MAKING BIRDSKINS. 25 



with meal. 2. Lay the bird before you on its back, its bill pointing 

 to the left ; place your open left hand lengthwise on it, so that the 

 base of your first and secc id fingers rests on the middle of the breast- 

 bone ; use these fingers and the handle of the scalpel to separate the 

 feathers from near the end of the breastbone to the vent, and when 

 the parting is made use the same fingers to hold the feathers aside. 

 3. With the scalpel make an incision in the skin from just in front 

 of the end of 'the breastbone, or at the base of the V formed by the 

 spread fingers, to the vent, being careful not to cut through into the 

 abdomen. 4. Sprinkle a pinch of meal along the cut. 5. Lift the 

 skin at the front end of the cut and insert the end of the scalpel handle 

 between it and the breastbone. If you try to do this lower down on 

 the cut, over the belly, you will find it difficult to separate the skin 

 on which the feathers grow from the immediately underlying skin 

 which covers the abdomen. Separate the skin from the body the whole 

 length of the cut and as far down toward the backbone as possible, 

 thus exposing the bare knee. 6. Take hold of the foot and push the 

 knee farther up into view, then take the blunt-ended scissors and, on 

 the inside of the skin, clip the leg entirely in two. 7. Repeat opera- 

 tions 5 and 6 on the other side of the body. 8. Press away the skin 

 as much as possible on either side of the rump, and place the thumb 

 at the left side (left, seen from above) of the base of the tail or " pope's 

 nose," with the first finger on the other side (both inside the skin) and 

 the second finger behind (above) on the rump ; now with the blunt 

 scissors cut through the flesh between the thumb and first finger 

 toward the second finger, which serves the purpose of a guard to pre- 

 vent you from cutting through the skin. 9. Stand the bird on its 

 breastbone, the belly toward you, and with both thumbs press the 

 tail and skin of the rump over and down off the stump from which 

 you have just cut it. 10. When the stump is free from the skin, take 

 hold of it with the right hand and with the fingers of the left gently 

 press the skin from the body, keeping it constantly turned inside out 

 and using an abundance of meal. 11. Soon the wing-bones (humerus) 

 will appear. Clip them off at either side close to the body, and re- 

 sume skinning as before. 12. The skin will slip easily over the neck, 

 and you will then meet with an obstruction in the head. 13. Work 

 the skin carefully over the head, using the tips of the first two fingers 

 of either hand, placing the thumbs as a brace farther forward over the 

 eyes.* 14. Pull the ears carefully from their sockets. 15. The eyes 



* In large-headed birds, like Ducks and Woodpeckers, this is impossible, and 

 it is necessary to slit the skin down the back of the neck and push the skull 

 through the opening. 



