of practical 



759 



into the cork : the wires of the legs are secured 

 on each side in like manner, and lastly the 

 tail wire. Pledgets of tow are then worked 

 in by means of a thin broad-pointed piece of 

 wood, which is sometimes called a stuffing 

 needle ; different points of the skin are thus 

 raised, and others depressed, by the fingers 

 of the operator ; the neck is adjusted, and 

 shortened if necessary, by seizing the project- 

 ing point of the neck -wire and pressing the 

 neck downwards ; the body curved according 

 to one's taste and the position which the 

 figure is to assume when finished : and thus 

 the operater goes on copying nature carefully 

 in every respect till the skin is sufficiently 

 full. It is then neatly sewed up, always 

 keeping the point of the needle outwards, 

 and avoiding the entanglement of the thread 

 with the roots of any of the hairs : holes are 

 bored in a piece of wood, their position hav- 

 ing been first properly ascertained, the wires 

 are drawn through, and their points secured 

 in grooves cut in the board. The ears are 

 then adjusted ; the head and upper part of 

 the throat finished off, by raising the skin on 

 the point of a stout wire inserted at the eyes 

 or the mouth, and readjusting it with the 

 finger, and supplying small pledgets where 

 necessary. The orbits are furnished with a 

 little putty or cement, for the reception of 

 the glass eyes ; which can be purchased at 

 the shops of professional bird-stuffers. 



After what has been stated it will be easy 

 to invent a frame-work of wire suitable for 

 mounting a larger animal ; but, after all, I 

 would earnestly beseech all who aspire to 

 something more rational than mere collect- 

 ing, to content themselves with the stuffed 

 skins of quadrupeds and birds ; no true natu- 

 ralist of the present age ever thinks of form- 

 ing any other collection for purposes of study. 

 The former method is expensive and cumber- 

 some, whilst the latter is in every respect 

 more convenient, more economical of money 

 and space, and above all in the expenditure 

 of precious time which caii never be recalled. 



SKINNING AND PRESERVING BIRDS. 



Before skinning a bird, the young operator 

 should first ascertain the position of the ears 

 on the sides of the head, of the bare space on 

 the sides of the lower part of the neck, and 

 the mode in which the secondary quill-fea- 

 thers are inserted over that part of the wing 

 which is composed of two bones, correspond- 

 ing with those in the human arm lying 

 between the elbow and wrist joints. 



Any large bird having a tough skin should 

 be selected for the first essay ; and none is 

 better than the Rook. Lay the bird near the 

 edge of the table, and with a hammer break 

 the first bone of the wing at a point adjoining 

 the shoulder-joint. See that the throat has 

 been properly stuffed ; and if an eye has been 

 injured by the shot, scoop it out if possible ; 

 or else stuff it up with cotton, for the dis- 

 charge of blood and humour will greatly 

 disfigure the skin. Divide the feathers along 

 a line stretching from the fore part of the 

 crest of the breast-bone to a point near the 

 tail ; pluck off the down, and make an in- 

 cision with the knife or scissors ; raise the 



skin and separate it from the muscles as far 

 as the shaft of your scalpel can reach, stuffing 

 in cotton as you proceed, and sprinkling 

 some gypsum over any blood or oily matter 

 that may appear ; when dry, the gypsum 

 breaks off on giving a slight tap with the 

 finger. Be careful in skinning over the abdo 

 men, and let it be a golden rule to stretch 

 the skin as little as possible. Push forward 

 the leg and separate it from the body at the 

 first joint that is visible, leaving the thigh- 

 bone attached to the body : then treat the 

 other side in like manner. After this, finish 

 off the posterior parts ; put the fingers of 

 your left hand below the rump, raise it 

 slightly, and feel with the thumb for the 

 point where the set of bones over which the 

 tail-feathers are inserted unite with the 

 adjoining vertebrae ; and having ascertained 

 that, use the knife with confidence, yet with 

 becoming caution. Lay the bird on its 

 breast, and push the skin along the back ; 

 and as the long bones of the wings were 

 broken,the latter readilyaccommodate them- 

 selves to their new position : separate them 

 at the point of fracture ; wrap the body in 

 paper, and push the skin along the neck and 

 over the head, giving special heed to the 

 ears and eyes, as in the case of quadrupeds : 

 then sever the neck where it joins the head, 

 which must be cleaned in like manner ; with 

 this difference, however, that the scissors 

 must be used to cut out a portion of the back 

 part of the skull, and a large part of the 

 palate, to make room for the artificial neck 

 as it is fixed by the neck-forceps. Fill the 

 orbits with cotton, anoint the skull, the skin 

 of the head, and neck with arsenical soap, 

 and restore the head to its natural position. 

 Take hold of the bone of a wing, keep its 

 under side uppermost, and push the skin 

 along with your left thumb; and on coming 

 to the quills, insert your thumb below the 

 barrels of the quills, so as to prize them for- 

 wards and downwards (presuming that the 

 bird is lying with its head from you). It is 

 not necessary to skin beyond the anterior 

 joint of these two bones over which the quills 

 are inserted ; cut through all the muscles at 

 this point, and taking them between the 

 knife and your right thumb, tear them up- 

 wards, cut them off, and then amputate the 

 shattered bone at the joint, to which you 

 must fasten a piece of strong thread about 

 six inches long : restore the wing to its natu- 

 ral position after applying the soap, and 

 smooth and adjust the ruined plumage. Go 

 through the same operations with the other 

 wing ; push in the legs, and cut off all the 

 muscles to the first joint, beyond which 

 there must be no skinning. The base of the 

 tail must next be attended to ; but avoid 

 cutting too closely, else the tail feathers will 

 fall out : remove every particle of muscle 

 and fat from the skin. If the subject is a 

 sea bird, the task will be simplified by apply- 

 ing spirit of turpentine with a brush, which 

 will dissolve the fat, and this again may be 

 absorbed by gypsum liberally applied, and 

 when dried it is cleared away ; the skin is 

 then ready to receive the soap. 



The best point in a well-preserved skin 

 consists in having the head prettily dressed 



