334 MISCELLANEOUS. 



When your ground is thus prepared, take the 

 feathers off from the bird, beginning at the tail or 

 the points of the wings, as you must work upwards 

 towards the head. These feathers must be pre- 

 pared by cutting off all the downy part ; and the 

 larger feathers must have the insides of their shafts 

 pared off, to make them lie flat. To lay them on, 

 make use of a pair of small pliers to hold them by ; 

 and moistening the gummed ground with water, 

 place each feather in its natural and proper situ- 

 ation. Keep each feather down, by putting a 

 small leaden weight upon it, till you have another 

 prepared to lay on. You must be careful not to 

 let the gum come through the feathers, as it smears 

 them, and sticking to the bottoms of the weights, 

 will be apt to pull the feathers off. When you 

 have put on all the feathers, you must cut a piece 

 of round paper, and colour it like the eye, which 

 you may stick in its place ; but the best way is to 

 get small eyes made of glass. The bill, legs, and 

 feet must be drawn and coloured from Nature. 

 When it is finished and adjusted to your mind, lay 

 a sheet of paper upon it, and upon that a heavy 

 weight to press it ; which must remain till the 

 whole is quite dry. 



To take the Impression of any Butterfly in all 

 its Colours. 



Having taken a butterfly, kill it without spoiling 

 its wings, which contrive to spread out as regularly 

 as possible in a flying position ; then, with a small 

 brush or pencil, take a piece of white paper; wash 

 part of it with gum water, a little thicker than 

 ordinary, so that it may easily dry; afterwards, 



