276 TAXIDERMY AND MODELLING 



either with a sharp knife or pair of scissors, — are affixed to the 

 model either by a piece of stiff brown paper pasted upon and 

 backing the fins, or by a sliver of wood pushed into the base, 

 the junction of the fins to the trunk being made by using a 

 piece of the " trimmings " and melting it in with a warm or 

 moderately hot iron tool. 



Fins, if too thick, may be pared, but this process is by 

 no means so satisfactory as making them thin originally. 

 Both sides of the fins may be joined together with pasted tissue- 

 paper between, but not so satisfactorily as if made entirely of 

 paper, and, therefore, if both sides of the fins of a glue model 

 must be shown, it is best to make them entirely of paper (see 

 p. 262), and affix them at their bases by a sliver of wood and 

 modelling-glue. 



The hollow casts or half models of such objects as fishes, 

 especially when large, are too slight and thin to keep their 

 shape without backing or packing, and this is managed by 

 crowding them quite tightly either with wadding, tow, shavings, 

 wood-fibre (" excelsior," such as boxes of sweets and various 

 groceries and china are packed in), sawdust, or paper, but ex- 

 perience in the Leicester Museum has proved that sawdust is 

 the best, especially if the model should have been left unbacked, 

 and have collapsed some time after casting. 



After the fish-model has been relieved from the mould, 

 therefore, and examined for imperfections, it is trimmed and 

 replaced in the mould, to which it again easily adapts itself; 

 whilst therein, it is painted inside with common white or red 

 lead containing plenty of " driers," and, when this is quite dry, 

 the model is partly filled with coarse, clean pine sawdust, or 

 sometimes with wadding, and this is followed by soft paper, some 

 folded and some torn, until it is firmly packed nearly up to the 

 top edge. At this stage, a piece of stiff cardboard (common 

 straw-board is good enough and cheap) in the case of small fishes, 



