largely depends; and the enormous importance of 
attention to detail at this stage cannot be too 
strongly emphasised. ‘To attain the best results, it is 
essential that the operator should have a keen ob- 
servation of nature, coupled with a certain amount 
of artistic perception. Without these qualifications 
the worker, however well grounded in_ technical 
ability in other respects, may be a complete failure 
at mounting, or in other words, he may be totally 
incapable of imparting those final touches to the 
specimen, which make all the difference between list- 
lessness and life. The goal to strive towards is the 
living impression of your bird as a whole, and not 
merely a life-like head (say) with the rest of the 
specimen looking distinctly mummified. It is useless 
to know the various parts of the animal frame, unless 
you understand how they behave in action. One in 
fact should know a bird so well as to be able to set it 
up in any attitude without the loss of any of its 
characteristics. Do not be afraid of indulging in 
varied and striking postures, as nothing looks so 
stereotyped as a collection of birds reduced prac- 
tically to one conventional attitude. 
It is impossible from mere description to re- 
produce faithfully the natural attitudes of birds. 
These, of course, are best learned from nature, but 
where this is not possible, as in the case of most 
rarities, pictures by capable artists such as Thor- 
burn and Lodge, may be studied with advantage. Do 
not, however, be persuaded to copy the work of an- 
other Taxidermist, as this often involves a repeti- 
tion of mistakes already made. Furnish yourself 
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