326 ON PRESERVING BIRDS. 



PRESERVING m ind, That, in taking off the skin from the 



BIRDS. 



body, by means of your fingers and a little knife, 



you must try to shove it, in lieu of pulling it, 

 lest you stretch it. 



That, you must press as lightly as possible on 

 the bird, and every now and then take a view of 

 it, to see that the feathers, &c. are all right. 



That, when you come to the head, you must 

 take care that the body of the skin rests on your 

 knee ; for if you allow it to dangle from your 

 hand, its own weight will stretch it too much. 



That, throughout the whole operation, as fast 

 as you detach the skin from the body, you must 

 put cotton immediately betwixt the body and it ; 

 and this will effectually prevent any fat, blood, 

 or moisture from coming in contact with the 

 plumage. Here it may be observed that, on the 

 belly you find an inner skin, which keeps the 

 bowels in their place. By a nice operation with 

 the knife, you can cut through the outer skin, 

 and leave the inner skin whole. Attention to 

 this will render your work very clean ; so that, 

 with a little care in other parts, you may skin a 

 bird without even soiling your finger ends. 



As you can seldom get a bird without shooting 

 it, a line or two on this head will be necessary. 

 If the bird be still alive, press it hard with your 

 finger and thumb, just behind the wings, and it 

 will soon expire. Carry it by the legs, and then 

 the body being reversed, the blood cannot escape 



