To give a tenth of the phases of the studies which can be worked out would fill pages of this book; suffice it to say that nature, being the guide in this, must be rigidly adhered to. There is, of course, no need to copy any accidental awkwardness; but don't invent too much, as the greatest charm of all is taking Nature as your guide. At the back of these groups may be placed the eggs, and birds of the same species in change of plumage or winter dress, thus making the life history complete. For museums, and similar educational institutions, the food and the skeleton should be exhibited, with explanatory label attached.
Reptiles and fishes are most unsatisfactory things to treat artistically. When set up and dried they shrivel, and are seldom modelled nicely. (To counteract such shrivelling, see Chapter XII.) I have almost made up my mind that, taking into consideration the stiffness of outline usually present in mounting by the ordinary methods, all fish should be cast in plaster or paper, although even then stiffness may be present unless the fish is posed properly. Fish lying in a mass on a bank, or in a dish, as were some at the "Fisheries," look the most natural and easy.
One plan, new to me, however, was adopted in such subjects as large pike, etc.., which were cast, coloured, and placed in a long basket upon straw, the whole covered with glass. This method is especially nice for the hall table as a souvenir of piscatorial success. I was rather disappointed in the colouring of these casts. Many of the artists had entirely missed the subtle colours of the pike, trout, and other fish — one salmon only, and one dishful of grayling, magnificently managed, excepted. [Footnote: One of the very best books I know to help teach the colouring of fish is "British Freshwater Fishes," by the Rev. W. Houghton, M.A. Two vols., quarto, each fish beautifully drawn and coloured.]
Perhaps, the best treatment of fish, when modelled in plaster, was exhibited in the Indian section; here the tints of the fish were beautifully managed, the skins appeared wet, but not varnished, and all the colours were nicely blended in. As for the stuffed fish, their name was legion, and they were there in all degrees of merit. One thing, however, struck me with painful surprise; among the thousands of freshwater fish I saw mounted by taxidermy, not one was without those ridiculous little spears (cut from large rushes, or from paper) growing from the bottom of the case, each one, or each bunch of them, erect as possible, and almost always arranged at equal distances apart, with maddening precision.
Some of the sea-fish admitted of more elastic treatment, and I saw one very good exhibit of these. The artist had, however, rather detracted from their undeniably good treatment by modelling small stones. These were so natural as to require a label explaining this; but I would remind all workers in taxidermy that there is no useful end gained by modelling small stones; a great amount of labour is wasted, and the intention of modelling — which is to replace the great weight of large stones by extraordinary lightness — is completely overlooked.
"SCREENS." — The ordinary screen intended for use is made of two sheets of thick plate-glass, between which are pressed ferns, butterflies, etc.., the whole set in an oak or other wood frame, with castors.
Those intended for ornament are more lightly made. Thus: A square frame, about 30 in. by 24 in. by 4.5 in. deep, is made in thin fancy wood, or in pine veneered; no front nor back is fitted, merely a groove ploughed all around, with "beads," to receive and to retain the glass, on each face. This frame is then fixed by screws, with buttons fitting over the screw holes, between two turned and carved uprights (like small bedstead posts), supported by carved feet on castors; a handle of carved wood is fixed on top of the box, which completes the joiner's work. The inside of the frame is papered and coloured; the birds — usually brightly-coloured foreign birds, or humming birds and butterflies — are inserted, properly mounted on light twigs, etc.., and the glass beaded in, to complete all.
One very nice "screen" was exhibited at the "Fisheries," almost a reproduction of the woodcut illustrating the outside of Science Gossip, with the addition of a hawk striking the kingfisher. There were also two large and capital trophies, called "The Rod". and "The Gun," remarkably cheap, mounted as screens in framed bamboo. The first represented a string of large fresh-water fish depending from a branch of a tree, a creel, a rod, a landing-net, and other angling gear. "The Gun" showed a fine bittern and heron, and, I think, some other birds, also depending from a branch, with a gun and some old-fashioned tools (powder-flask, etc..) included.
"Screens" filled with corals and sponges (Euplectellae, etc..) would be very handsome and useful. I am not sure whether I have seen any managed in this manner.
Very handsome "screens" for the mantelpiece may be made up from owls, hawks, seagulls, and a variety of other birds. The birds being skinned out through an opening in the back, the wings and tail are cut off and spread out on a board, with fine needle points driven through their webs until the pair of wings — the butts or shoulders placed inward — assume the shape of a long oval; the tail is fully spread by the same means, and wings and tail are "wrapped" with cotton and left to dry. The head and breast are stuffed independently of these and sewn up.