SOME HiNTS ON NATURAL HISTORY SPECIMENS, 207 
of the sternum would be left standing up in a knife-like ridge, which will 
soon become bare of feathers by taking the specimen in and out of its case. 
The first thing, therefore, to do before carbolizing the bird is to break the 
sternum in thoroughly, as cooks do who wish to make a skinny fowl 
look plump upon the table. Secondly the eyeballs will fall in and shrink 
and give the head, when dry, a very miserable appearance ; two days after 
the bird has been carbolized it will be found quite easy to turn the eyeball 
out of the sockets, and then, brushing the inside of the sockets with a little 
carbolic acid, wool can be filled in to the proper size, and the eyelids drawn 
over it in the usual manner. Thirdly, the feet will dry harsh and hard, with 
agreat tendency to interfere with the tail; they will often also become 
greasy in drying. The best plan is to cross the legs and feet, and wrap them 
both up in alittle piece of blotting paper. This will insure their drying 
without soiling the tail, and in such a position as not thereafter to interfere 
with the tail, Fourthly it is difficult to open and measure. the wings on 
carbolized specimens, To doit properly one has to break the bones of the 
wings ; this can be safely done when the bird is fresh, but not quite so well 
when it is dry ; therefore, before a carbolized specimen is dry, always break 
the wing-bone close to the body, 
_If the bird to be carbolized is not bigger than a sparrow, all that is really 
necessary, after firmly plugging the vent with cotton, is (the four points above 
noted being borne in mind) to hold the bird up by the bill, open the mouth, 
push a pencil down the throat, as faras it cango, to open the gullet, and 
drop in carbolic acid, 5, 10, 15, 20,30 drops, as muchas will go, due regard being 
had to the size of the bird, and great care being taken not to allow any to 
run over the edge of the mouth on to the feathers, as it bleaches some 
feathers and injures all, A plug of cotton should then be put into ihe 
throat, and the bird hung up for a little while by a pin run through the 
nostrils to allow of the acid being absorbed. A couple of hours later, the bird 
may be placed in a cone or tube in the usual way, and left to dry as usual. 
With care the most superb specimens of humming birds, sunbirds, fire- 
crests and the like, may be preserved at the rate of about 12 per hour by 
this process, 
If the bird is larger than a sparrow it is better, though not absolutely 
essential, to open the abdomen, extract all the entrails, clean out the cavity 
of the body, and then fill in the cavity with a good lump of cotton wool 
well coated exteriorly with carbolicacid. The abdomen is then sewn up again, 
a plug of cotton wool saturated in carbolic acid is put into the throat, and 
from inside the mouth a small hole is bored into the brain-pan, a little 
carbolic acid syringed through this, cotton wvol soaked in carbolic acid 
placed in the mouth, and the bird hung up as before, and later put up 
to dry. Be the bird big or little, the four points first noted must be attended 
to if a good specimen is wanted, 
