PICTORIAL GROUPS OF FISHES, ETC. 4°? 



when dry, and finally pieces of short grasses and mosses, such 

 as grow upon old ruins, being fixed thereon. 



In all of these groups the modelling of the mouths of the 

 young birds has been managed with wax, as described at 



p. 210. 



Fishes, as previously stated (see Chap. VII.), are not usually 

 mounted with any taste, and the time-honoured and orthodox 

 system appears to be the cutting-up of the blades of reeds 

 into small spears about 3 or 4 inches in length, colouring 

 them deeply, darkly (but not beautifully) green, and dotting 

 them in little clumps, at carefully measured intervals, along the 

 bottom of a nicely sanded case. It seems to be important 

 that these precise little spears should be so sharp as to give 

 rise to the doubt whether the mummy sailing above with 

 imploring eyes, or, rather, with eyes which the French call 

 fleur de tite, would not be more comfortable if the spear 

 points refrained from pricking his stomach. 



There is no reason why such a system should endure, for, 

 given a fish modelled by one of the paper or glue processes, 

 water-plants might be modelled, and, when the fish is in a case, 

 be depicted as growing both above and below the fisL It is 

 possible to enhance the illusion of the fish in water by painting 

 the back of the case in two tints to represent above and below 

 water, or by placing a sheet of waved glass above the fish, and, 

 where the edge of this touches the front glass, colouring it and 

 a little below as if there were a floating mass of" flannel-weed"; 

 the diflficulty being that this represents a section of water — an 

 obvious impossibility except when seen in a tank or aquarium. 



Acting on this idea of an aquarium, the Leicester Museum 

 has, with more or less success, attempted a large scene — a 

 wall-case 15 feet in length by 9 in height — in which sea- 

 fishes' are represented as if swimming, with a background of 

 rocks, over which crawl various molluscs, lobsters, crabs, and so 



