BIRDS. | 
ward his left hand. The feathers are then separated in the 
median line by the left hand, and an incision is made much 
as in mammals, the extent of this slit varying somewhat 
with the expertness of the operator, as well as the kind of 
bird being skinned. ‘The slit being made, the fingers are in- 
serted between the skin and the flesh, and the parts exposed 
dusted with plaster of Paris, to prevent any adhesion of the 
feathers. In some cases, it is advantageous to sew strips of 
cloth to the cut edges of the skin to keep the feathers clean, 
and also to prevent the skin from stretching. ‘The legs are 
now pushed forward, and divided at the knee joints, after 
which the vertebral column is divided, leaving the last joint 
in the skin, as a support to the tail feathers. The body is 
then suspended from the hook by the rump end, and the skin 
separated from the back and sides (as in the case of mam- 
mals) until the shoulder joints appear. If the bird in hand 
be a water-fowl, it may be necessary to separate the wings at 
the shoulder joint, but whenever possible the division had 
best be made at the elbow. ‘The neck is next to be skinned, 
taking great care not to stretch the skin, especially in the case 
of the long-necked birds. ‘Then the head is separated from 
the integument as far as the bill. Now remove the tongue 
and muscles from the skull, and separate it from the neck, 
placing the carcase aside, and remove the brain from the 
skull with a quill, enlarging the opening if necessary for the 
purpose. Great care should be taken, in skinning the head, 
not to injure the external ear and the parts around the eyes. 
The bones left in the legs (4#éz@) are now to be skinned, 
cleaned, thoroughly covered with preservative (arsenic or 
