FEATHER FLOWERS. 263 



long bones of tlie wings o£ these birds make pipe-stems) or 

 squirrels mounted as a whole. 



The shells of large tortoises make fancy baskets if the lower 

 shell or plastron is sawn away, with the exception of the centre 

 piece, which is left to form a handle. The shell may be lined 

 with metal or with any other material or fabric desired. 



Lobster claws make up as Punchinellos, or as old men 

 and women, or — as exhibited at the Fisheries — handles of fish- 

 knives and forks, tops of inkstands, paper weights, &c. The 

 uses of ivory, either in the rough, or sawn and polished, are too 

 manifold to notice here. 



Feather Flowers. — ^I have seen some splendid specimens of 

 flowers (made from waste feathers of birds) brought from China, 

 the Island of Ascension, and Brazil, but can give no directions 

 for making them, further than to say that I should suppose 

 anyone skilled in the making of such artificial flowers as are 

 sold by the best milliners, or makers of wax flowers, would have 

 but little difficulty in making up these beautiful objects. 



This is, of course, but a precis of the various uses to which 

 objects of natural history can be applied as means of ornament ; 

 and, indeed, so many branches are represented by this depart- 

 ment of art that it would require a book double the size of the 

 present, and wi'itten by experts of the various professions and 

 trades concerned, to give a full history of the practical working 

 of what is known as " Ornamental Taxidermy." 



