Taxidermy and Zoological Collecting Part 16

The most important ingredient is the paper pulp. The finest pulp for papier-mache is that made by the ton in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, from mutilated paper currency, but not from tobacco stamps, which is coa.r.s.e and not fit for fine work. A hundred pounds of this pulp would cost, in Washington, about $1.50, and could be made into sheets of small bulk, and dried for use as needed. It is a great advantage to have it in this form. When needed for use, take a dry sheet or ball of the right size, dissolve and beat it up into a thin mush in a bowl of water, until the particles are all well separated, then pour it on a sieve to run the water out without losing the pulp. The water is then squeezed out of it by gentle pressure with the hand, but it should not, by any means, be squeezed as dry as possible, for the water is an important factor. Pulp prepared thus can be stirred up with glue into a perfectly h.o.m.ogeneous paste, free from all lumps, and so fine it can be pressed into the smallest crack.

If you have no manufactured pulp, then you must make it yourself. Procure a lot of old newspapers, of as soft paper as possible, tear them to bits, put the pieces in a kettle of boiling water and beat the ma.s.s in any way you please, boiling it meanwhile, until it becomes paper pulp. It should be free from lumps and small pieces of paper, or it will not work well.

The following are the ingredients necessary to make a lump of papier-mache a little larger than an ordinary base-ball, and weighing 17 ounces.

FINE PAPIER-MACHe.

{ dry paper, 1 ounce } Wet paper pulp, { } 4 ounces (avoirdupois).

{ water, 3 ounces } Dry plaster Paris, 8 ounces "

Hot glue, 1/2 gill, or 4-1/2 tablespoonfuls.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE IX. MANIKIN FOR MALE AMERICAN BISON.--HALF COMPLETED.]

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-mache 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 ma.s.s 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 ma.s.s 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 ma.s.s, 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 mache is inclined to be lumpy, lay the ma.s.s upon a smooth board, take a hammer and pound it hard to grind it up fine.

If the papier-mache 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 ma.s.s 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 overnight, 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 ma.s.s, 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-mache 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 gla.s.s, 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 ma.s.s actually used dried hard enough to coat with wax in eighteen hours, and, without cracking, became as hard as wood; yet a similar quant.i.ty 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-cla.s.s papier-mache, 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-mache.

"MACHeING" MOUNTED MAMMALS.--Surely it is unnecessary for me to devote much s.p.a.ce to directing how to fill up with papier-mache 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 mache 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 mache 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 ma.s.s, and when used in small quant.i.ties for fine work it is utterly worthless. Do not use it unless you are so situated that you are positively unable to make papier-mache--and I cannot imagine any such situation as being possible within the pale of civilization.

PAINTING ON PAPIER-MACHe.--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-mache work two coats of sh.e.l.lac, 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.

GLUING HAIR UPON MAMMALS.--It is very seldom that a dry skin is mounted without there being upon it some spot or spots dest.i.tute of hair, which must be repaired. Sometimes it is only a small spot, sometimes it is nearly the entire head, or an entire leg from which the epidermis has come loose, carrying the hair with it, and leaving an unsightly bare spot. It requires a good deal of ingenuity, much skill, and tireless patience to glue hair upon an animal so that it will so closely resemble the natural growth that no one will notice the difference. But in every case, except some of the seals and sea-lions, this can be accomplished, if it be necessary, although very often it requires good judgment and the hand of an artist to do it.

Each mammal has its own peculiarities in regard to the quality, thickness, length, and general set of its hair, all of which must be carefully studied. When the hair grows long and thickly, the task is much easier than if it be thin or short.

1st. Procure a pair of very small curve-pointed forceps, so fine they will hold a single hair if necessary. (Price, 75 cents.)

2d. Procure a pair of small and sharp scissors, with sharp points.

3d. Procure a bottle of common fish-glue, or royal glue.

4th. If possible, procure a piece of useless skin, from which to cut the hair necessary to use in making the repairs.

