Chapter IT. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
There are few objects, which to the scientific 
eye, look more unsightly than a badly-stuffed bird; 
consequently no amount of trouble should be con- 
sidered too great to achieve the best results; more 
especially since it is the duty of all who destroy bird 
life, to make the best possible use of their ‘trophies.’ 
The fault with so many stuffed birds is that they 
look stuffed. There is generally discernible some 
defect such as a stiff posture, a badly-adjusted neck, 
or a bulging eye, which at once detracts from the 
life-like appearance of the specimen; and yet these 
little blemishes, which do so much to spoil the final 
result, are quite easily avoided if one only takes 
sufficient care. 
There is no royal road to success in any form of 
arts and in thisibranch,-as in. every -other,, the 
student must serve before he can rule. Do not ex- 
pect, therefore, to become an adept, without first 
experiencing frequent disappointments. The skin- 
ning and stuffing as will be seen hereafter, are 
largely mechanical operations, proficiency in which 
is soon attained by anyone gifted with average 
dexterity of finger and thumb. It is on the amount 
of animation and vitality that you can infuse into 
your specimen during the mounting or “‘setting 
up,’’ that the success of your efforts as a whole so 
