ON PRESERVING BIRDS. 



the skin with your thumb-nail and forefinger. 



* 



Now skin the thigh quite to the knee ; cut away 

 all flesh and tendons, and leave the bone ; form 

 an artificial thigh round it with cotton ; apply 

 the solution, arid draw back the skin over the 

 artificial thigh : the same to the other thigh. 



Lastly, proceed to the tail ; take out the inside 

 of the oil-gland, remove all the remaining flesh 

 from the root, till you see the ends of the tail 

 feathers ; give it the solution, and replace it. 

 Now take out all the cotton which you have been 

 putting into the body from time to time to pre- 

 serve the feathers from grease and stains. Place 

 the bird upon your knee on its back ; tie together 

 the two threads which you had fastened to the 

 end of the wing joints, leaving exactly the same 

 space betwixt them as your knowledge in anatomy 

 informs you existed there when the bird was en- 

 tire ; hold the skin open with your finger and 

 thumb, and apply the solution to every part of the 

 inside. Neglect the head and neck at present; 

 they are to receive it afterwards. 



Fill the body moderately with cotton, lest the 

 feathers on the belly should be injured whilst you 

 are about the following operation. You must 

 recollect that half of the thigh, or in other words, 

 one joint of the thigh bone, has been cut away. 

 Now, as this bone never moved perpendicular to 

 the body, but on the contrary in an oblique direc- 

 tion, of course, as soon as it is cut off, the 