Very often it is impossible to procure any pieces of skin with hair suitable for the purpose, and then the only way is to cut hair from the specimen which is to be repaired, picking out with the forceps a tiny bunch here and there in such a way that the bunches cut out will not show. This can nearly always be done in making slight repairs upon thick-haired animals, such as bears, wolves, monkeys, etc. But with such short-haired animals as the tiger, zebra, and giraffe, the hair must be procured elsewhere. Use the hair of any animal to repair the coat of another, so long as it will answer perfectly, no matter what the genus or species may be. Use tow, or jute, painted or dyed the proper color, if it is sufficiently like the hair which will surround it.

In order to treat this subject intelligibly, we will undertake to separate all terrestrial mammals into three cla.s.ses, as follows:

1st. _Animals with very close, short hair; as the tiger, zebra, horse, and giraffe._

Upon such animals as the above, the hair lies almost flat upon the skin, completely covering it with a very smooth, glossy coat. To repair hair upon such animals, procure pieces of skin having hair of the requisite quality, and soak them in clear water until decomposition sets in, and the hair easily comes out _by the roots_. The hair must not be cut off, or it will not answer. Be sure that your fish-glue is good and strong, and about as thick as castor-oil. Clean the bare surface of the skin by sc.r.a.ping it with a knife to remove all dirt, and give the glue a chance to take hold. With your small forceps, pull from the pieces of half-macerated skin a small bunch of hair of the proper tint, and with a small camel's-hair brush apply a drop of glue to the roots of the hair. Begin at the side of the bare spot where the hair grows directly away from it, and lay down your little bunch of hairs so that their tips shall fairly cover the roots of those nearest the edge. Then press down the bunch of hair thus placed in position, work the hairs slightly apart, and make them lie quite flat upon the skin.

Follow up this process with untiring patience, and the result will be entirely satisfactory. I have seen large patches of hair glued upon a tiger so successfully that when finished the sharpest eye could not detect the repaired spots. But it was very slow work, requiring an hour's steady work to cover a spot of not quite two square inches.

2d. _Animals with thick, long hair; as most monkeys, bears, wolves, all the ruminants of cold climates, etc._

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE X. MANIKIN FOR AMERICAN BISON.--COMPLETED.]

In repairing the coats of such as the above, the necessary hair may be cut off in bunches, either from the animal itself, or from old pieces of skin, so long as the hair is of the proper length. Notice carefully the set of the hair, and imitate it very exactly. The glue may be applied quite plentifully to the roots of each bunch of hairs while you hold it in your forceps, and usually quite a large bunch may be set on at a time, and afterward spread out a little. In repairing the mountain sheep (_Ovis montana_) and p.r.o.ng-horn antelope (_Antilocapra americana_), the point of vital importance is to get every hair to set in precisely the right direction, so that the surface will be smooth. If the hair is put on carelessly, and without due observance of the above caution, upon the repaired spot it will stick stiffly out like the bristles of a shoe-brush, and the imperfection of the coat will be painfully apparent.

3d. _Animals with long hair growing very thinly; as upon certain portions of orang utans, chimpanzees, and all members of the hog family._

Upon the animals indicated above, it will be found that the hair grows in little bunches of three or four hairs in a bunch, but so thinly distributed that the skin shows through quite distinctly.

Furthermore, in such cases the hairs stand out from the skin, and their _roots_ are plainly visible. Successfully to repair such a skin is very slow, tedious work, and cannot be done by a man whose time is very valuable. A boy working for small wages is the best means to employ, but he must be watched closely.

Procure the hair necessary for making the repairs. Then with a sharp awl, or coa.r.s.e needle, p.r.i.c.k the skin full of holes to correspond in number and distribution with the arrangement of the tiny hair bunches upon the skin surrounding the spot. p.r.i.c.k the little holes rather deeply and slanting in the right direction. Then take a bunch of three or four hairs in your smallest forceps, dip the end in the fish-glue, and keeping the hairs well together, set the bunch into one of the little holes. See that the hairs stand out in the right direction, and proceed in this way until the bare spot is covered.

CHAPTER XIX.

