How to Mount a Bird. 853 



Do not put in the eyes until the bird is thoroughly dry, the reason 

 for this being that you run the risk of disturbing the feathers of the 

 fresh skin in setting them, or that the shrinkage of the skin may 

 leave them bulging out of their sockets. A little cotton moistened 

 in warm water and placed in the orbits will soon relax them. Imbed 

 the eyes in putty, or stick them in with mucilage, the former method 

 being my own preference. Press them well in, and with the point 

 of a needle carefully adjust the eyelids. If the eyelid has become 

 stretched, catch it up with a fine thread behind the eye. Now cut off* 

 the wrapping, pull out the wires in the back and breast, and cut off" 

 those in the head, tail, and wings, and your specimen is ready to 

 transfer to its final support. This may be a neatly turned stand, — 

 a twig fastened to a neat base or made to hang against the wall, or 

 a section of a tree-trunk. Gnarled and water-worn roots form ex- 

 cellent pedestals for owls, ducks, and herons. Rough cork, just as it 

 comes off the tree, makes excellent rock -work, with the addition of a 

 little paint and a few lichens. Of course you will wish to make some 

 groups of birds, but when you do so, strive to avoid a mere hetero- 

 geneous gathering, and endeavor to find some excuse for calling the 

 birds together, or to make a group that shall form a harmonious 

 picture ; and in every case try to catch the spirit of the bird as well 

 as its outward aspect. 



54A 



