BULLETIN 39, tfNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



[10] 



for other purposes; (5) needles and thread for sewing up incisions of 

 the skin. All these iinpleunMits, especially the scalpel and scissors, 

 should be taken in duplicate, or even in larger numbers, to make up for 

 possible or even probable loss, while needles may be taken in consid- 



FlG. 5. — Curved scissors. 



erable quantity. In addition to the articles named as being absolutely 

 necessary, one or two large steel-handled scalpels or " cartilage knives " 

 would be useful in skinning large birds, and a pair of long straight 

 forceps is very handy for introducing cotton into the neck, but these 

 may easily be dispensed with. 



Fia. 6.— Small curved scissors with blunt point. 



Many collectors and taxidermists use a hook by which to attach the 

 carcass of a bird during the process of skinning, thus allowing the free 

 use of both hands. If the beginner can learn to do without this appli- 

 ance, however, it will in the end prove advantageous, since a complica- 

 tion of apparatus is one of the things much to be avoided. There can 

 be no question, however, that at times such an appliance would be 

 found very useful, particularly in the case of birds so large as to be 

 difficult to handle. For making it, take a good sized fishhook (about 

 a number 7 " Limerick" with ringed end), file off" the barb, and fasten 

 securely to a piece of stout twine 2 or 3 feet long. The other end of the 

 twine can then be tied to a stout nail driven into a beam or post, or to 

 a limb, and the hook stuck into the bony part of the lower back or 

 pelvis of the carcass, immediately after the vertebral column has been 

 severed at the base of the tail and the skin peeled from the rump for 

 a short distance. Should the same arrangement be con.sidered desira- 



