MOUNTING HEADS, ANTLERS, AND HORNS. 



69 



horns, saw off the top of the skull, from the top of the eye- 

 holes back to the upper part of the hole in the occipital 

 bone ; clean it well, and it is ready to fasten on the cast. 



In order to have a perfect cast, take a mold of plaster 

 from a shaved head ; though, with sufficient ingenuity, a 

 head can be modelled from plaster. The mold should be 

 in four pieces as seen in the illustration. See also page 167. 



When making a cast, the molds should be well greased, 

 tied tightly together, and run full 

 of thinly-mixed plaster. A piece of 

 board, with a wire put through 

 it to run down into the snout, 

 should be thrust into the plaster, 

 until it bears against the front, 

 and rests on the top of the mold. 



Some heavy weight should be laid 

 on the wood, in order to keep it from 

 rising until the plaster is " set." In 

 five or ten minutes' time, the cast 

 will bo hard, and can be readily re- 

 moved. It is better, however, to 

 let the mold remain about an hour 

 before removing the cast, which 

 should be well heated and dried. 



The first cast should have the top sawed off just above 

 the eyes, in order to make space for, and to fit the portion 

 of the skull holding the antlers. The eye-holes should be 

 scooped out so that the glass eyes can be set in clay or ce- 

 ment. All imperfections on the cast should be corrected, 

 and it may then be used like a natural skull, thereby ob- 

 viating the necessity of sawing and excavating the eye- 

 holes, should a number of casts be made. If a head has 

 a long neck, the board can be pieced as required ; a base- 

 board can be screwed on to fasten the skin to, and to give 

 the neck the proper form. 



If the head has but a short piece of the neck skin at- 



NECK BOAED. 



