MODELLING OF ANIMALS, ETC. 167 



teetli carved from bone, or from wood, subsequently coloured, 

 are sometimes inserted in model beads, but tbis is not recom- 

 mended. 



Tbe next part of our tbeme deals with mounting skins from tbe 

 *' flat," wben no body or skeleton is forthcoming, and is practised 

 by masters of the art, who know by experience the various 

 positions assumed by their subjects when in a state of Nature. 

 By this means large animals, such as tigers, lions, bears, &c., 

 may be mounted from skins sent home from abroad. The skin 

 having been relaxed and thinned (see Chapter X.), is put over 

 the model in exactly the same manner as described for the otter. 

 The model is, however, now determined by the size of the skin, 

 which, when perfectly soft, is folded together, legs and all, and 

 shaped on the floor of the studio, in somewhat the position 

 required ; from this a rough tracing is made with red chalk on 

 boards kept for that purpose, or on sheets of brown paper. 

 These are afterwards corrected by eye, or by the aid of smaller 

 drawings or good prints. Inside this large finished tracing 

 trace an irregularly-shaped long oval, quite two inches smaller 

 all the way round than the tracing of the skin itself. Cut this 

 out in stiff paper, and from it shape up one or two boards of 

 lin. to l|in. deal, jointed together on edge ; to this " body- 

 board" bolt by staples the four strong rods representing the 

 fore and hind limb bones. Let each have a right-angled c\'Ook 

 where they first spring from the board, to represent the scapular 

 and pelvic arches, then bend each one (more or less) at each 

 joint (see Plates III. and lY.) according to the attitude desired. 



Insert these rods at the feet through a strong base made of 

 lin. or IJin. boards, remembering that, if the projected attitude 

 of your model demands the fore-feet raised, you must nail 

 "quartering" on end, to which attach a platform of board of 

 -the requisite height. Fix two medium sized or one very strong 

 rod for the neck, and one moderately strong for the tail. In a 

 large animal — and I am assuming that we are now engaged 

 on a lion — the wire ribs may be replaced by sections of iin. 

 board, cut as in Fig. 33, and nailed vertically on each side of 

 the body-board. On the half -rounded surfaces of these, laths are 

 tacked, and afterwards covered with straw, or plastered over, just 

 .as a plasterer would finish a partition; let this be kept somewhat 



m2 



