o make
the cast neatly, lay the fish, best side up, in a slight hollow in a box
of clean, damp sand. Pack the sand up under the fish body smoothly so
that more than half of him rises in cameo style from the smooth surface.

Make up enough plaster to do the cast at once. To mix plaster properly,
sprinkle it into the dish of water until a little will begin to stand
out dry above the surface. Then with a spoon sunk deep in it, gently
stir to evenness. It is then ready to pour. Before doing this, jar the
pan upon the table a time or two to cause any possible bubbles to rise.

Pour evenly over the fish, or better still, dip it on with the spoon.
The plaster should be thick enough to barely flow for making a proper
cast.

The pectoral fins are simply laid flat to the side in making the cast.

Allow the cast to set hard before lifting it and removing the fish.
Trim off the overlapping edge so that no undercut remains.

The cleaned and poisoned skin should lay in damp cloth over one night
and is then laid in accurate place back in the cast. Pour it nearly full
of medium thick plaster of paris, carefully mixed free of bubbles.

Settle a board, cut to approximate body outline but much smaller, into
the unset plaster and press the flap edges of the skin back together
over the board, molding edge of back and belly to round back away from
trimmed edge of mold. This must be all done with accuracy before the
plaster sets, but you will find it gives enough time. Do not work in a
strung-up, nervous way.

When the plaster is set hard, remove fish from mold, hold it upon palm
of left hand and tack edges of skin to back-board. (For general details
of this method see Fig. 21).

[Illustration: Fig. 21.]

Screw the specimen to a piece of board and adjust fins, carding them
over little blocks and holding the cards with sharp toilet pins until
drying is completed.

See that the jaws set right. They should have gone into the mold in
proper relation to each other. Dig out the plaster in eye socket on show
side and set eye in a little fresh plaster.

A simple method of making a modelled mannikin for fish follows:

Have the freshly skinned body or sketches of same at hand. Cut a
soft-wood board core, making it some smaller than outline of carcass.

[Illustration: Fig. 22.]

Anchor into this two rigid supporting wires or rods as shown in Fig. 22.
Upon this board core wrap strongly and smoothly with thread or small
cord a quantity of