er large bird, until nearly
dry, then dry plaster added from time to time, and the skin twirled
about in the open air if possible. Very soon the feathers will cease
to remain clogged with plaster, and will come out ready for mounting,
nicely dried, fresh, and so beautifully clean as to surprise any
person ignorant of the process.

Carefully managed, this is one of the most valuable aids to artistic
taxidermy, as by its means birds' skins are rendered as limp and
supple, and much tougher, than if just removed from the body. In proof
of my assertion, I may mention that I have caused skins from ten to
fifteen years old, and ranging in size from a cassowary to a humming
bird, to be prepared by this method, all of which subsequently mounted
up in a first-rate manner. [Footnote: A humming bird, after relaxing
by water, is, when drained sufficiently, best treated by plunging in
benzoline and then carefully dried in plaster. A night in water, and
half-an-hour's treatment with benzoline and plaster, is sufficient for
these small creatures.]

The points to observe are--first, perfect relaxing; secondly, wiping
down thoroughly with benzoline; thirdly, drying the feathers of the
skin well, by dusting in plaster and beating and agitating them in a
current of air. Should the skin be greasy, covered with fat, or
imperfectly freed of flesh (as many of the foreign birds' skins are),
it will be necessary to scrape and trim when the specimen comes out of
the plaster, before it is finally cleaned. In any case, it is always
advisable to turn the skin of the head inside out, stretch the face,
scrape the neck, and stuff the head in the ordinary manner before
returning the skin.

The great advantage in the water process is, that a "Past master" in
the method can mount a skin in as artistic and natural a manner as if
done from the flesh. Usually, specimens done from the "skin" are at
once recognisable by their uneasy and "wooden" appearance, but I defy
anyone to pick out the skins in the Leicester Museum--unless by their
neater appearance--from those anciently mounted from the flesh.

Skins of mammals, if cured by the formula (No. 9) given in Chapter IV,
need only to be plunged in water for a night or so to relax them,
wrung out, thinned down where required, and mounted straight away; a
wet skin being an advantage when modelling mammals, wet cloths even
being necessary to cover over certain parts, should the mounting
occupy more than a day