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tearing, or stretching the skin, or ruffling the feathers ; and 

 the beak and nostrils, and the scales of the legs, should be 

 carefully preserved from injury. 



Large-headed birds, such as ducks and woodpeckers will 

 require an incision to be made down the upper part of the 

 throat, in order to skin the skull and remove the flesh, for, 

 it is impossible in these to draw the head through the narrow 

 skin of the neck, which, as well as all other parts of the skin, 

 must be carefully kept from being stretched, or it will become 

 most unsightly, and can never be reduced to its proper size. 



Before throwing away the carcase of any rare lird, two 

 additional preparations may be made of considerable interest to 

 the ornithologist ; the first, by carefully removing the tongue 

 and trachea, or wind pipe, cleaning them of loose integument, 

 placing them in water a sufficient time to soak out the blood, 

 and then pinning them on a board to dry, or, to prevent the 

 windpipe breaking, which it is very likely to do, inserting a 

 slender stick within it, and allowing it to dry thereon ; the 

 second, by preserving the sternum or breast-bone of the bird, 

 with all the smaller bones attached to it, the furcula or merry- 

 thought, the collar and shoulder bones, and the processes 

 which unite the sternum to the ribs. The flesh should be 

 removed with care, and the sternum soaked in water slightly 

 boiled, to remove the blood and flesh, and then dried. Both 

 should be carefully labelled with the name of the bird to which 

 they belong, or a reference to it by number. Entire skeletons 

 of rare birds may be prepared in the same manner as those of 

 mammalia ; or, when small enough, they may be put whole 

 into spirit until arrival at home. 



REPTILES. 



Reptiles of moderate size are best preserved in spirit, a 

 portion being injected into the mouth and vent. In the largest 

 of those thus preserved, an incision should be made in the 

 abdomen to allow the spirit access to the intestines, previously 



