Guide to Taxidermy 



113 



much better results than if you mix a large quanti- 

 ty and try to cover the whole form at once. 



Put the plaster on as smoothly as possible and 

 scrape away for the hollows and build up for the 

 muscles, remembering that everything wants to be 

 a little more prominent in the manikin than you 

 wish it to be in the finished specimen. 



Set the eyes in plaster, taking care that they are 

 looking slightly forward, as all animals do in life. 

 Fashion the nose, dig out the nostrils, and make the 

 lips ; we can assure you that these operations will 

 give you a chance to exercise your ingenuity and 

 display your artistic ability. Your work, now, with 

 a little scraping and smoothing, should look like 

 a Pointer dog, lacking only the ears and hair. 



A finely modeled manikin can be made equal to 

 any sculptor's work; the animal is all there save 

 for its ears and feet, and the outlines of the hair. 

 It is not necessary, however, to make it as smooth V\d\A'<AcvVV\ *iV\efeV> 

 as if it was not going to be covered. Frequently 

 time, plaster and weight can be saved by not cover- 

 ing all of the excelsior; especially is this true 

 when mounting long-haired large animals. The 

 mounting of a short-haired dog is one of the most 



