18 



end folded down, taking care not to bend or break or bend the tail 

 feathers in the operation.* 



When ready to proceed to skinning, remove the old cotton from 

 the throat, mouth, and nostrils, and replace it by fresh. Then 

 take the dimensions from the point of the bill to the end of the tail, 

 from the tip of one wing to that of the other, when both are ex- 

 tended, and from the tip of the wing to the first or carpal-joint, as 

 already indicated. 



A recent author recommendsf that the girth of the bird be 

 taken before skinning, by means of a band of stiff paper passed 

 round the middle of the body over the wings, and pinned in the 

 form of a ring. It is then slipped off towards the feet, and after 

 the skin is prepared, is replaced, the stuffing inserted being enough 

 to keep it from falling off. The exact circumference of the original 

 bird can thus be readily maintained. In fact, the ring may be 

 slipped on before the stuffing is commenced, and enough cotton 

 inserted to fill out the shoulders within the paper. 



After these preliminaries, make an incision through the skin 

 only, from the lower end of the breast bone to the anus. Should 

 the intestines protrude in small specimens, they had better be ex- 

 tracted, great care being taken not to soil the feathers. Now 

 ])roceed carefully to separate the skin on each side from the sub- 

 jacent parts, until you reach the knee, and expose the thigh 

 when, taking the leg in one hand, push or thrust the knee up on 

 the abdomen, and loosen the skin around it until you can place 

 the scissors or knife underneath, and separate the joint with the 

 accompanying muscles. Place a little cotton between the skin and 

 body to prevent adhesion. Loosen the skin about the base of the 

 tail, and cut through the vertebrae at the last joint, taking care not 

 to sever the basis of the quills. Suspend the body by inserting 

 the hook into the lower part of the back or rump, and invert the 

 skin, loosening it carefully from the body. On reaching the wings, 

 which had better be relaxed previously by stretching and pulling, 

 loosen the skin from around the first bone, and cut through the 

 middle of it, or, if the bird be small enough, separate it from the 

 next at the elbow. Continue the inversion of the skin by drawing 



* Crumpled or bent feathers may have much of their elasticity and 

 . original shape restored by dipping in hot water. 



t Davies' Naturalist's Guide. Edinburgh, 1858, page 19. 



