354 The Book of Woodcraft 



plaster of paris and benzine will also be required if the 

 specimen is soiled with grease. 



The hardest birds to begin on are the very large ones, 

 and the next hardest, perhaps, are the very small ones. 

 The easiest birds are those about the size of a robin or 

 bluejay (leaving out the woodpeckers). 



Supposing the specimen to be skinned is a robin: 



First put a little plug of cotton wool in its throat and 

 mouth, also into any wounds the bird may have, to stanch 

 the flow of blood, etc. This should be done the moment 

 the bird comes into your possession. 



Now lay the bird on its back, tail toward your right 

 hand, part the feathers, and make a sHt from near the end 

 of the breast-bone into the vent (S.V. Fig. i p. 356), taking 

 care to cut only the skin, not the walls of the abdomen. 

 Separate the skin from the flesh by pushing it with the 

 finger nail or knife-blade. As soon as the flesh is exposed, 

 put a pinch of meal on it to keep the feathers from sticking, 

 and also to soak up oil, blood, etc. Some use plaster for 

 this; but plaster is disagreeable under the finger nails, it 

 takes the gloss off the feathers, and if the specimen happens 

 to be a game-bird it injures the meat for the table. The 

 plaster is better however for white, fluffy birds, as meal 

 or sawdust lodges in the down. 



Push the skin from the body till the leg is reached. 

 Work the leg out of the skin till the knee-joint is clear 

 on the inside of the skin; (H L, Fig. 2) cut the leg off at the 

 knee, taking great care not to cut or tear the skin. The 

 severed leg now hangs to the skin. When both legs are 

 thus cut, work around the base of the tail, freeing the skin. 

 Then cut straight through the bone and all, with the 

 scissors, at the part marked with arrow and black Hne 

 in Fig. 3 — leaving the tail bone with the tail hanging 

 to the skin. 



