CASTING FISHES IN PLASTER, ETC. 185 



a satisfactory reproduction of tlie original. Some fislies there 

 are, however, so curiously shaped as to make the first or 

 "female" mould so "undercut" as to render it impossible to get 

 a return cast. In this case, nothing avails but the destruction of 

 the first to release the copy. There are several ways of doing 

 this ; one of the most simple is sawing with many cuts the edges 

 of the first, or, as it now becomes, the " waste " mould, as near to 

 the cavity as you dare, before casting into it ; having done which, 

 and allowed several hours, or a day even, to elapse, you proceed 

 to break it away, piece by piece, by gentle blows with a hammer, 

 leaving the enclosed fish to make its appearance little by little. 

 When this plan is adopted, the last cast or copy must be run 

 double the thickness to that you wish to destroy, otherwise you 

 may break the copy instead of the " waste " mould. Another 

 way is to make the first mould very thin, or to put thin suc- 

 cessive coats of plaster over the fish, with brown paper, between 

 each coat, and subsequently breaking them away, layer by layer, 

 after the fish is extracted and the mould is filled in by plaster. 



In casting into the first mould for the " copy " or perfect cast, 

 it will, of course, be necessary to lay it concavity uppermost, and 

 to surround it with a wall of board like the last, brushing over 

 the concavity, and indeed the whole of the tablet surrounding it, 

 with soft soap and water, or oil, or thin pipe-clay and water ; or, 

 if the mould has been baked dry, soaking it in water alone will 

 he sufficient to prevent the copy sticking. Recollect that the 

 flatter the tablet — surrounding the cavity left by the fish — is 

 made, the better will be that of the model. Supposing 

 that your cast, or model fish, has been turned out in good con- 

 dition, you will see that there are still certain inequalities of the 

 tablet, and certain roughnesses around the fins, mouth, &c.; 

 these latter must be " relieved " and undercut by the aid of the 

 "undercutting" and "relieving" tools (see Figs. 29 and 30), the 

 tablet must be pared flat by a long broad flat chisel called a 

 " firmer," and the edges also nicely squared. 



Tour fish is now in high relief on a flat background, but, 

 though having correct form, it still lacks colour. How to colour 

 plaster satisfactorily is a puzzle which has perplexed more 

 persons than taxidermists. Speaking for myself, I say that, 

 having coloured the cast, when wet and when dry, with water- 



n2 



