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22 RUMINANTIA. 
too large. To diminish the wood-work they foresaw would run 
the risk of putting its parts out of proportion. It then occurred to 
them, that the best thing to be done under these awkward 
| circumstances, was to take off the skin again and reduce its 
thickness with knives; they removed all the internal thick- 
| nings which came in their way. In this operation five men 
were occupied for four days, during which time they cut out 
one hundred and ninety-four pounds weight off the internal 
surface. During this process the skin had dried, and required 
_ again to be immersed in cold soft water; after allowing it to 
| remain twenty-iour hours to soak, it was then put on the mo- 
del and found now to cover it completely ; the edges were 
brought together, and secured with wire nails deeply driven 
home, and large brads. Except at the edges, the nails and 
brads were only driven in half-way to keep the skin down to 
_ the different sinuosities and hollows until dry, when they were 
_ again all pulled out. 
The alum with which the water was saturated gave the skin 
an ugly gray appearance, in consequence of its becoming crys- 
tallized. But this was soon remedied, by first rubbing the skin 
with spirit of turpentine, and afterwards with olive oil. 
By the admirable and well executed contrivance here adopt- 
ed, a specimen has been mounted with all the appearance of 
life, which, with a little attention, may resist for ages the 
infiuence of Time’s destroying hand. It is the only specimen of 
an Elephant in Europe worth looking at, all others being great 
misshapen masses, completely devoid of all appearance of na- 
ture. 
The Rhinoceros, Tapir, Horse, and its congeners, should all 
_ be mounted in the same manner. At the Jardin du Roi, a 
fine specimen of the Quagga has been mounted in this way. 
ORDER IX.—RUMINANTIA. 
The same plan should be adopted with all the larger ani- 
mals of this order, as with the Elephant described in Order 
VIII. At the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, the Giraffe is 
mounted in the same way as the Elephant: as are also some 
of the larger Antelopes. 
