Guide to Taxidermy 67 



air; it should, however, be kept in a closed tin box 

 and only such quantity taken out as is required. 



Having the material ready and your specimen's 

 eyelids well softened we will proceed with the oper- 

 ation. Introduce the putty through the eyelids, 

 with the tweezers, in the form of little pellets, un- 

 til you have the cavity comfortably filled; then put 

 the eye in position. With the point of a needle 

 draw the lids down so as to cover the rim of the 

 eye and push back, out of sight, any putty that may 

 be visible around the edges. Finally wipe the glass 

 eye with a moist piece of cotton and it will give it 

 the lustre of life. 



Finishing the Specimens 



With your wire cutters cut off the wire that pro- 

 trudes from the top of the head, the one through 

 the root of the tail and the two that pass through SvwoAiov<-"WA .KvXa 

 the birds wings, sliding the cutters down on the wire 

 as closely to the skin as possible so that the end of 

 the wire will be covered with the feathers. Pull 

 out, with a twisting motion, the two wires put in 

 the side of the bird to support the wings, and slide 

 the bent wire off the tail. A light dusting with 



