SHIELDS. — Heads of mammals, etc.., when set up and finished, should be mounted on "shields" of fancy wood; oak or mahogany being the best, unless ebonized and gilded pine is preferred. The shapes are usually a modification of the conventional "heart," such as will be found in a pack of cards. This being purely a matter of individual taste, the taxidermist may easily make as many patterns as he chooses by doubling a piece of brown or stiff paper and cutting his shapes out therefrom. One of these paper patterns may be traced around upon a piece of planed wood of the suitable size, and cut out by a "bow "-saw, the edges trimmed and bevelled, and the surface finally polished. A key-hole (protected by metal screwed across in the instances of large or weighty heads), is bored or cut, by which to hang it up, and the neck-block of the specimen is screwed thereto by three screws of sufficient length placed in the form of a triangle. Horns alone are attached to shields by screws running through the frontal bone, or, if without this, are attached - to a model of the frontal bone in wood, by nuts and screws.
CABINETS FOR EGGS AND SKINS. — I have lately seen many cabinets for eggs, skins, etc.., constructed on a capital system, the invention, I believe, of Mr. Salvin, the eminent ornithologist. The drawers are made of varying depths, from 1 in. to 6 in., and the bottoms are fitted with tongues overlapping each side, which fit into grooves cut in the carcase of the cabinet, and so arranged by a little calculation that a shallow drawer can immediately be inserted in the place previously occupied by a deep one, or vice versa — i.e., a deep 6 in. drawer, which may be No. 30, at the bottom, can be pushed upwards at any intermediate point between that and No. 1.
The modus operandi is as follows: Whatever the depth decided on of the drawers, the carcase is grooved all the way down to half the depth of the shallowest drawer, if in even inches, or to a multiple of each drawer if otherwise. Example: Take a foot rule and mark off 10 in on a piece of paper, dividing it into alternate half inches making, of course, twenty half inches; this represents the carcase. Then take some strips of paper or cardboard, which cut to 1 in., 1.5 in., 2 in., 2.5 in. and 3 in. respectively, total 10 in. These represent the drawers; putting them in their order, they will, of course, fit in the 10 in. Now change them about, top to bottom, or bottom in the middle, or in any way that you like, and you will find that they will always fall in a groove, leaving room for the others, when pushed down, without any open space between.
The same method is adopted in the cabinets under the invertebrate show cases in the Liverpool Museum, which I recently visited under the able guidance of the clever and genial curator, Mr. Moore, so well known, together with his family, in connection with many unique and beautiful osteological preparations.
CASING UP WITH ROCKWORK, ETC. — Brown paper was formerly the pièce de rèsistance of those who aspired to imitate rocks on which to place or to surround their animals. It was used by being first soaked in water and drawn over pieces of wood, boxes, or large cinders even, to give shape. It was then glued, and small stones and sand thrown on. Usually uncoloured, it revealed itself in its naked ugliness, and looked what it was — paper. Later, it was more artistically arranged, and when divested of folds by the application of more paper, plenty of glue, and well coloured, it certainly looked decent. Then came peat, a glorious innovation for quick, if not artistic, work. This dried earth, dug from bogs, admits of being carved and shaped to almost any form. Sandstone and some other rocks may be represented by it, as also trunks of trees. Well glued and sanded, it takes colour readily, or it may be gone over with a mixture of whiting and plaster of Paris with glue-water, and finally coloured; or dry plaster may be mixed with thick oil paint as a "priming" medium.
"Virgin" cork is the latest rockwork model. Its shape being irregular, it is well suited to imitate craggy rocks, added to which it takes thick colour or whiting well, glued or unglued.
Nothing, however, beats a mixture of all methods — paper, peat, and cork, their lines broken up or blended with wadding. The whole of this, well glued, sanded, and properly coloured, will defy the most critical unprofessional judgment to declare it anything but what it seems — hard rock.
I am speaking, of course, of small cases; large work requires consideration. Peat will not do for anything but the illustration of small subjects. It is too heavy, and does not readily adapt itself to imitate large masses of overhanging rock; added to which, its expense in large quantities is very great. It is also dirty to work with, and is often a harbour for larvae of various moths — inimical to the taxidermist. I so recognised all these facts in the treatment of the rockwork in the Leicester Museum, that I determined to use paper only, treating it by an old method, artistically elaborated.
This method was, after making a rough drawing and calculation as to the positions the specimens would occupy in the case, to nail strips of "quartering" across the backs of the cases, to which again were nailed strips of 0.75 in. wood, crossing in all directions, but especially where the drawings indicated a mass of rock. On these, and to these, small shelves of wood were nailed in the positions to be subsequently occupied by the specimens. To these shelves cardboard was tacked, and bent upward and downward to the pointed or square shapes assumed by the rocks modelled from. [Footnote: It is quite necessary in artistic modelling not only to have coloured drawings of the rocks you are imitating, but to have an actual piece by you as a little guide to form and colour.] Where the edges were too sharp they were beaten in by a mallet, or altered by glueing on wadding.
The mass of rock being joined here and there to break up the appearance of shelves, and to give a certain homogeneity, was then treated by having brown paper well glued on both sides, stuck all over the edges, joins, or accidental fissures; this, suffered to dry, was then well painted with a mixture of whiting and glue-water, again allowed to dry, and again painted. When this last was dry it was gone over with a thin wash of glue-water, and sharp "silver" sand thrown on; when dry, coloured by staining it with various oil colours (not tube), and some few powder colours — blue-black, yellow ochre, Vandyke brown, celestial blue (cheap), burnt sienna, etc.., thinned with turps, afterwards touched up, when dry, with touches of tube colours, smartly and cleanly put on. This would be the treatment and colouring for greyish-brown or yellowish-grey smooth, dry-looking rocks, sandstones, etc..; and by a little alteration of tint and treatment in places, would imitate the various slates.