ART OF PRESERVING SKINS OF BIRDS. 459 



away the flesh of the thighs, always preserving the bones of the 

 leg, and put them back in their places. 



"If the Bird be of a larger size, we must carefully take away 

 all the muscles which adhere to the skin, as well as the fat ; and, 

 if it has been killed by a gun, or holes are otherwise formed in 

 the skin, they must be properly sewed up within. 



" We fix a piece of thread to the first joint of each wing, 

 drawing them together to the distance which they occupy when 

 the Bird is in the flesh. This precaution, which does not 

 appear to be of great importance, infinitely abridges the opera- 

 tion; for, when the Bird is mounted, the wings place them- 

 selves, provided they are properly tied within." — Mrs. Lee's 

 Taxidermy. 



The skins of some Birds are far less elastic after being dried 

 than others, and therefore require particular care in their 

 stuffing. Those of the gallinaceous order, or Game Birds, 

 generally are very contractile and non-elastic, and consequently 

 require full stuffing, when green, to preserve them in their 

 natural proportions, as it will be found very difficult to stretch 

 them after being dried, even if submitted to the relaxing efi^'ects 

 of steam, which softens their entire structure more than any- 

 thing else. 



The skins should never be bung up to dry, as the weight of 

 their bodies, if suspended by tlie head, will stretch their necks 

 to an unseemly length ; a somewhat similar result will be effected 

 if they should be hung by the legs. The stuffed skins should 

 be laid out on a plain surface, with their heads and legs gently 

 extended in a line with their bodies. 



"We saw, a few days since, a large box of Prairie Hen skins 

 nearly ruined in consequence of having been ignorantly sus- 

 pended by the neck to dry. 



If the weather is warm, or the skins are to be put aside for 

 any length of time previous to being mounted, it will be neces- 

 sary to anoint their inner surfaces with some of the arsenical 

 soaps or other compositions, so as to insure them from the 

 attacks of insects. A weak solution of corrosive sublimate is 

 the most convenient, if not the very best of these preparations. 

 A teaspoonful of this poison to a quart of alcohol is about 



