PRESERVING BIRDS. 241 



incision may be made from the vent to the breast: 

 the head and legs must in all cases be carefully 

 preserved, and the os coccygis left in the skin, 

 otherwise the tail-feathers will be liable to drop 

 out. In packing the skins care must be taken 

 that the plumage be not injured by contact with 

 the harder parts, which for that purpose should 

 be surrounded with cotton, tow, or the best soft 

 packing material at hand, as dried leaves or grass. 

 When more than one individual of the same 

 species can be procured, it is desirable that a 

 second specimen should be preserved in spirits, 

 and the same remark applies to the smaller mam- 

 malia, and indeed to all the orders. The bird- 

 skins must be dressed with the same materials as 

 those of the mammalia, but the arsenical soap if 

 used at all must not be too liberally applied. 

 As the plumage of birds varies extremely at dif- 

 ferent periods of their life, and even at different 

 seasons of the year, it is of great importance to 

 obtain both sexes, if possible, of all ages, from 

 the chick just hatched to the adult in its maturest 

 8 



