54 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Having disposed of stains, notice where there are 

 any wounds in the skin, for future guidance : one is 

 very likely to increase a rent if it is unexpectedly 

 come upon. Then take the bird by the beak, and 

 smooth down the feathers with the free hand ; 

 placing the bird carefully on its back when every 

 thing is in place. 



The next step is to prepare the way for skinning 

 the limbs. Taking the leg by the "knee," where 

 the bare shank meets the feathers, and by the bone 

 just above the joint, the leg is snapped — taking care 

 that the pointed ends of the bone do not injure the 

 skin — just within the commencement of the feathered 

 portion. The same is done with the wings, and the 

 ruffled feathers are replaced. 



If the thick feathers covering the breast are now 

 separated, a broad bare space will be found running 

 the whole length of the body. Along this line an 

 incision is made with the penknife, from the pro- 

 jecting end of the breastbone to the arms ; then 

 keeping the feathers as much as possible from the 

 edges of the cut, though, if carefully made, there is 

 not the least bleeding from the breast, and the 

 special covering of the intestines is not cut through. 

 The skin is separated with the back of the knife 

 from the sides as far as possible, without lengthening 

 the incision. Then carefully working down by the 

 side of the abdomen, the legs are reached ; the skin 

 is turned back till the broken bone is found, and the 

 muscles cut through ; freeing the skin of the leg, 

 and leaving only the broken bone end in the pocket 

 formed by the removal of the "drumstick." The 

 other leg is treated in the same way. 



The connection of the arms with the abdomen must 

 next be severed, and the skin turned back to the tail : 

 the attachment of the spine to the tail severed, and 

 then the skin of the back is carefully — for owing to 

 the thinness of the covering here, the slightest stretcli 

 will make a woful gap in the feathers — reflected till 

 the wings are reached. These are treated in the same 

 manner as the legs, and then the skin is entirely 

 removed from the body, leaving only the head and 

 neck to be completed. The neck is cut through at 

 its junction with the chest, as it and the head are 

 treated separately. 



So far this sounds like a very lengthy proceeding, 

 but, in practice, the skinning of the whole body of, 

 say a thrush, does not occupy more than five minutes, 

 an.l there should not be more than the very slightest 

 soiling of the fingers, if any, and none whatever of 

 the feathers. Do not throw the body away, as it will 

 be useful in finishing. 



We now come to the head, which is the hardest 

 part of the whole operation, since any stretching here, 

 beyond what is unavoidable, must be very carefully 

 guarded against. And, in mentioning this, it is 

 well to remember that the skin should be supported 

 during the whole process as much as possible, being 

 allowed to rest on the tables, or on the knee, which, 



for myself, I prefer, as the weight of the feathers alone 

 is enough to cause an awkward stretch in the thin 

 backskin. 



The head is cleaned by turning it backwards 

 through the skin of the neck in most birds. Some of 

 the waterfowl though must have a special slit made 

 below the beak, to allow the skull to be turned 

 through, but they are very few, and it is only a 

 modification of the usual process. 



Taking hold of the end of the neck, where it was 

 severed from the body, the skin is gradually turned 

 back till the skull is reached. The head is then 

 steadied by grasping the back from the outside, and 

 the skin gently pushed back over the smooth cranium 

 till the eyes are reached. Then, grasping the exposed 

 skull, the eyelids are detached from the orbit, and the 

 skin turned forward to the commencement of the 

 beak. 



This leaves the head ready for cleaning, which is 

 generally found the hardest part of the finishing 

 process. I find that the best and quickest way, and 

 one which answers exceedingly well, is to insert the 

 point of the knife into the base of the skull as far 

 forward as possible between the two halves of the 

 lower mandible, passing it up to the roof of the 

 skull, and then by cutting backwards along the sides 

 of the lower mandibles to the back of the skull, 

 removing the tongue and the whole attachment of 

 the neck and its organs with about one-third of the 

 skull, allowing the contents to be removed entirely. 

 When the eyes are next removed, the anterior two- 

 thirds only of the skull remain attached to the beak, 

 and the whole is perfectly cleaned. 



The skin is now ready for making up. Of course 

 some preservative composition is a desideratum ; and 

 the best is the time-honoured arsenical soap. That 

 which I have used, and which answers perfectly, is 

 made of one ounce of white arsenic to four ounces of 

 yellow soap. The soap is first shredded into a pot ; 

 and melted by being stood in hot water ; and the 

 arsenic stirred in gradually, then allowed to cool ; 

 covered, and a poison label affixed. But in case 

 there are nothing but the ordinary household stores 

 available, skins will keep very well, and for an 

 indefinite time if the moth be kept from them, by 

 curing with equal parts of alum and salt. This is 

 rubbed into the skin extended on a board, and 

 allowed to dry ; after which the superfluous crystals 

 are brushed away. This however has disadvantages, 

 owing to the hard coating given to the skin, but for 

 curing skins not meant for further stuffing than 

 sufficient to retain their form, is quite satisfactory. 



We now come to the final making up ; and here 

 the materials required are again simple ; the preser- 

 vative, tow, a needle and cotton, stout thread, and 

 the scissors. The first step is to examine the skin, 

 and remove any superfluous fat which may have been 

 left attached ; and to see that no portions of muscle 

 remain on the broken ends of the limb bones ; in 



