SOME HINTS ON NATURAL HISTORY SPECIMENS, — 273 
ends loose; to one end I tie a good-sized pin by the head,to the other a 
slice of common cork about 3 inch thick, so that the cork hangs about two 
inches; below the rod, and tie pin, when held horizontally, is just opposite 
the centre of the cork, The pinisrun through the nostrils of any small 
bird we have to carry,and the point pushed firmly into the cork. Thus 
suspended, 10 or 20 small birds’can be carried by any cooly in one hand 
without any injury to the plumage being possible. Larger birds cannot be 
thus treated ; their weight insome cases might break the nostrils, in all 
would unduly stretch the neck. These should be hung by the feet by 
loops attached to a rather stouter rod, a strip or two of rag or cloth, abeut 
three inches wide, being pinned close round them, so as to keep the wings 
closed tight against the body, : a i: 
“Tt sometimes happens that the satiinaliat ee no companion, eat ba 
perforce carry his birds himself. In this case, after most carefully plugging 
mouth, nostrils, and shot-holes, and placing sand ora piece of cotton over 
any bloody place, he should makea cone of paper (which a single pin put in 
the proper place will suffice todo), and then drop the bird carefully into 
the cone head foremost; the broad portion of the cone is then to be care- 
fully folded in round the hinder part of the bird, and the folds secured 
with a second (or, if necessary, a third or fourth) pin, Thus packed, the 
bird will travel uninjured in game bag or pocket, but the plugging is an 
essential part of the business, as otherwise water or blood is sure to run out 
of the mouth, &c., and greatly injure the plumage.” 
The necessity for prompt and careful labelling, referred to in the previous 
part of this paper, «f course, applies equally to birds as to all other 
Specimens, and in the case of any doubtful or rare species it is always 
advisable to note thereon the colours of the ‘ soft parts ’—viz., the legs, beak, 
iris, bare skin about the face or head, &c, Measurements are not of such 
importance, for, with the exception of the length, which is taken in a 
straight line between the tip of the bill and the end of the longest taii feather, 
the others that are usually taken remain constant in the dried specimen, 
and can be referred to at any time. These are the lengths of wing, tail, bill 
from.gape to tip of upper mandible, tarsus, and possibly of toes and claws. 
The label should be after the same style as that described for small mam- 
mals, only of somewhat smaller size—say 23 inches by 1 inch—made of thin 
but tough ‘hand-made’ paper, so that it will not injure the feathers. In the 
corner should be gummed a small disc of thin card or ‘cartridge paper, 
‘with a small hole punched in its centre afterwards, to take the attaching 
thread. The best material for this is thick crochet-cotton tied as follows :-— 
After passing the thread through the hole in the label, knot it close in to the 
edge and then knot it again } to 3 inch further up, Jt is then ready for 
tying on to the specimen’s legs, and will lie nicely and be easy to read on both 
sides, Supplies of such labels are always available at the Society’s rooms, 
