12 MEMOIR OP THE LIFE OF JOHN HANCOCX, 



than before to the internal structure of animals, and what we 

 termed "the dry-skin philosophy" became not the only subject 

 of research. 



In 1844 Albany Hancock and I began the dissection of the 

 Nudibranchiate Mollusks with JSolis papillosa. The dissection 

 was mine, the beautifully - coloured and absolutely correct 

 drawings were Albany's. After a year or two Albany dissected 

 as well as copied his dissections. 



John gave increased attention to the anatomy of birds — their 

 skeleton, muscles, viscera, and general form of their parts. In 

 preparing entire birds to be mounted, after having skinned the 

 body he took a model of it, and thus by applying the skin to 

 that exact form would restore to it its proper proportions and 

 size ; the muscles of the legs were imitated with wire and tow, 

 arranged of the exact natural size. The cleaning and prepara- 

 tion of the skin was often a difficult and laborious process, and 

 the arranging of the feathers demanded great care and skill. 

 As he had been accustomed to sketch living and wild birds, and 

 was familiar with their natural forms, positions, and attitudes, 

 he was capable of easily imparting to his specimens the necessary 

 life-like appearance which so signally distinguish them. 



The skinning and stuffing would occasionally occupy many 

 hours of many days, and John, in fact, could model a bird in 

 clay in one fourth of the time it would take him to stuff one 

 and set it up. 



The scrap drawings which he had been long in the habit of 

 making were of great service to him in the above manipulations. 

 They were all given by him to the Museum, and are hung up 

 in the upper western corridor, having been handsomely framed 

 through the kind liberality of Lady Armstrong. Many of them 

 equal or even surpass the drawings of his old friend Thomas 

 Bewick, whose works have deservedly created such a furore. 



How very imperfectly and miserably the antiquated term 

 bird-stuffing applies to John Hancock's art and knowledge ! Any 

 one can literally stuff a bird's skin or a quadruped's, but very 

 few indeed can impart apparent life to the spoils of a dead 

 creature in the way in which our late friend could do. One 



