THE MODELLING OF ROCKS, ETC. 383 



to be shown, these are either made up with pieces of card laid 

 on and paper pasted over, or with pieces of crumpled news- 

 paper glued on roughly and covered with pasted paper, or with 

 wool pasted or glued. Where speedy drying is an object, 

 glued paper is used instead of pasted, but where a sufficient 

 time can be given for the layers to dry, paste is better on the 

 score of economy, rapidity of working, and the nicer manner 

 in which pasted paper behaves in rounding corners. 



No wrinkles should show in the finished rockwork, and 

 when any are seen they should either be filled in with pasted 

 or glued wadding, or, if large, cut out and pasted over again. 

 Often two or three coverings of paper are necessary to ensure 

 sufficient hardness and stability, and, when satisfactory, the 

 whole is glued and sanded as directed at the commencement 

 of this chapter. 



The section of such a piece of rockwork shows a false 

 bottom, upright pieces nailed on the bottom and back of that, 

 and supporting pieces for the ledges on which the animals 

 are to rest, whilst outside all are the lines of the finished 

 rockwork which, of course, masks all the wooden skeleton. 

 If carefully done, and with some regard to the copy in 

 general details, the effect is by no means bad ; indeed, its 

 substratum of truth gives it an air of reality to any one — but 

 a geologist. 



By far and away the better plan is, however, to take nature 

 entirely as the guide, and by this means achieve a real success. 

 Let a large flint of good shape, or a fair-sized rock of any 

 other kind be taken, and there are two ways of making a 

 copy from it. 



The first and simplest method is, after having well oiled it, 

 to decide which of its surfaces is the least suited for the pur- 

 pose for which the model is intended, and let that surface be 

 the bottom. Now take rather thin but tough brown paper 



