170 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 10-No. 11 



using a flue sponge. Have a tray filled with 

 plaster, put the wet part to the plaster, rub it 

 vigorously, pushing off the wet plaster and put- 

 ting on the dry. Keep the feathers moving. 

 Wufk a (ill the plaster tvill not stick. Then take 

 the bird and give it a thorough brushing, and 

 blow it with your breath till you get out all the 

 plaster dust. Take it by the wings and shake 

 well. The feathers will resume their natural po- 

 sition or lay. Be sure that the nostrils and bill 

 are well filled with cotton, or you may shake 

 blood out and have more cleaning to do, (The 

 vent of large birds should also be tilled with tot- 

 Ion.) Sometimes after skinning, j'ou may have 

 to clean the bird again, as the process will often 

 force blood out through the wounds, but the 

 second cleaning is not as hard as the first. Many 

 do not clean their birds till after skinning. My 

 reason for doing before is, that I consider there is 

 UKjre Iroulilc from the soiled parts soiling other 

 parts than from having to wash a second time. 

 If your bird is a white one and you wish to re- 

 move stains and dirt other than blood, wash first 

 with spirits of turpentine and dry with plaster ; 

 then wash with naphtha and dry with plaster. 

 As a general thing this will succeed. If not, 

 then try soap and water — wash out the soap and 

 dry with plaster. Ammonia and water is also 

 effective. Salt and water is recommended to 

 clean off blood; also alcohol and water. Ben- 

 zine s(?cms to act about the same as naphtha. 

 The plaster has a whitening effect w'hich assists 

 very much. The .stains that are troublesome are 

 confined to white birds. The dark ones never 

 trouble. I note that in looking over my collec- 

 tion, and that of others, I never notice blood 

 stains, and I think if the dry blood was simply 

 scraped off, the stain would fade so that it would 

 not be seen in a short time. 



One thing more. Do not Ijc afraid of your 

 bird. Take hold of it in a determined way. A 

 washed Crow can be thrown info plaster all over 

 till it looks like a Ptarmigan, and will come out 

 all right in the end, Some use meal instead of 

 plaster. If you wish to try it, get white bolted 

 meal ; keep it in a very dry place when not in 

 use. Meal is a good absorbent of grease. In 

 skinning birds that are very fat, such as shore 

 birds, you can use it freely. Throw it on as you 

 separate the skin and it will ]irevoul the fat from 

 soiling the fea'hers. 



So much for supplies that are used in the actual 

 stuffing. Those that are used in decorating, &c., 

 we will consider later. Meantime we will attend 

 to our bird. 



Practical Entomology. 



BY WlilOnT .\ND BATES, 73 nANOVEH ST., BOSTON. 



(Continued from Pat/e 157.) 



NIGHT COLLECTING. 



This is one of the most lucrative empluyiuenl.'^ 

 of the collector of Lepidoptera. At night, and 

 then only, can many of our rarest moths be cap- 

 tured. By far the best method for this work is 

 what is known as "Sugaring" or "Bailing." For 

 this a compound of stale beer, rum and molasses. 

 mi.\ed to the consistency of nuicilagc, is smeared 

 upon the trunks of from five to twenty trees, pre- 

 ferably an apple orchard, by means of a brush or 

 swab. Only a small i)lace about eight inches 

 square should be covered, which should be fre- 

 quently examined by means of a bull's-eye lantern. 

 The moths will flock to these baited spots on the 

 trees, and may easily be taken by placing a killing 

 bottle over them. It is well to hold the net under 

 the baited spot before turning on the light, as 

 many varieties have the- habit of suddenly drop- 

 ping to the ground on the approach of the light. 



The collector should not be discouraged, how- 

 ever, if the first one or two nights do not prove 

 renumeralive, for every night does not combine 

 the proper cimditions, and the oftener the place is 

 baited, the more moths will frequent it, sometimes 

 coming in large numbers. 



Advantage maj' be taken of the well known 

 fascination of the moth for light, by means of tlie 

 traj). This is a box open at one end ; at the 

 elosed end, behind a glass screen, is a lamj), jilaced 

 in front of a conve.x reflector; between this screen 

 and the open end is a series of four glass plates, 

 placed alternately at the top and bottom, extend- 

 ing two thirds the depth of the box, and raking 

 toward the lamp at an angle of 70 . 



The moth, tlying toward tne light, will strike 

 against the first plate, flutter over it to the next 

 and so on to the screen, which stops their pro- 

 gress and prevents them from getting scorched. 

 They may be taken out by opening a small door, 

 made at the top of the trap, and putting a killing 

 bottle over them. 



This trap may be in use while the collector is 

 attending to the baited trees, and examined occa- 

 sionally, or it may be left over night. 



We have taken many motlis, especially on 

 warm, rainy evenings, by oiiening the window of 

 a lighted room, or placing a light on a table on 

 the piazza ; they will be attracted by the light, 

 and may be taken in the usual manner. Care 

 must be taken, however, that they do not get 

 scorched in the flame. Now will look over the 



IIO.ME KIT. 



The first thing needed is the : 



