Guide to Taxidermy 



45 



scalpel, taking care not to pierce it as the fluid con- 

 tained therein will surely soil the bird if you do. 

 Insert one of your scissor points on the side of the 

 under j aw, at a point about under the eye, and force 

 it up until it touches the top of the skull, then 

 make a clean cut on that side of the skull; do the 

 same on the other side; then a final cut across the 

 skull (inside) from eye to eye will release all the 

 matter contained therein and the brain will come 

 out whole. 



Now, with the right hand, hold the skin firmly «' 

 by the wing-bone while, with the fingers of the left 

 hand, you force the skin back on the wing until the 

 flesh and muscles of the fore-wing are exposed. 

 Clean these bones with the scalpel, removing every 

 particle of meat; also clean off" any particles of 

 flesh that may have been left on any part of the 

 skin. Turn the legs inside out again and you have 

 your specimen skinned and all ready to be poisoned. 



Arsenic used in the form of a soft soap, as de- 

 scribed in Chapter 10 is the best material known 

 for the preservation of a bird's skin. Of course 

 arsenic in the hands of careless or very ignorant 



