TAXIDERMY. IS 



manuscript to the Athenaeum at Lyons, of which 

 they were members ; they were earnestly solicited 

 to print it, and published it in 1802. These au- 

 thors solely speak of birds, they describe an in- 

 finity of methods practised by others, and compare 

 them to their own, which without doubt are prefer- 

 able, but yet too slow to satisfy the impatience of 

 ornithologists. 



The oil of turpentine is almost the only pre- 

 servative which they employ. They use it in two 

 ways. First when the bird is mounted, by soaking, 

 with the aid of a brush, the roots of the feathers in 

 all parts of the bird : the second method, which is 

 not so good as the first, consists in varnishing the 

 whole surface of the bird, which secures its pre- 

 servation. It must be allowed, however, that the 

 spirits of turpentine absorb and tarnish the colours. 

 If the first method be executed with all the care it 

 requires, that is to say, if the spirit have only wetted 

 the quills and down of the feathers, these parts will 

 be preserved ; but their extremities will be attacked 

 and destroyed by insects. Besides, this proceeding 

 appears to me, to be difficult to put in practice for 

 the smaller birds, because the oil, which has the 

 quality of spreading with much rapidity, quickly 

 reaches all parts of their feathers, and thus only 

 preserves them at the expense of their colours, so 

 rich in the greater part of the small birds which 

 come from Africa and South America. 





