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Moulding turtles

The water turtle is more beautiful to mold
because it has prettier scales & straight legs. And those of the
garrigue have crooked ones. They are long
living, getting ready to kill them, open their mouth & pass a long
penknife through all the intestines, & then make it swallow
some vinegar mixed with eau-de-vie or urine, as for
snakes. One needs to mold them in several pieces, & the
back itself sometimes, because the sides for some are more narrow than
elsewhere & are not released on this occasion. To make them die, one
ought not boil them, for they come apart & even the shell, from the
hot water. They come out better hollow, because their great
thickness corrupts the mold. Those from
water are more vigorous. Those from
garrigue are thinner, slower, & more
sleepy. If you scratch those of the water on their
shells, however sleepy they are, they move. Those from
garrigue do not.

They die rather quickly in
vinegar mixed with a little eau-de-vie or urine, as
with all other animals.

They keep themselves, in the
winter, with their eyes closed & are as dead, being
numbed by the cold. They hide in the earth or
under chaff or warm manure, & live
only on the moisture of the earth.



@One ought not to mold them as soon they die because they are still too
stiff. But on the next day, you will manipulate them &
fold their legs as you wish.


Molders from Foix

Those who mould de travers make their sand with
crocum & calcined slate, but slate
always retains its asperity & becomes porous, because it is a fat.
In the noyau, it is not good, in sand, it can be accomodated.
They sieve their sand, grind it on porphyry,
and wet it in water, & they take away the finest, which is on
top, then reheat it.


Toad

Once molded, it can be removed without burning it, because it
releases well. Choose the biggest & the lumpiest. Because they
contain a lot of metal, it is best to mold them hollow, for they
come out better. You could make your cast in one piece & large, but
it s would be awkward to cut. It is best to do it in
three or 4 parts, which are a little wide close to the animal, &
include the most of the edge of this, which is close to the gate, that
can be done. Make also some gate conduits from the end of 



Let the mold cool before opening it, especially for thick
things.

