370 TAXIDERMY AND MODELLING 



wire finely waxed by drawing it many times through a piece 

 of green wax doubled up, and afterwards thickening it gradu- 

 ally at the bottom. 



Small meadow-grass is, when intended to underlie other 

 foliage, fairly well imitated by taking a strip of fabric and 

 cutting it somewhat to this shape — 



which gives three blades to one half and two to the other, and 

 these, being tooled and twisted, make a respectable imitation. 



The next is made by taking two thicknesses of fabric and 

 inserting between them a wire, which in some cases needs to 

 be covered or made like a leaf-rib. Each blade of this is 

 tooled, and scratched with the set needles (Fig. Q, Plate II.), 

 and this form leads up to the more elaborate grasses which 

 throw out several blades from one stem, and which require 

 to be put together in the same manner as more highly 

 organised plants. Such grasses are, it will be readily observed, 

 of a different colour at front and back of the blade, and 

 the dead blades may be successfully imitated by using brown, 

 yellowish-brown, or red-brown thin fabric, and scratching it 

 with the set needles. 



Equisetum, 



To imitate any species of this genus satisfactorily, the 

 greatest possible delicacy of manipulation is necessary, as, 

 although the construction is by no means so complicated as 

 might be supposed, yet there is a certain lightness and trans- 

 parency which would be quite lost if attempted by any but 

 the most skilful fingers. Cut a piece of fine wire rather 

 longer than one of the branches, cover lightly with delicate 

 green wax, graduating the thickness very slightly ; now 



