152 PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY. 



the real things as tlie donkey is like the liorse — just a family 

 resemblance, nothing more. Having done all this, let him copy 

 animals from nature ; and if he lives in or near London, so much 

 the better, there is the " Zoo" for him to study in. Indeed, it is 

 a marvel to me that, with the museums and the Zoological Gar- 

 dens surrounding them, so few London taxidermists attain even 

 a respectable proficiency in the correct delineation of animal 

 forms. The pupil being well grounded in drawing, will have 

 observed many points in animal anatomy not hitherto suspected 

 by him, and will naturally wish to know the why and where- 

 fore of the swellings and depressions occurring in his subjects. 

 To this end he must study a little simple anatomy of bones and 

 muscles — their objects and meanings in different animals. The 

 last stage is the reproduction, by modelling in clay, &c., of the 

 various parts of animals, the head, of course, in the instance 

 of large mammals, being looked upon as the chief motif in 

 composition. To do all this requires time and considerable 

 perseverance, but, with the facilities for study now oit'ered by 

 the various schools of art, he should not despair of success in 

 a few years' time after mastering tbe first principles of his art. 



I will now proceed to demonstrate how the learner may work 

 himself up to a respectable proficiency in modelling animals,, 

 should he possess the necessary aptitude. 



Let us divide our theme into three parts — First, mounting the- 

 skin of the specimen, by using the skeleton 'as a foundation. 



Secondly, mounting by means of a rough framework of wood 

 and iron, more completely than as instanced in the example of 

 the bear mentioned in the last chapter. 



Thirdly, mounting on a model skeleton of carved wood and 

 ii'on, to represent, and to take the place of, the bones ; somewhat 

 in the manner described at pp. 147 — 148. 



In each of these systems there is one point of resemblance, 

 namely, that the bones, or their semblances, are to be covered 

 with hard composition, of some kind or another, to replace the 

 flesh and muscles, and that the heads of mammals being often 

 of great beauty, and possessing certain characters of their own, 

 are to be copied first of all by one of two methods. Either they 

 must be (1) cast as a "mould" from the dead head, and the 

 "return," or model, again cast from that; or (2) modelled from. 



