occupied in any natural way. Family groups showing the male
and female, adults and young, in the home surroundings are always good.

The seasonal groups of Spring, Autumn, Summer and Winter have been
produced by most bird taxidermists at some time. Appropriate varieties
of small birds are the blue birds for Spring; gold finches, Autumn;
yellow birds or tanagers, Summer; snow birds, Winter. Framed with
painted backgrounds and suitable accessories their shallow wall cases
may be hung like pictures.

Never make the mistake of grouping animals that would never meet in
natural circumstances or furnish them with incongruous surroundings.

[Illustration: SQUIRRELS--GREY, RED, FLYING, GROUND (CHIP MUNK)]

The arrangement of groups for the exhibition cases of museums is very
exacting as they are made open to the view on all sides. In order to
judge of the affect such groups are modelled in miniature clay figures
which are changed and re-arranged until satisfactory before the mounting
is begun.

Such work is rather out of our province but an intelligent arrangement
of two or more figures can be made to convey many more ideas than a
single one would suggest.

Some of the most striking groups are those of the larger carnivora in
combat, but they hardly possess the real value of painstaking life
studies of some of our more familiar kindred of the wild.

CHAPTER XXVII.

ANIMAL ANATOMY.

A knowledge of this subject coupled with the necessary mechanical
ability will enable their possessor to take place in the front ranks of
taxidermists. Even if we have but little opportunity to study the
anatomy of some of the rarer varieties of animal forms we can inform
ourselves of certain typical features possessed in common by other more
common members of the same great family or species.

Press and camera supplies us with much reliable information on the
subject. Books on natural history, travels and sports were never so
complete, interesting, and withal, so easy of access as they are
nowadays.

A great help to the naturalist is a collection of pictures such as
appear from time to time in periodicals. Back numbers of magazines on
outdoor life and sports will contribute quantities of these, most of
them reproduced from photographs and in a short time a large collection
of such can be made. Packing these in the pockets of a letter file will
keep them together, and at the same time make it possible to withdraw
any one or more