144r - - - - - Turtles
Turtles are much more beautiful and easier to mould than tortoises, being that they are flatter and have a longer head and tail, and straighter legs and release better than tortoises, who are scraggly, wrinkled, and deeply entrenched in their shells. They tortoises also have a rounder top shell which is however narrower on the sides than in the middle, which means that the top shell cannot be nicely molded in one go, like those top shells of turtles. Thus you will mould the top shell into two pieces, and the lower shell into two, three, or four pieces according to their appropriateness. If you want to release your turtle from the mold without burning it, you must mold it in several pieces. But if you want to burn what is inside, you can mold your top shell in one piece. So to get started, once you have completely killed it in vinegar and urine, as we know, leave it to fully dry out. And clean it well with a cloth. Then take your clay base place it on it, and scrape the base a bit so that the undershell fixes in. Having nevertheless previously arranged the head with a strong needle, as you do with other animals, holding it high by means of a bit of fresh clay that you will work with from beneath. Stretch the aforesaid head and legs with your little pincers. Once the head is in place, dextrously put a grain of yellow millet into each eye with the pincers, because as soon as they die, the eyes pop out and rot. You can do the same for any other animal with a large amaranth seed, a small one, or a grain of rapeseed. This done, you will arrange the legs, securing them with little iron needles. And then plug with clay the holes all the empty spaces around the turtle, that is to say, what is in between the two shells, so that the sand does not hinder the releasing of it. And because the legs must be lower than the bottom shell, make a little dimple in your clay base to accommodate them. Your turtle
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When they are the well tender and mortifiees & left aside, in two or three days you will be able to bend and manipulate them better.
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animal eyes of my own invention
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