164 



Guide to Taxidermy 



record of all the colors. You will find that you can 

 carry them in your mind perfectly as long as the 

 specimen stays bright ; as he begins to fade, so will 

 his natural appearance from your mind; when his 

 colors have entirelj^ gone, you will find, to your 

 sorrow (if you have no sketch) that your recollec- 

 tion as to its appearance is about as blank as the 

 skin of the fish. 



All fish shade from darker on the back to light 

 on the belly. Paint the back and sides of your 

 specimen first, using the colors very thin (use 

 transparent oil paint), so that the fish will not have 

 a "painty" appearance; next put the ground color 

 on the belly and blend it with that of the back and 

 sides. If any of the scales are off, you will have 

 to outline them with a fine brush. 



You can now strengthen the markings on the 

 specimen, if it naturally has any, such as stripes or 

 spots. If the head is not perfectly smooth, wax it 

 before painting so as to make it so. 



Having completed the painting, you will have to 

 let it dry about two days more; then you can give 

 it a coat of good quality varnish. This will bring 

 out the color and give the glossy appearance a fish 

 has on being pulled from the water. 



When the varnish is dry, take the fish from the 

 board, lay it front down on a soft dry cloth; wax 

 the opening cut and paint the back, of course, pay- 



