17 



and add the potash and arsenic by degrees: dissolve the camphor 

 in a little alcohol, and when the mixture is nearly cold stir it in. 



The proper materials for stuffing- out skins will depend much 

 upon the size of the animal. For small birds and quadrupeds, 

 cotton will be found most convenient ; for the larger, tow. For 

 those still larger, dry grass, straw, sawdust, bran, or other vege- 

 table substances, may be used. Whatever substance be used, care 

 must be taken to have it perfectly dry. Under no circumstances 

 should animal matter, as hair, wool, or feathers, be employed. 



The bills and loral region, as well as the legs and feet of birds, 

 and the ears, lips, and toes of mammals, may, as most exposed to 

 the ravages of insects, be washed with an alcoholic solution of 

 strychnine applied with a brush to the dried skin ; this will be an 

 almost certain safeguard against injury. 



§ III. SKINNING AND STUFFING. 



1. BIRDS. 



Whenever convenient, the following notes should be made pre- 

 vious to commencing the operation of skinning, as they will add 

 much 10 the value of the specimens : — 



1. The length, in inches, from tip of bill to the end of the tail ; 

 the distance between the two extremities of the outstretched wings; 

 and the length of the wing from the carpal or first joint. The 

 numbers may be recorded as follows : 44, 66, 12 (as for a swan), 

 without any explanation ; it being well understood that the above 

 measurements follow each other in a fixed succession. These 

 numbers may be written on the back of the Uibel attached to each 

 specimen. 



2. The color of the eyes, that of the feet, bill, gums, membranes, 

 caruncles, &c. 



3. The date, the locality, and the name of the collector. 



4. The sex. All these points should be recorded on the label. 

 Immediately after a bird is killed, the holes made by the shot, 



together with the mouth and internal or posterior nostrils, should 

 be plugged up with cotton, to prevent the escape of blood and the 

 juices of the stomach. A long narrow paper cone should be made ; 

 the bird, if small enough, thrust in, head foremost, and the open 

 2 



