104 



METHODS IN THE ART OF TAXIDERMY. 



mache to the proper thickness and form. Replace the comb on the 

 head with mache, which will stick fast if carefully done. 



The wattles, iflarge, may be made in the same manner; if small, 

 can be formed with papier-mache alone, or upon thin card-board. 

 The coloring should be laid upon a body of shellac as directed for 

 painting other discolored parts. 



To Imitate Blood.— Blood or flesh wounds may be imitated by 

 thickly painting on vermilion and red lead mixed with varnish. Torn 

 flesh, fresh blood and coagulated blood differ in tint, and they are best 

 obtained by modeling the parts in wax colors to suit the tint, which 

 is either vermilion, madder brown or madder lake, blended with one 

 or the other. Should you represent a vulture tearing open a sheep 

 you may reproduce the liver, wind-pipe and other organs by model- 

 ing them in papier-mache and covering them with colored wax of the 

 proper tint. 



Mending Broken Bones. — It very frequently happens that in 

 shooting birds and quadrupeds some of the bones are broken — so badly 

 too sometimes that they must be substituted entirely by artificial ones. 

 Ordinarily, however, they can be neatly mended, and where you de- 

 pend upon the length of the bone to obtain the exact length of the 

 leg, etc., it is of the utmost importance, and the same may be said in 

 preserving the shape of the head. The manner of mending bones is 

 well illustrated in Plate XXIV. When a skull is badly cracked, stitch 

 the broken sections together v;ith strong thread, as seen in Figs. 1 and 

 2. Fill the cavity of the skull with fine tow, which will answer as a 

 cushion for the broken pieces to rest on. If one-half of the skull is so 

 badly crushed that it is impossible to mend it, then make that portion 

 of tow, as represented in Fig. 3. When the leg-bone is broken, splice 

 it by inserting a piece of wood into the bones and bind it around firmly 

 with strong thread or light copper wire (Figs. 4 and o). If the upper 

 portion of the tibia is completely gone, take a piece of wire of the 

 proper thickness and length, and, with your round-nosed pliers, turn a 

 loop on one end, insert the other into the portion of the bone remain- 

 ing and wrap it strongly with thread or very light wire (see Fig. 6). 

 A similar construction is used in mending broken wing-bones (Figs. 7 

 and 8), and also the beak, as in Fig. 9. If the bill is entirely gone, 

 build it out with papier-mache and paint it as directed on page 10:5. 



