IV. 

 PREPARING THE BIRDS FOR SALE. 



?HEN the native has reached his home, 

 he sets to work to prepare the Birds 

 of Paradise for sale. He intends to dis- 

 pose of them to the traders who come 

 that way, or to any Europeans who may chance 

 to land. He cuts off the wings and feet, and re- 

 moves the skin. Then he puts a stick through 

 the body, wraps it in a palm-leaf, and dries it in 

 the smoke. By this process the body itself is 

 shrunk almost to nothing ; but the flowing plumes 

 retain their beauty. These, indeed, are all the 

 native bird-stuffer cares about. 



Some of the smoke-dried specimens, such as I 



