1922] STODDARD, '^STUFFED BIRDS" 183 



dermist, should be as nearly the exact counterpart of the original in size 

 and shape as possible, due allowance of course being made for abnor- 

 mal fatness or leanness of the subject. 



Tow, oakum, excelsior and straw, wound with string and shaped 

 with the fingers, have been used for making such bodies since time im- 

 memorial, with good results where skillfully handled. It is not the 

 writer's intention at this time to go into the endless details of modern 

 museum bird mounting, but to call attention to two new materials now 

 being successfully employed in constructing the artificial "bodies" of 

 the birds in the Museum's new bird groups. 



These forms or "bodies" are being shaped with sharp knives and 

 sandpaper from cork or from balsa wood. Accuracy is secured through 

 careful diagrams and measurements of the skinned bodies of each and 

 every specimen in the field, for among birds, individuals vary in size 

 and proportions just as among people. 



From these individual measurements, the artificial "body" is carved 

 as an exact duplicate of the original. 



Cork was first used by the writer in 1914, and hundreds of birds 

 were mounted with' this material. While somewhat difficult to handle 

 for one unaccustomed to its peculiarities, it is really quite easily shaped 

 with very sharp knives and sandpaper, and makes a light, rigid form 

 that is easily wired. Being almost impervious to water, it has no 

 tendency to prematurely dry out skins or modeling compositions used 

 over it, which is a decided advantage. It is still used in preference to 

 balsa for very small birds. 



But, for all birds larger than a robin, that wonderful tropical wood 

 known as balsa is absolutely ideal and is far superior to cork in every 

 way. This wood is even lighter than the best grades of cork. It can 

 be worked into any form desired with the greatest ease and accuracy, 

 and sharpened wires penetrate it readily. A moment's immersion in 

 shellac waterproofs it. Birds mounted over balsa forms, are extremely 

 light and rigid, and lightness and strength are usually synonymous in 

 jtaxidermy. 



> Figure 108 shows two of these balsa bodies, one with the skin in 

 position to be drawn on over the form. 



The writer claims no credit for "discovering" this fine material, for 

 after seeing the various ingenious uses to which it is put in the model- 

 ing studio of the Museum's Department of Groups and Murals by 

 Mr. Charles R. Porteus and Mr. Michael Landowski, its applications 

 in taxidermy were self-evident. 



