THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 307 



equally remarkable for boldness of conception, origi- 

 nality of design, the Promethean fire which it enables 

 a skilful operator to infuse into lifeless and flaccid 

 remains, and the marvellous success with which it 

 handles the two most troublesome departments of taxi- 

 dermy, namely, the extremities and the naked skin. By 

 this process the flowing undulations and softness of the 

 bare skin are reproduced as they existed during the life 

 of the subject; to the ears are given their original 

 expressive roundness without the least symptom of the 

 wrinkled outline which they usually assume in stuffed 

 animals ; the nose and muzzle retain their pouting ful- 

 ness without requiring to be amputated and replaced by 

 wax, gutta-percha, or other substances, and the paws or 

 feet present their natural form and expression. More- 

 over, there is no wire or woodwork within the skin, and 

 the weight of a prepared animal is so trifling that a 

 man could carry away a cow or two on his back, take a 

 tiger under each arm, sling half a dozen snakes round 

 his neck, and walk off with his load. 



We are all familiar with stuffed birds and beasts. 

 Some of us may have had the misfortune to see some 

 special pet carried off by death, and to have sent it to 

 a ' naturalist,' to be stuffed. And those who have com- 

 mitted this affectionate error are sure to be dissatisfied 

 with the operator, and to appreciate the infinite 

 difference between the soft, graceful outlines, the 

 expressive attitudes, and the sleek glossy coat of their 

 former favourite, and the stiff, gaimt, distorted form of 



