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bit qua so that t you can
take it out if you need to. And take heed that it is necessary that
these points be of the most delicate iron wire possible
to bear the size of the animals. For, the more delicate it is, the
smaller the hole that it leaves appears. However, one needs some of
different thicknesses, because ilde the points which are put in the body
& in thicker places, like under the throat, ought to be longer &
stronger than the ones of the legs & thin parts, where the
needles ought to be subtle & delicate, almost like the
biggest strings of spinets. And it is better that they
be of iron wire, which is firmer than the one of latten.
And if the end of the tail, or the end of a nail or a leg ought to be
joined to the body, do not put the point there, not to corrupt
it. But place a piece of wax, as big as a grain of
millet, between the body & cequi the end of the tail, then with a bit of
flattened & hot iron wire, touch this wax & join
by lightly pressing. Thus having placed your animal on the
tourtelle shaped like a mandore, place all around a
circle of the same

earth, in this way

 & join everything well together in a circle, then, with a
big knife, with which you have cut your tourtelle to
the right size, pare the outside which exceeds it, & place there a
piece to close it as you see in b. Then, with a small curved
instrument, mark on the inside of the circle the thickness you want
to give to the mold, which will be for a common snake
as thick as two poulces, so that when you
throw in your wet sand, you will see when it is thick enough. All of
this scrupulously arranged, moisten well everywhere with good eau
de vye with a pinceau the body of the animal
which is uncovered. For this the secret de la plus
kept well hidden, because everything that is v
touched by eau de vye will undoubtedly come out very
neatly & without bubbles any small eyes or holes
that we call bubbles, which usually come not at the back & in the
thick sides of the mold, but on the edges. And as soon as you
have thusly moistened everything with eau de vye, throw
in your wet sand without letting the eau de vye dry,
which evaporates promptly. And wet it thusly.



and make sure that the point is long according to the height
you want the head, and that it be pointed on both ends. Once placed
thusly, plant your snake on the slab of earth, &
arrange the head first and then the rest.



Eau de vye in three goes.





If after you have placed you animal on your claytourtelle, you are distracted with other occupations, rub your
animal with eau de vye & under the belly so that it
does not dry & attach itself to the earth



If, when you pierce your animal, it renders water from the bottom
of the side of the belly, on the slab of earth, clean it well
with cotton for the sand that would touch it would be lumpy. If
it is on top of the animal, clean it very scrupulously and touch it
&moisten well with eau de vye.




Wetting sand and molding the first cast

Take a bowl of leadedearth of such size that
it can hold the wet sand, which will be needed de to
fill your mold in one go, which is mei
better than in two gos, because if you do not throw the second wet batch
very promptly, there is a risk that while you are preparing it, the
first one will set & become solid,

