s of our hunt, let us go home and preserve the
trophies.

Cut off about three inches of the elderberry wood and have it clear of
knots; cut a flat ended ramrod so as just to fit the bore, and force out
the pith with one clean sharp push: or else whittle away the surrounding
wood. The latter way gives a better quality of pith.

Now take a piece of the pith about one-third the size of a big
pussy-willow, use a very sharp knife and you will find it easy to
whittle it into a Monkey's head about the shape of "a" and "b."

Use a very sharp-pointed, soft black pencil to make the eyes, nose, the
line for the mouth and the shape of the ears; or else wait till the pith
is _quite dry_, then use a fine pen with ink.

If you are skilful with the knife you may cut the ears so that they hang
as in "d."

Stick an ordinary pin right down through the crown of the head into a
big pussy-willow that will serve as a body (e). If you glue the head on
it is harder to do, but it keeps the body from being mussed up. Cut two
arms of the pith (ff) and two feet (gg), drawing the lines for the
fingers and toes, with the sharp black pencil, or else ink as before.

Cut a long, straight pointed piece of pith for a tail, dip it in boiling
water, then bend it to the right shape "h."

Cut a branch of the sumac so that it is about four inches high, and of
the style for a tree; nail this on a block of wood to make it stand.
Sometimes it is easier to bore a hole in the stand and wedge the branch
into that.

Set the Monkey on the limb by driving the pin into it as at "i," or else
glueing it on; and glue on the limbs and tail. Sometimes a little wad
of willow-down on the Monkey's crown is a great help. It hides the pin.

Now set this away for the glue to harden.

Meanwhile take an ordinary cigar box about two inches deep, line it with
white paper pasted in; or else paint it with water colour in Chinese
white. Colour the upper part sky colour; the lower, shaded into green,
getting very dark on the bottom. Lay a piece of glass or else a scrap of
an old motor-car window-isinglass on the bottom, and set in a couple of
tacks alongside to hold it; this is for a pool.

Make a mixture of liquid glue, one part; water, five parts; then stir in
enough old plaster of Paris, whitening, or even fine loam to make a soft
paste. Build banks of this paste around the pool and higher toward the
back sides. Stick the tree, with its stand and its Monkeys, in this, to
o