MUSEUMS. 307 



stuffed cat in anger will exhibit a tail of the same 

 extraordinary bulk which it does when a dog threat- 

 ens its existence. 



All animals ought to be well washed in soap and 

 water, with a hard brush, before they are skinned. 

 This will have a surprising effect in beautifying the 

 fur. 



As there are parts of a quadruped's skin which 

 are bound down, as it were, to the bone (at the 

 eyes, for example), it will be necessary to pass a 

 thread, with a sufficient knot at one end, through 

 these parts, and to let the end without a knot hang 

 loose after it has been drawn out at the opposite 

 quarter. Thus, there must be a thread in the ex- 

 tremities at the gape of the mouth, and one at the 

 corners of the eyes ; and others in different parts 

 of the body, according to the operator's judgment. 

 By pulling these at the end which hangs out, he 

 will be enabled to depress the parts into their 

 natural shape. 



The artificial eyes must be put in on the first day 

 of the operation, and taken out and put back again 

 every time the head of the specimen is modelled. 



When all is completed, and the skin has become 

 perfectly dry, the artist takes out the chaff or sawdust; 

 and he finds that the specimen is quite firm enough 

 to stand without any support from wires. He cuts 

 three sides of a square hole under the feet, to let 

 out the chaff ; and when this is done he returns the 

 skin to its place. 



A slit must be made in the crown of the head, or 

 under the jaws, to allow him to fix the artificial 

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