angle
likewise, and so on. The cement does not poison the water."

"To mend the broken glass of an aquarium, fasten a strip of glass over
the crack, inside the aquarium, using for a cement white shellac
dissolved in one-eighth its weight of Venice turpentine."

CHAPTER XIV.

GENERAL REMARKS ON ARTISTIC "MOUNTING," MODELLED FOLIAGE, SCREENS,
LAMPS, NATURAL HISTORY JEWELLERY, ETC.

ARTISTIC MOUNTING.--GENERAL REMARKS.--By the time the student has
slowly worked his way to this chapter, he will no doubt--should he be
apt, and have an artistic mind--have achieved things beyond the mere
drudgery of the profession. I take it that, being interested in his
work, he will not have rested content with mounting--even in a perfect
manner--his animals at rest, but will have "had a shy" at animals in
action, or engaged in some characteristic occupation. The days of
birds on "hat-pegs," stiff-legged, long-necked and staring,
round-eyed, at nothing--of mammals, whose length and stiffness are
their greatest merit--has passed away for ever; and only in dreary
museums, far behind the age, where funereal silence obtains, and where
the dust of mummied animals arises to awe and half poison the
adventurous explorer, are these "specimens" to be found.

Public museums are, unfortunately, in nine cases out of ten, not good
schools for delineating the natural attitudes or characteristics of
animals. This arises partly from the fact that all, save the more
modern ones, retain their original specimens mounted in the old style.
The newer work of the museums of London, Paris, Madrid, etc, is,
however generally of quite a different stamp. [Footnote: Since this
was written, the new South Kensington Natural History Museum has been
built and I lately had the pleasure of a private view--through the
courtesy of Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe F.L.S.--of the new style of mounting
of the future, i.e. pairs of birds their nests and young, surrounded
with carefully-modelled foliage and accessories. I there saw a bunch
of "willow-herb" magnificently modelled. I was pleased, however, from
an artist's point of view, to discover that we in Leicester could give
them a "Roland for an Oliver" in our white-throats, together with
their nest and young, surrounded by a modelled bramble-bush in
blossom; and with our swallows in section of a cow-house--neither of
which groups have yet been attempted for the national collection. I am
trembling with apprehension, however, that er