330 ON PRESERVING BIRDS. 



PRESERVING fasten a little cotton at the end of your stick, dip 



BIRDS. 



it into the solution, and touch the skull and cor- 

 responding part of the skin, as you cannot well 

 get to these places afterwards. From the time of 

 pushing the skin over the head, you are supposed 

 to have had the bird resting upon your knee ; 

 keep it there still, and with great caution and ten- 

 derness return the head through the inverted 

 skin, and when you see the beak appearing, pull 

 it very gently till the head comes out unruffled 

 and unstained; 



You may now take the cotton out of the mouth ; 

 cut away all the remaining flesh at the palate, and 

 whatever may have remained at the under jaw. 



Here is now before you the skin, without loss 

 of any feathers, and all the flesh, fat, and un- 

 cleaned bones out of it, except the middle joint of 

 the wings, one bone of the thighs, and the fleshy 

 root of the tail. The extreme point of the wing 

 is very small, and has no flesh on it, comparatively 

 speaking, so that it requires no attention, except 

 touching it with the solution from the outside. 

 Take all in the flesh from the remaining joint 

 of the wing, and tie a thread about four inches 

 long to the end of it ; touch all with the solution, 

 and put the wing bone back into its place. In 

 baring this bone you must by no means pull the 

 skin; you would tear it to pieces beyond all 

 doubt, for the ends of the long feathers are 

 attached to the bone itself; you must push off 



