APPENDIX. 281 



tow or cotton. Force a wrapped wire into the tail, if skinned, to 

 hold it in place. Leave the skin a few hours, flattened to bring the 

 inner surfaces together, to absorb the mixture. Finally, distend the 

 skin, without stretching it, into its natural shape, as nearly as pos- 

 sible, with any dried vegetable substance. 



Birds. Take the girth of the body over the wings with a slip of 

 paper, pinning it in the form of a ring, and slide it oil over the tail. 

 Begin the incision with the lower third of the breast-bone. Cut olf 

 the legs at the knee-joint, and the wings at the dhow-joint. Skin 

 over the head to the bill, pulling out the ears and enlarging the 

 orifice to take out the brain by cutting forward into the roof of t he- 

 mouth. In all other respects proceed as with Mammals, with such 

 slight modifications as will naturally suggest themselves. Most web- 

 footed birds have the head too large to force the skin over. For 

 these, skin the neck as far as possible, amputate, and after the skin 

 is poisoned and turned back, an incision must be made on the top 

 of the head or under the throat, by which the head may be skinned 

 in the usual way. Then poison, turn back, and carefully sew up the 

 incision. Great care must be taken to work the poison around the 

 roots of the tail and the wrist-bones of the wings, opening orifices 

 on the inside with the blade of the knife, and inserting a pinch of 

 the powder. In the case of very long wings, after turning the skin 

 back, cut a slit along the under-side of the arm and remove the 

 muscles. Stuff cotton loosely into the neck and body and around 

 the bones of the legs. Tie the bones of the wings in their natural 

 position. Sew up the slit, and after a careful arrangement of any 

 displaced feathers, place the bird in the paper ring, and label. Upon 

 the label should be written the scientific and the local name; the 

 length in inches, from tip of beak to tip of tail, the bird lying on 

 its back with neck not stretched ; length of wing from carpal joint 

 to tip of longest quill; and of tail from insertion to end; the sex ; 

 kind of food found in the stomach ; locality ; date ; and the name 

 of the collector. To remove blood, wash freely with warm wafer 

 and dry immediately by dusting on finely powdered plaster of Paris 

 or chalk; also sprinkle on the chalk or plaster if fat annoys while 

 skinning. Oily stains may be removed from feathers by a solution 

 of potash or soda (half a teaspoonful to a cup of water), and wash 

 ing immediately after with pure water and drying with plaster. If 

 the feathers to be cleansed are colored, ox or sheep's gall, diluted 

 one half with water, should be used instead of the potash or soda. 

 Single feathers, permanently bent, may be at once restored to their 



