Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-30
TAXIDERMY FINE
ART TO THOSE WHO
WORK WITH SKILL
Rowland Ward Tells How
He Clio sely Observed
Habits of Animals to Aid
Him in His Studies.

Rowland Ward, whose death AZ his bo,..
at Roscombe, England, occurred recently,
raised taxldermy to the level Of n Az
art, This result he achieved not sinnlv
by examining the carcesses of animals
or what remained of them, but bv oh
serving Sc yl,s,., closely the behavior and habit,
He has described in great detail in tbo
Sportsman's Handbook, the Setting lin"
of tiger, after procuring a perfect skin
in good condition. The design ls oh.
tanned by selecting the simplest action ~
the creature-r1amely, the stealthy wall,
through grassy jungle. when his
peculiar expression Is that of constant
caution. A complete light framewor<
has then to be made, over which a air
face of modelling clay has to be worited
The ribs and prominent muscles of Ina
trunk, the muscular development of ths
shoulders and launches, must all he
carefully modelled on
When the model is ready to receive tbs
natural features of the animal the ewes
are first carefully adjusted in a natural
manner and the claws next inserted in
position. The skin, however, undergoes a
special preparation, is then placed on the
framework, the head being first manipu-
lated, and particular attention paid 10
adjusting the lips. eyelids and ears so
that the required expression may be
secured.
The tongue Is modelled in paper. coated
and plated with glue and tinted. The
lips, eyes and nose are also tinted, the
pigment used being the finest tube oil
color The whiskers which may have
come away from the skin are carefully
replaced, and, If missing, imitation ones
are made from seal whlskers.
A golden rule is never to cut the skin
In cases where the skeleton is preserved
and is available, much Of the work may
be saved by utilizing the bones.
In setting UP birds, the symmetry and
natural pose of the specimen (Mr. Ward
wrote) should be a matter of most care
full study, and no amount of technical
skill or of imaginative power will in the
least compensate for the want Of knowl-
edge of nature.
To have seen the bird alive In its nat
ural habitat, and to be able 10 reproduce
its natural appearance, Is an inestimable
advantage. We cannot all command that
but we may rely on the information COM
municated by others who have enjoyed
such opportunities.
My father. when travelling with Au-
dubon the American naturalist), acoumu-
lated an extremely valuable store of such
lntOrfnatlOfl, Tor 1t WaS the IDVarldDie
practice of that great naturalist, directly
a specimen was secured and before any
treatment to have a sketch made of It In
the carefully observed natural position Of
life with record of all colors and con-
tiguous or surrounding, natural features.
with regard to the preservation of
specimens, Mr.. Ward gave in the same
book a conspicuous example of the ad-
vantages in the process of brine picking
which was afforded by the great elephant
trophy that was brought from South
Africa by the late Duke of Edinburgh.
In this case the entire skin OF the
mighty beast was preserved, the animal
being undoubtedly one of the finest ex-
amples of the African species ever
brought to this country. The weight OF
the whole skin when taken from the brine
was 20O7 pounds, and the weight of the
entire elephant in the flesh, SSo4 pounds.
On the field the skin, having been duly
prepared. was carefully folded and then
rolled as lightly as possible round the
head and tied at both ends of the bale.
In this condition it was placed in great
barrel, which was completely filled with
liquor and properly coopered for transmits
sion to this country.