STUFFING AND MOUNTING QUADRUPEDS. 
last is the frame to which all the others are attached ; for mam- 
mifers which have a tail of any length, it is necessary to have a 
sixth wire, a little slighter than the others, to represent that 
appendage ; each wire intended for the limbs and tail being, of 
course, as long as it is intended to make the member, with 
six inches over to insert in the board on which it is to be 
placed ; the central wire or framework the length of the animal ; 
and a third longer, for loops and projections. 
Commencing with the tail, which is made up of the vertebrae 
cleaned as far as possible from all fleshy ligaments, whose office 
is now performed by the wire which has been thrust through 
them ; round these tow is wound in regular order, until it has 
acquired in its whole length the necessary degree of thickness : 
this done, cover it well with a coating of arsenical soap or cor- 
rosive sublimate, and, thus prepared, introduce it into the caudal 
envelope in such a manner as to resemble the natural tail of 
the animal. 
And now the wires for the fore legs, being reduced to the 
proper length, are inserted into the foot and pushed through 
by the side of the bone, and tow is wound round them in 
such a manner as to represent the muscles and flesh upon 
the limbs, terminating, as in the case of the tail, at the upper 
part; the limbs, being each, in their turn, thus shaped and 
covered with a coating of preserving paste, are inserted in the 
skin, the wire projecting through the centre of the foot ; but as 
it is not always possible to give the exact form to the limbs in 
this stage of the operation, it is attained afterwards by stuffing cut 
wool into the parts to fill out to the proper shape of the model. 
The hinder limbs are prepared in the same manner, but with 
greater difficulty, from the complicated character of the tendons. 
At the Musee de l’Histoire fSTaturelle at Paris, Madame Char- 
pentier gets over the difficulty by taking out the tendon and 
replacing it by a second wire, which is made to enter the bone 
of the foot, and is afterwards attached to the knee-bone. The 
bones of the hind leg being properly endued with preserving 
soap, the form of the limb is exactly imitated and inserted into 
the skin, as we have indicated for the others. 
The four members and tail thus disposed of, the head demands 
the utmost attention, especially the lips and eyes. The arrange- 
ment of the lips consists in replacing the fleshy parts, which 
have been removed, by stuffing. The cotton-wool is not suffi- 
ciently plastic for this operation, and requires to be well mixed 
with arsenical soap, so as to form a sort of thick paste of the 
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