THE GENESEE FARMER. 



245 



greatly augmented by keeping better breeds and 

 providinfi better shelter for Chem. There is a flock 

 )t' a thousand iu sight from my window, that are 

 ambing, and about every fourth lamb dies on ac- 

 ',(Hiut of tlie exposure to wet and bad weather. 

 Piairie wolves are at times a little troublesome, 

 nit are being rapidly exterminated. Dogs, as in 

 STew England, are far the worst foe to the sheep. 

 Due thing is quite sure, I think, as to the profita- 

 )leness of farming here, compared with New Eng- 

 and, in favor of this section. A man of good 

 udgnient on stock, is sure to succeed in making 

 noney, provided he has means to start with. Money 

 '^ worth ten per cent, interest, and must be soon 

 nrned over if a man looks for profit in using it. 

 Vere it not for the want of good roads, good society, 

 eligious privileges, and tlie prevalence of the ague, 

 o place would suit me better to locate iny boys 

 han this county (Benton). To an Eastern man, 

 hey are indispensable to his happiness, especially 

 '■ past the prime of life, as he can not hope to see 

 hem fully developed in his day. 



HOW TO STUFF BIRDS. 



In a recent number of tiie Farmer, in reply to a 

 orrespondent who asks information on the above 

 ub.iect, you refer to me as one skilled in the art 

 if Taxidermy, and willing to impart knowledge to 

 thers. Now there are many things very easily 

 one by those who know haw, and yet very diffi- 

 ult to teach by pen and iuk, to those who have no 

 Jea of tlie process. 



If you doubt the truth of the proposition, set 

 own soir.e pleasant morning, and describe the 

 rocess of editing a newspaper, so that we can all 

 iiderstiind it as well as you. 



I Hatter myself that I can skin and stuff a bird 

 3 that he will look, as the artist said of his por- 

 rait, a little more natural than life, and enjuy as 

 uich of immortality as bones and feathers are 

 iiceptible of; but whether I can set the process 

 own, so that all your readers can go aud do like- 

 wise, remains to be seen. I made my collection, 

 f about a hundred New Hampshire birds, between 

 835 and 1838, aud they remain as perfect as when 

 ust completed. 



I have delayed answering your correspondent, 

 opiujj; to find iu some printed book direciicns on 

 :ie subject, that might save me the trouble of 

 M-iting ; but not one word do I find,^nd as I had 

 o teacher myself, I dare say that they who have 

 kill in such matters may smile at my awkward- 

 ess. To any such, I would say that if they 

 ould only see the big Washington eagle, which 

 )ok9 down from the top of a book-case with such 

 patronizing air npon me as I write, ready to lend 

 le a quill two feet long, in case of emergency, they 

 rould be glad to laugh on our side,, 



As in the case of a duel, the preliminaries are 

 )ngertban the actual fight, so the preparations for 

 ;uffing the bird are the larger half of the work, 

 t least on paper. 



AHflBNIOAL SOAP. 



To preserve the skins of anima-s from putrifica- 

 on and from insects, arsenic is the substance gen- 

 rally used. Many persons use it in the form of 

 ry powder, as sold at the shoy^s. I have used a 

 reparation ealled arsenical soap, warmed so as to , 



melt together over a slow fire, with an ounce of 

 camphor gum added, just before the mixture cools. 

 It is applied to the skin, inside, of course, with a 

 brush, like lather on ones chin. The proportions 

 may be by weight, ten ounces of arsenic (oxyde 

 of a7'senic), five ounces of white bar soap, and 

 one ounce of gum camidior ; the ai'seuic and soap 

 melted together over a slow fire, and the camphor 

 added when the mixture is nearly cold. At the 

 Patent Office, at Washington, tlie taxidermists use, 

 instead of arsenical soap, a preparatioij of about 

 an ounce of arsenic in a gill of camphorated spirits. 

 By the latter term, I understand a saturated solu- 

 tion of alcohol with cam()hor gum. Add the ar- 

 senic and shake them up togethen in a bottle. I 

 should think this preparation might be more con- 

 venient than arsenical soap. It is applied with a 

 brush in the same way as the other. 



IMPLEMENTS. 



For tools, a sharp knife with aflat ivory handle, 

 like a budding knife, a pair of cutting forceps, a 

 pair of pincers, and a pair of small tweezers, such 

 as watchmakers use, will be found convenient. 

 Annealed iron wire, of various sizes, according to 

 the victim to be sacrificed, will be required to sup- 

 port the birds when mounted, and a quantity of 

 ^010 for stuffing. Cotton will not answer the pur- 

 pose, because, as every girl who ever made a pin- 

 cushion can tell, it is difficult to thrust eveu a 

 sharp wire through it. 



HOW TO KILL A BIRD. 



It is quite an easy matter to shoot a bird, and 

 most birds must be shot, but often living birds are 

 brought to- us, and as one would dislike to skin 

 them alive, it is necessary to kill them in a proper 

 and becoming manner. You can easily wring their 

 necks, or cut their heads off", but since feathers are 

 considered somewhat ornamental to birds, this 

 kiiul of violence will not do. Blood can be easily 

 washed oft' water birds, but not from land birds, so 

 conveniently. Poison will not affect birds of prey 

 — such as hawks and the like. I gave my eagle a 

 teaspoonful of prussic acid, aud instead of dying 

 of it, he seemed rather refreshed. 



The scientific mode of murdering the poor inno- 

 cent creatures, if they are not too large to handle, 

 is to pinch them, with the thumb and finger, under 

 the wings, so as to stop respiration, and as gentle 

 Isaac Waltpn says, in directing how to put a 

 live frog on to a fish hook, "in so doing, handle 

 him as if you loved him." Byeon says, by the 

 way, that Walton was " a quaint, old cruel, eox- 

 comb," and that he deserved to have "a hook in 

 his gullet," — " with a small trout to pull it." If 

 anyone objects to having birds killed, he "Lad 

 better stop," as the Irishman said, '•'•'before he be- 

 gins'''' his collection. 



HOW TO SKIN AND STUFF HIM. 



Stop the mouth, nostrils and shot holes with cot- 

 ton, to prevent the flow of blood. Lay the bird 

 on its back, part the feathers on the breast, and 

 cut through the skin from the breast bone nearly 

 to the tail. If the blood flows, use powdered plas- 

 ter — or something better, if you know what it is 

 — to absorb it. Seperate the bone of the wings at 

 the joint, from the breast t)one. Cat off the neck 

 close to the breast. Separate the leg bonea from 



