TAXIDERMY. 33 



which reunites the skin at the place of the incision, 

 taking care to divide the hairs and not to take them 

 in with the sewing, which ought to be made w r ithin 

 and without, and then covered again with the hair. 



Before putting the animal on its feet, it is neces- 

 sary to bend the legs at the articulations : we turn 

 the animal in all directions, to knead or press it in 

 every part, to give the appearance of the various 

 muscles. 



We prepare a board, in which we pierce four 

 holes, at distances suitable to the attitude we wish 

 to give the animal, and put into them the irons from 

 the four extremities, drawing them with the pincers 

 until the feet rest firm ujftm the plank. We fix 

 the irons below with wire nails, half driven in, which 

 we then turn back upon the wires to prevent them 

 from moving. The animal being upright, we give 

 the attitude to the head, and make the muscles ap- 

 pear by stuffing it afresh with cotton at the eyes, 

 the mouth, the ears ? and the nose, and even the 

 anus. If we find these places too hollow, we thrust 

 in an iron peg, and bring forward the flax of the 

 interior, to make this hollow disappear. 



We are obliged to place the enamel eyes whilst 

 the eyelids are still fresh. This operation requires 

 much care, for the beauty of a stuffed animal de- 

 pends chiefly upon the head. We then arrange 

 the lips, and fasten them with pins ; we are often 

 c 5 