MOUNTING MAMMAL HEADS AS TROPHIES AND ORNAMENTS.

Sportsmen, if you really must kill all the large mammalia from off the face of the earth, do at least preserve the heads that are brought low by your skill and prowess. Now that our elk, moose, deer, caribou, antelope, mountain sheep, and mountain goat are all disappearing so rapidly, and nearly all these species are doomed to speedy extermination, head collecting has become quite the fashion. There are in this country probably two score of taxidermists who live by heads alone; and many hunters who once lived by buffalo robes and beaver pelts now make a business of hunting for heads to sell. I know many such, and their scale of prices for heads, according to size and "points," shows that they have got the business "down fine."

And why should not heads be collected and made much of, as well as pelts and meat? A naturally handsome mammal head which has been skilfully mounted is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Wearied with the survey of inane and meaningless pictures, stiff portraits, cheap statuettes, and tawdry fancy decorations, the eye rests gladly and gratefully upon a fine head on a handsome shield, hanging in a good light, and blesses the hand that placed it there. Such an ornament calls forth endless admiration and query, even from those who know no other chase than that of the mighty dollar, and who, alas! have never found out by experience that

"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods."

And therefore I say, if you must go and kill things, save their heads and mount them as an atonement for your deeds of blood. They will give pleasure to you and your friends long after you have hung up your rifle forever. I have gathered numerous curiosities and works of art in foreign lands, but they do not excite one-half the admiration that is called forth by the series of really fine heads of buffalo, deer, mountain sheep, elk, antelope, and mountain goat of which I am the fortunate possessor.

Inasmuch as this chapter is intended chiefly for the benefit of sportsmen and amateur taxidermists, we must begin at the beginning, and treat the subject in somewhat full detail. We will consider that we have a deer as our subject.

Many a fine deer head is spoiled forever by being cut off too close behind the ears. With such animals as the lion, tiger, leopard, puma, and bear, a long neck is not desirable unless the head is to be mounted in a gla.s.s case, looking out of a thicket; and neither is it best for a buffalo head to have a long neck. It may be set down as a safe rule, however, that the heads of all deer, antelopes, sheep, goats, and the like, should have moderately long necks. Having experimented fully with necks of all lengths, I find that the most satisfactory to competent critics, and therefore the handsomest, are those which strike a happy medium, such as the antelope head shown in Plate XI. To secure this length, the head should be cut off well back toward the shoulders, so as to leave a little surplus to be trimmed off when the head is mounted.

_To Skin and Preserve a Deer Head_, proceed as follows:

1. Start at the back of the neck (on top) just in front of the shoulders, or "withers," keep the point of the knife under the skin, with the edge up, and divide the skin in a circle all the way around the neck, keeping down to the point where the neck sets on the shoulders. You need not cut through the flesh and bone of the neck at that point.

2. Never slit the skin open along the under side of the throat. Cut it open in a straight line along the back of the neck, all the way along, up to a point midway between the ears. From that point run two cuts like the arms of a Y, one to the base of each antler or horn, as seen in Fig. 7. Run the point of the knife close around the base of each antler, and cut through the skin all the way.

3. Begin at the back of the neck, and skin downward on each side until the entire neck is free. As you proceed you will presently come to the ear, which stands up like a tree-trunk covered with bark. Cut the ear off close to the skull, leave it for the present just as it is, and go right on down toward the cheeks and throat, as far as you can go.

4. Begin next at the angle of the =Y=, on the top of the head, and skin down between the antlers and over the forehead until you reach the eye. Now proceed carefully. In many ruminants there is a deep cavity in the bone directly in front of the anterior corner of the eye, called an "eye-pit."

The skin lines this eye-pit quite down to the bottom. Do not cut through the skin, but get down to the very bottom of the eye-pit, and detach the skin from the bone.

5. Be careful not to cut the corners of the eye, or the edge of the eyelid.

Keep close to the bony orbit, and insert the end of one finger in the eye from the outside, to cut against when you sever the thin membrane that surrounds the eyeball.