FIXING CASE. 15 



and whitening, tinted with a little stone-blue ; some 

 add some touches of white subsequently to represent 

 clouds, the ground representing the air ; some also 

 paste a landscape on the back, but this must be good, 

 or you had better have plain colour. The bird to be 

 placed in this case is either perching, standing, or 

 Hying ; for the latter directions have been given. As 

 to the two former, the perch must be firmly fixed in 

 the small piece of flat wood upon which it previously 

 stood, and put in upon it, the wood being fastened to 

 the bottom of the case, either by screwing from below, 

 from above, or gluing with stout glue, or by passing 

 wire through two holes in the bottom of the case and 

 the wood, and clinching above ; in this case, or in 

 screwing fro*n below, let the wire or the screw into 

 the wood, and putty over, and so if the bird is repre- 

 sented standing. The bird being fixed, the next thing 

 is the decorating or " weeding," as it is technically 

 called, and here we enter upon a subject so entirely 

 of taste and fancy, that no fixed rules, as to the dis- 

 position, can in all cases be given. One rule applies 

 equally to this as to landscape painting, viz. that there 

 should always be a compensation of objects ; that is, 

 it' you have a tuft of grass on one side which rises 

 towards the top of the case, there should be something 

 in tin lower opposite corner to strike the eye, but not 

 to rise above the midway up at furthest, and the ground, 

 or floor, should not be over-furnished with moss, &c. 

 After the bird is fixed, the whole bottom should be 

 carefully glued over with thin glue, taking care, where 

 the bird's feet are on the bottom, not to touch the toes 



with the glue. Some fine-sifted sand or gravel should 



