140 WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA 



away also, and behind it is discovered a thin 

 and tender membrane; yellow, where it has 

 touched the yellow part of the horn; blue, 

 where it has touched the red part, and black 

 towards the edge and point; when dried, this 

 thin and tender membrane becomes nearly black; 

 as soon as it is cut away, nothing remains but the 

 outer horn, red and yellow, and now become trans- 

 parent; the under mandible must undergo the 

 same operation. Great care must be taken, and 

 the knife used very cautiously when you are cut- 

 ting through the different parts close to where the 

 bill joins on to the head; if you cut away too 

 much, the bill drops off; if you press too hard, 

 the knife comes through the horn ; if you leave too 

 great a portion of the membrane, it appears 

 through the horn, and by becoming black when 

 dried, makes the horn appear black also, and has 

 a bad eifect; judgment, caution, skill, and prac- 

 tice, will insure success. 



You have now cleared the bill of all those bodies 

 which are the cause of its apparent fading; for, 

 as has been said before, these bodies dry in death, 

 and become quite discoloured, and appear so 

 through the horn; and reviewing the bill in this 

 state, you conclude that its former bright colours 

 are lost. 



Something still remains to be done. You have 

 rendered the bill transparent by the operation, 

 and that transparency must be done away to make 

 it appear perfectly natural. Pound some clean 

 chalk, and give it enough water till it be of the 

 consistency of tar; add a proportion of gum- 

 arabic to make it adhesive; then take a camel- 



