SETTING THE SKIN. 67 



matter of the shoulders ; the whole knack of stuffing correctly 

 focusses just over the shoulders. If you find j-ou have made 

 the body too large, pull it out and make a smaller one ; if it 

 fits nicely about the shoulders but is too long to go in, or 

 too puffy over the belly, let it stay, and pick away shreds at 

 the open end till the redundancy is remedied. Your bird is 

 now stuffed. Close the opening by bringing the edges of the 

 original cut together. There is no use of sewing* up the cut, 

 for a small bird ; if the stuffing is correct, the feathers will 

 hide the opening, and if they do not, it is no matter. You are 

 not making an object for a show case, but for a naturalist's 

 cabinet. Supposing j^ou to have been so far successful, little 

 remains to be done ; the skin already looks very much like a 

 dead bird ; you have only to give the finishing touches, and 

 "set" it. Fixing the wings nicely is a great point. Fold 

 each wing closely ; see that the carpal bend is well defined, 

 that the coverts show their several oblique rows perfectly, that 

 all the quills override each other like shingles. Tuck the 

 folded wings close up to the body — i-ather on the bird's back 

 than along its sides ; see that the wing tips meet over the tail 

 {under the tail as the bird lies on its back) ; let the carpal 

 angle nestle in the plumage ; have the shoulders close together, 

 so that the interscapulars shingle over the scapulars. If the 

 wing be pressed in too tightl}^, the scapulars will rise up on 

 end ; there must be neither furrow nor ridge about the inser- 

 tion of the wings ; every thing must lie perfectly smooth. At 

 this stage of the process, I generally lift up the skin gingerly, 

 and let it slip head first through one hand after the other, press- 

 ing here or there to correct a deformity, or uniformly, to make 

 the whole skin compact. The wings set, next bring the legs 

 together, so that the bones within the skin lie parallel with 

 each other ; bend the heel-joint a little, to let the tarsi a'oss 

 eacTi other about their middle ; lay them sidewise on the tail, 



* But sew it up, if you please, thougli you may lie perliaps giving tlie man who 

 subsequently mounts the bird the trouble of ripping out the stitches. Stitches 

 however, will not come amiss with a large bird. I generally, in such cases, pin the 

 edges of the cut in one or more places. 



