How to Mount a Bint. 



839 



ARGUS PHEASANT. 



the passage. Cut through this, as near the skull as possible, insert- 

 ing the scalpel point under the front portion, and picking it out. 

 Having done this, you come almost immediately to the eyes, and 

 here it requires careful cutting to detach the skin without injury to 

 the eyelid. Be careful also not to cut into the eyeball, and thus 

 let the inclosed fluid out on the feathers. Skin well down to the 

 base of the bill ; if you do not, the place where you left off will be 

 marked by an unsightly ridge in the mounted bird. Take out the 

 eyes, cut off the base and under part of the skull, and most of the 

 brain, together with the tongue, will come away with the neck. 

 Scrape the meat from the jaw, and all is done save skinning the 

 wings. It may be allowable in small birds to skin the wings to the 

 wrists, detaching the secondaries from the bone ; but although it 

 saves a little time, I would not recommend it. The better way is to 

 remove the muscle on the fore-arm with forceps, after having worked 

 down the skin as far as possible on the front edge of the wings. 

 Poison the skull thoroughly, and put a little cotton in the eye-sock- 

 ets. — enough to fill, but not distend them, — also bringing a thin flap 



• This illustration and the following were all drawn from specimens of the taxktef 

 mist's work. 



