i 



50 TAXIDERMY, 



a little hatchet. Cotton beinj 

 America, he should take a great quantity of it, and 

 use it in preference to every thing else. In Asia 

 and Africa he must employ tow, made from old 

 ropes, and, for want of that, he might use moss or 

 fine grass, well dried. M. Le Vaillant has told me 

 that, in his travels in Africa, he used a species of 

 dog-grass (very common in that country) with 

 great success for stuffing quadrupeds and birds. 

 The greater part of the animals brought home by 

 M. Le Vaillant were stuffed with this plant. 



We will suppose our traveller's caravan, furnished 

 with all the objects we have just named, has begun 

 its march, and that he kills some quadrupeds; he 

 will skin them without delay by the methods we 

 have before recommended, it is sufficient for the 

 skins to be anointed, stuffed, and sown up ; he will 

 put the spirits of turpentine on all their extremi- 

 ties, and let them dry in the most convenient place. 

 At the end of three or four days he will again put 

 the spirits on the same parts, particularly round the 

 mouth of the quadruped. 



We must here observe, that it is very advan- 

 tageous to stay at least a week in the place he has 

 chosen for the first halt, because of the pains re- 

 quired in the commencement of a collection ; and 

 also to be able to procure all which exists in its en- 

 virons, for a large proportion of quadrupeds, birds, 

 and even insects, canton themselves, and if he quit* 



