348 TAXIDERMY AND MODELLING 



pin until nicely thinned and somewhat concave on the waxed 

 side ; vein well on both sides with the head of a blanket-pin ; 

 edge one half irregularly with crimson lake, and fix one of 

 these around each half of the whorl of flowers, allowing the 

 first to overlap the second on each side. Follow these with 

 another whorl and two more " bracts," and so on until the 

 spike is complete. 



Should there be sufficient space between the whorls to show 

 a portion of the stem, this must be made in the usual way, by 

 folding around the wire a small strip of green wax and working 

 it into the characteristic quadrangular form by means of a 

 modelling-pin — not the head, but that part of the pin near the 

 head. 



The leaves, which are perfectly simple, are cast from and 

 modelled in the ordinary manner. 



It will be observed that none of the preceding colours can 

 be called permanent, nor are they those which any one 

 acquainted with the properties of pigments would use ; never- 

 theless they were used — in spite of the faint remonstrance of 

 the writer — by Mrs. Mogridge, in the complete assurance that 

 such colours were, when of good quality and procured from 

 her favourite maker, quite permanent. However, the result 

 has amply justified the contention that, in this instance, 

 both theory and practice were wrong, for the flowers modelled 

 and coloured with such care have faded, in less than a year, 

 from their rich purple to a dirty bluish -lavender, and this, 

 be it understood, not in direct sunlight nor even in what 

 might be called a strong light. Violets also, coloured with 

 the same disregard for the chemical composition of pig- 

 ments, have suffered in like manner. The writer, not having 

 yet made the self-heal, cannot indicate the exact hues to be 

 employed, but refers the pupil to the list of permanent colours 

 at pp. 90-92. 



