 

 perfect in all particulars." 



The two figures of the Walrus on Plate VIII. are of exceptional 

 interest. This animal is now exceedingly rare and on the very verge 

 of extinction. Familiar though it has been to us from our earliest 

 childhood, yet we have learnt of late that the pictures of it in works 

 on zoology and natural history, " even in so good and generally 

 correct a work as Brehm, are glaringly false." Only in the last few 

 years have truthful drawings, made from actual observation by Mr. 

 H. W. Elliott, been available for the taxidermist to take as his models. 

 According to Dr. Shufeldt, the specimen of this colossal mammal 

 at the National Museum in Washington " was mounted in the 

 light of all the improvements and skill modern taxidermy could 

 bring to bear upon the undertaking, and the success was complete. 

 It constituted, when finished, one of the grandest subjects the 

 Smithsonian sent on to the Government exhibit at the Columbian 

 Exposition." All opinions, however, are not so favourable ; for 

 Dr. W. H. Dall, as already quoted in Natural Science (vol. iii., 

 p. 337), said, — " A fine walrus might have been more lifelike if the 

 taxidermist had had a better guide than Elliott's caricatures of this 

 unfortunate animal, which, in addition to extinction, seems to be 

 doomed to posthumous misrepresentation." The figures, whatever 

 may be the accuracy of the specimen, serve to illustrate the mode of 

 stuffing by means of a manikin, which, especially in the case of hair- 

 less animals, is often covered with clay, which can be worked into 

 shape after the skin has been put over it. 



In selecting the plates for this article, we have paid but small 

 attention to the many beautiful illustrations of birds. In respect to 



