While the paper pulp is being prepared, melt some best Irish glue in the gluepot, and make it of the same thickness and general consistency as that used by cabinet-makers. Measure the different ingredients to be used, until the result teaches you what good papier-maché is like, and after that you can be guided by your judgment as you proceed. On taking the paper pulp from the water, give it a gentle squeeze, but by no means squeeze it as dry as you can. Now put it in a bowl, put over it about three tablespoonfuls of your hot glue, and stir the mass up into a soft and very sticky paste. Next add your plaster Paris, and mix it thoroughly. By the time you have used about three ounces of the plaster, the mass is so dry and thick you can hardly work it. Now add the remainder of your glue, work it up again until it becomes sticky once more, then add the remainder of your plaster. Squeeze it vigorously through your fingers to thoroughly mix the mass, and work it until it is free from lumps, is finely kneaded, and is sticky enough to stick fast to the surface of a planed board when you rub a bit on it by firm pressure of the finger. If it is too dry to stick fast, add a few drops of either glue or water, it makes little difference which, and work it up again. When the paper pulp is poor, and the maché is inclined to be lumpy, lay the mass upon a smooth board, take a hammer and pound it hard to grind it up fine.
PLATE IX.
[a]Manikin for Male American Bison.—Half Completed.]
If the papier-maché is not sticky enough to stick fast to whatever a bit of it is rubbed upon, it is a failure, and requires more glue. In using it the mass should be kept in a lump, and used as soon as possible after it is made. Keep the surface of the lump moist by means of a wet cloth laid over it, for if you do not, the surface will dry rapidly. If you wish to keep it over night, or longer, wrap it up in several thicknesses of wet cotton cloth, and put it under an inverted bowl. If it should by accident or delay become a trifle too stiff to work well, add a few drops of water to the mass, pound it with the hammer, and work it over again. If you wish to keep a lump for a week, to use daily, add a few drops of glycerine when you make it, so that it will dry more slowly.
The papier-maché made when the above formula was prepared had the following qualities: When tested by rubbing between the thumb and finger, it was sticky and covered the thumb with a thin coating. (Had it left the thumb clean, it would have been because it contained too much water.) When rubbed upon a pane of glass, it stuck tightly and dried hard in three hours, without cracking, and could only be removed with a knife. When spread in a layer, as thin as writing-paper, it dried in half an hour. A mass actually used dried hard enough to coat with wax in eighteen hours, and, without cracking, became as hard as wood; yet a similar quantity wrapped in a wet cloth and placed under an inverted bowl kept soft and fit for use for an entire week.
Such are the qualities of first-class papier-maché, and the manner of producing them all. I have dwelt at great length on this material because it is such an important and indispensable factor in general taxidermic work. It will pay any taxidermist to become an expert in making it and using it, and a little later, when we get to modeling intricate mouth parts, and making all sorts of restorations and repairs, we shall see what a valuable servant is papier-maché.
"Machéing" Mounted Mammals.—Surely it is unnecessary for me to devote much space to directing how to fill up with papier-maché the holes, seams, and cracks in a mounted mammal. Of course all cavities opened by shrinkage or accident must be filled up. Use a sharp-pointed knife, press the fine and soft maché deeply into every opening, make it catch underneath the skin, so that when dry it cannot flake off, or be knocked off; and smooth it on the outside to the level of the skin. Use the maché liberally, and it will be more certain always to remain as you leave it. Fill up rough seams until they are smooth, so that the hair can be glued on if necessary. Wherever dry clay shows, dig it out and replace with the other more durable material, which can be painted, whereas dry clay can not.
Putty.—In the days of my youth I was taught by my European teachers to use putty for all such work as that described above; but I very soon became disgusted with it, and years ago ceased to use it for any purpose whatever. It is greasy, inert, and yet purely temporary stuff. It never gets really hard unless used in a great mass, and when used in small quantities for fine work it is utterly worthless. Do not use it unless you are so situated that you are positively unable to make papier-maché—and I cannot imagine any such situation as being possible within the pale of civilization.
Painting on Papier-Maché.—Of course this material dries white, and must be painted. If paint is put directly upon it, the oil and color is absorbed at once, and it takes many coats to properly fill it up. To save time and give the best results, first give your papier-maché work two coats of shellac, which dries in a few minutes and fills up all the pores, so that your paint will stay as you put it on. Use oil colors, but put them on with turpentine to avoid the unnatural gloss that oil will give. In another chapter (XXVI.) will be found detailed hints in regard to painting mounted specimens.