3i8 TAXIDERMY AND MODELLING 



many technicalities which will be found useful, if thoroughly 

 mastered, in the delineation of other plants. 



The first thing is, of course, to get a fine, well-grown plant, 

 and to snip the leaves off just where the stalk joins the under 

 surface, and then to cast them and finish the moulds as 

 explained in leaf-casting (pp. 308-311). 



The Making of the Flower 

 The flower is, for botanical purposes, divided into — 



1. The Carpels — which, combined, form a globular head or 



the centre of the flower. 



2. The Stamens — a fringe of little yellow threads, broadened 



at their tips into anthers, surrounding the centre. 



3. The Petals (eight or nine) — which are oblong, glossy, 



and yellow. 



4. The Calyx — consisting of three small, light green pro- 



cesses or sepals, arranged triangularly underneath the 

 petals. 



5. The Flower-stalk underneath. 



The Carpels. — Patterns having been taken as already de- 

 scribed, and another flower being placed in front of the modeller 

 as a further guide, first prepare, in the usual manner (see p. 3 1 6), 

 a piece of white silk-covered wire, a little longer than the 

 natural stem, and then proceed to make the carpel or green 

 centre by taking a piece of green wax, about an inch in length 

 and two-thirds in breadth, doubling it lengthwise, and snipping 

 the finest possible fringe along the folded edge (see p. 315) to 

 the depth of about one-sixteenth inch. It will now be seen that 

 this fringed strip is wider than necessary for the carpel, although 

 the width was necessary for the convenience of holding whilst 

 cutting ; cut off a portion of the base, therefore, and wind the . 

 " fringe " loosely around the knotted end of the wire, in a some- 



