MATEKIALS FOR PBEPARING BIRDSKIXS. 25 



from the roots of the rectrices to the end of the longest one. Feel for the pope's nose ; in either 

 a fresh or dried specimen there is more or less of a palpable lump into which the taQ-feathers 

 stick. Guess as near as you can to the middle of this lump; place the end of the ruler opposite 

 this point, and see where the tip of the longest tail-feather comes. " Length of hill: " Some 

 take the curve of the upper mandible ; others the side of the upper mandible from the feathers ; 

 others the gape, etc. I take the chord of the ciilmen. Place one foot of the dividers on th(* 

 culmen just where the feathers end ; no matter whether the culmen runs up on the forehead, or 

 the frontal feathers run out on the culmen, and no matter whether the culmen is straight or 

 curved. Then with me the length of the hill is the shortest distance from the point just indi- 

 cated to the tip of the upper mandible ; measure it with the dividers. In a straight bill of 

 course it is the length of the culmen itself ; in a curved bill, however, it is quite another thing. 

 " Length of tarsus : " Distance between the joint of the tarsus with the leg above, and that 

 with the first phalanx of the middle toe below. Measure it always with dividers, and in front 

 of the leg. ^^ Length of toes: " Distance in a straight line along the upper surface of a toe 

 from the point last indicated to the root of the claw on top. Length of toe is to be taken 

 ivithout the claw, unless othei-wise specified. ^'Length of the clatvs : " Distance in a straight line 

 from the point last indicated to the tip of the claw. " Length of head" is often a convenient 

 dimension for comparison -wdth the bill. Set one foot of the dividers over the base of the culmen 

 (determined as above) and allow the other to slip snugly down over the arch of the occiput. 



§6. — INSTRUMENTS, MATEEIALS, AND FIXTURES FOR PREPARING BIRDSKINS. 



Instruments. — The only indispensable instrument is a pair of scissors or a knife ; 

 although practically yon want both of these, a pair of spring forceps, and a knitting-needle, or 

 some similar wooden or ivory object, yet I have made hundreds of birdskins consecutively 

 without touching another tool. ^' Persicos odi, puer, apparatus!" I always mistrust the 

 emphasis of a collector who makes a flourish of instruments. You. might be surprised to see 

 what a meagre, shabby-looking kit our best taxidennists work with. Stick to your scissors, 

 knife, forceps, and needle. But you may as well buy, at the outset, a common dissecting-case, 

 just what medical students begin business with ; it is very cheap, and if there are some unneces- 

 sary things in it, it makes a nice little box in which to keep your tools. The case contains, 

 among other things, several scalpels, just the knives you want ; a " cartilage-knife," which is 

 nothing but a stout scalpel, suitable for large birds ; the best kind of scissors for your pui-pose, 

 with short blades and long handles — if ''kneed" at the hinge so much the better; spring 

 forceps, the very thing ; a blow-pipe, useful in many ways and answering well for a knitting- 

 needle ; and some little steel-hooks, chained together, which you may want to use. But you 

 will also require, for large bii-ds, a very heavy pair of scissors, or small shears, short-bladed 

 and long-handled, and a stout pair of bone-nippers. Have some pins and needles ; surgical 

 needles, which cut instead of punching, are the best. Get a hone or strop, if you wish, and a 

 feather duster. Use of scissors requires no comment, and I would urge their habitual employ 

 instead of the knife-blade ; I do nine-tenths of my cutting w^ith scissors, and find it much the 

 easiest. A double-lever is twice as effective as a single one, and besides, you gain in cutting 

 soft, yielding substances by opposing two blades. Moreover, scalpels need constant shai-]^)en- 

 ing ; mine are generally too dull to cut much with, and I suppose I am like other people — 

 while scissors stay sharp enough. The flat, thin ivfiry or ebony handle of the scalpel is about 

 as useful as the blade. Finger-nails, which were made before scalpels, are a mighty help. 

 Forceps are almost indispensable for seizing and holding parts too small or too remote to be 

 grasped by the fingers. The knitting-needle is wanted for a specific purpose noted beyond. 

 The shears or nippers are only needed for what the ttrdinary scissors are too weak to do. Our 

 instruments, you see new, are " a short horse soon curried." 



