TAXIDERMY. 45 



iad not been altered, and, secondly, by insuring 

 ts speedy desiccation. This last had not been the 

 east alarming, for we feared that the humidity se- 

 jreted in the skin might concentrate in such a man- 

 icr (notwithstanding we had taken the precaution 

 to give the wooden model a coat of oil paint,) that 

 t would occasion mouldiness in the parts exposed 

 to the air. The alum with which it was saturated 

 soon crystallized on the interior, which at first gave 

 it a very ugly grey colour, but we entirely got rid 

 of it by rubbing the surface of the skin, first with 

 spirits of turpentine, and then with oil of olives. It 

 was thus we gave the appearance of life to one of 

 the largest animals on earth, and which till then 

 liad only been figured in our Museums as a hide- 

 ous mass, and devoid of all resemblance to nature. 

 The camelopard, the couaga, the condoma, (a spe- 

 cies of antelope,) which are in the gallery of the 

 Paris Museum, have been mounted in the same 

 manner, which serves for most large animals. 



Deer. 



We now return to a quadruped of the second 

 size. This ought to be mounted like a bear. We 

 must put a bar of wood to receive the wires of the 

 four legs, but the horns with which the head is or- 

 namented will not allow us to skin it in the usual 

 manner. 



