BIRDS. 



ON PRESERVING BIRDS. 329 



the vent to the root of the tail. Bend the tail 

 gently down to the back, and while your finger 

 and thumb are keeping down the detached parts 

 of the skin on each side of the vent, cut quite 

 across, and deep, till you see the back-bone, near 

 the oil gland at the root of the tail. Sever the 

 back-bone at the joint, and then you have all 

 the root of the tail, together with the oil-gland, 

 dissected from the body. Apply plenty of cotton. 

 After this, seize the end of the back-bone with 

 your finger and thumb : and now you can hold 

 up the bird clear of your knee, and turn it round 

 and round, as occasion requires. While you are 

 holding it thus, contrive, with the help of your 

 other hand and knife, by cutting and shoving, 

 to get the skin pushed up till you come to where 

 the wing joins on to the body. 



Forget not to apply cotton; cut this joint 

 through ; do the same at the other wing, add 

 cotton, and gently push the skin over the head ; 

 cut out the roots of the ears, which lie very deep 

 in the head, and continue skinning till you reach 

 the middle of the eye ; cut the nictitating mem- 

 brane quite through, otherwise you would tear 

 the orbit of the eye ; and after this, nothing dif- 

 ficult intervenes to prevent your arriving at the 

 root of the bill. 



When this is effected, cut away the body, leaving 

 a little bit of skull, just as much as will reach to 

 the forepart of the eye; clean well the jaw-bones, 



