The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-04-28
Of R|)OSENLTS
IN SOUTH AFRICA
Old Method of Stuffine
Hides Mounted on
Wire Frames
Discarded.

IN the case of many of the Roosevelt
specimens, there are no living coun-
terparts in this country. The taxider.
mists in such instances make q study
of the nearest relative of the animal
that they can find. From the large
clay models are made plaster casts.
These casts are permanent work and
are as carefully finished as the prod
net of sculptor
| When plaster cast is ready to re-
ceive the skin the latter has to be
soaked and made thoroughly pliable
1t is then given a coat of arsenical
soap on the inside. This is for the
purpose of making it proof against
moths. A sufficient amount of the
poison permeates through to the roots
of the hair, so that moth never
takes more than one bite and usually
does not get that far. The fitting of
the skins is the supreme test of the
success or failure Of the model max
ing. The hides are not only sewed on,
but are pasted. so that they will ad-
here snugly to the hollows of the cast
as well as to the protuberances.
Fitting of Legs a Delicate Task.
Perhaps the most ingenious part of
the work is the fitting of the legs.
The plaster casts of legs are made
separately from the body. In the skins
the legs have not been detached The
first operation is to mount the legs of
the animal. In doing this the mods
Slid intn tho cl-ins in, hn
manner that man puts on gloves.
At the upper end of each leg is a de-
vice for locking it to the body. This
is nothing more nor less than an adap-
tation of the old fashioned method of
fastening skates to the heel of a shoe
Almost any one of the grownup boys
will remember how he used to put
plates in the heels of his winter shoes
in order to receive the little knob
which came on the heels of the skate
and how. after walking to the skating
pond, he would have to sit down and
dig the snow out of the holes. When
the skin of the animal has been
stretched over the plaster body the
legs are made fast by inserting the
iitIlC MINUS lLlO NbS pIilCo IohNhllIh7
the holes and then giving them a half
turn. So accurately are these joints
made that the legs are held as firmly
in place as If they We're actually
part of the main cast Only by this
method can the cutting of the skins
to separate the legs from the body be
avoided
Eyes Bought or Made.
The last operation is the inserting of
the eyes. Some of the eyes are pur-
chased in the market by the Smith
sonian institution and others are paint
ed by its own experts. The latter are
the best, although it is possible to buy
satisfactory grade of artificial eyes
from almost any manufacturer. The
beauty of the hand painted eye is that
1t has a more lifelike expression and
has the peculiar qualities of always ap-
pearing to be directed at the observer
There is whole drawer full of glass
eyes in the taxidermy shop, but in
nearly all the important specimens a
pair of eyes is specially prepared to fit
the subject.
The Smithsonian taXidermists are
now working on several important
groups. The largest contains five lions
and will be an elaborate production
The miniature model represents the
bed of dried up stream. In the cen
ter of it is a small water hole, which
has been dug by zebras, whose tracks
may be seen in the soil
An Impressive Group.
A family of lions has driven away
the zebras and taken possession of the
water holes. The head of the family.
a large, fine specimen. is standing on
little rise Of ground just above the
bed OF the stream. One of the lioneSs-
es is lying down; the other is crouch
ing and tapping up the water Two
cubs are at play, after the fashion of
kittens.
The lionesses and cubs are already
mounted for this group, and the taxi
dermists are now completing the plas-
ter cast that will receive the skin of
the lion, This skin hangs in a cabinet
on one side of the room. 1t has a
heavy bushy name, yet not so large a
name as is often seen on animals in
captivity. AS one of the Smithsonian
workmen explained. this is usually the
case, A wild lion travelling through
heavy jungle and underground gets his
hair combed so continually that he
loses a part of the natural growth.
Lions in cages accumulate better heads
Of hair because there is nothing to
wear it off
The zebra. which is now being mount
ed, is a magnificent specimen of the
male and will be one of the most
snowy of the Roosevelt collection. 1t
will be shown with the head extended
toward the ground as If grazing. The
largest specimen of all is a full grown
African buffalo. which is now com
plete. The buffalo is shown standing
with head' thrown up as If in the act
Of defying his foes. Just at present a
piece OF burlap is wrapped around the
lower part OF the head This is to
catch his eyes In case they should hap