96 SKINNING BIRDS. 



coating for skins of all kinds. I have opened and examined the 

 skins of several birds that had been mounted for fifteen years. 

 They v^ere such birds as the Ring-necked Duck, Pin-tail, and 

 Herring Gull ; the Barred and Horned Owls. In every instance 

 where there was a thick coating of this paste it appeared in a crys- 

 tallized form resemblin gmarble. The skins of the sebirds present- 

 ed a fresh and well-preserved appearance, while the feathers were 

 fairly saturated with the poisonous solution, rendering them en- 

 tirely free from the attack of insects. * 



Skmning Birds: — A collector is not always supposed to be pro- 

 ficient in the higher branches of taxidermy, and any one can readily 

 learn to make a fairly good skin, answering all scientific purposes; 

 but he should at all times ^Xxwt. to make a skin that can be properly 

 mounted, if so desired. With this object in view, I shall endeavor 

 to make my directions as clear as possible, pointing out exceptions 

 as the work of skinning proceeds. 



In removing the skin from the bird, the body, if fat or bloody, 

 should be dust< d with corn meal, as this prevents the plumage from 

 being soiled. The first advice usually given is, to m*ake an incision 

 along the middle line of the abdomen, from the endof the breast-bone 

 to the vent. This is not altogether correct. Don't be afraid of 

 opening a b rd too high up on the breast. 



In the greater pinions of skins the cut is too short for ready 

 manipuhtioti of the bird in consequence of iis being mounted 

 from the dry skin, and it is necessary to prolong the cut. The skin 

 on the e ige of the old cut will be shrunken and thickened, and a 

 stitch taken in it-holds and does not tear out, but in the new cut 

 the edges are thin and weak and a thread pulls easily through, 

 thereby causing great annoyance to the individual who is at work 

 on the dry skin After the incision is made the skin should be 

 carefully raised on each side as far as the legs. These are to be 

 cut avva) from the body at the knee joint, inside the skin, and af- 

 terwards skinned down as far as the tarsus, scraping the flesh from 

 the shin-bone, but leaving that bone in place. 



"-•' The method of rendering feathers insect proof by the application of this 

 Arsenical Solution is given farther on in its proper place. 



