.^g^r'^^k 



the skin is ol'tcii rcinoNcd, 

 (illcd with clay, :iii(i iiiodclcd 

 into correct I'oriii, wlicii it is 

 posed ready for plaster mold 

 and wax cast. In the case 

 of turtles many mnst l)e cast 

 entire, the cafapace hein^- too 

 soft to make a permanent 

 monnt. in other cases the 

 "shell" is used and wax easts 

 of tlie soft-skinned liead and 

 leji's are fastened in position, 

 while still others more thick- 

 skinned ar(> nioinited as are 

 the thick-skinned lizai'ds. 



The advantage of makinj^ 

 the casts in wax lies not only 

 in a great susceptibility of 

 this nieditiin to take and 

 retain fine detail, not only in 

 a transparency which adds 

 greatly tf) the lifelike effect 

 in many anip]iil)ia, Imt also 

 in a surface of such character 

 that it takes oil color with 

 an effect of life texture. 

 Soft skin texture cannot be gained with a hard plaster surface. When 

 a form is too large to cast in wax, like the giant salamander of Ja))an, 

 and nuist be cast in plaster, the plaster surface is afterward sprayed with 

 a coating of wax. 



An exhibit of any group of animals to interest other than technical 

 students must be shown from the life standpoint and in relation to man, 

 especially a group repellant because of mystery and mytli man has inherited 

 from a time of less knowledge. Amphibia and reptiles should liold a con- 

 siderable place in the exhibition of a musetun for many reasons. They 

 are of great antiquity. The amphibian race bridged the gap in descent 

 between water life and land life, and reptiles, developed from tliese early 

 amphii)ians, gave rise tlirough some primiti\e group to inanunals. Thus 

 both are in the <lireet line of vertel)rate evolution. 



In the light of this dominant })osition of the past and the ancestral 

 relation to man, the amphibia and reptiles of to-day take on peculiar 

 interest. Descended fiom forms of considerai)le or great size, modern 

 amj)hibia and re])tiles present a race of i)ygmies, reminiscent of the giants 



Portion of wax cast of water moccasin {Ancis- 

 tTodon piscirorim). Moccasin closely related to the 

 copperhead and one of the most poisonous snake.s 

 of tlie South. The cast is desif^ned for a small 

 Cypress Swamp (iroup not yet completed. The 

 moccasin unlike a rattlesnake opens tlie mouth 

 when tlireatening to strike 



