36 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. 



large birds to their natural dimensions ; they talce up too much room. Let tlic head, neck, 

 and legs be accurately prepared, but leave the main cavity one-third if not one-half empty ; 

 no more is required than will fairly smooth out creases in the skin. Reduce bulk rather by 

 flattening out than by general compression. Use tow instead of cotton ; and if at all short ol 

 tow, ecououdze with paper, hay, etc., at least for the deeper portions of the main stuffing. 

 Large birds may be "set" in a great cjuantity of tow; wrapped in paper, much like any 

 other parcel ; or simply left to dry on the table, the \\-ings being imly supported by cushioning 

 i>\- iitlier suitable means. 



Shape. — Some special configurations have been noticed in the last paragraph, prema- 

 turely perhaps, but leading directly up to further considerations respecting shape of certain 

 birds as a modifying element in the process of preparation. As for skinning, there is one 

 extremely important matter. Most ducks, many wood]ieekers, flamingoes, and doubtless 

 some others with which I am not famihar, cannot be skinned in the usual way, because the 

 head is too large for the calibre of the neck and cannot be drawn through. In such cases, 

 skin as usual to the base of the skull, cat ofl' the head there (inside the skhi of course i, and 

 operate upon it, after turning the skin right side out, as follows : Part the feathers carefully 

 in a straight line down the back of the skull, make a cut through the skin, just h.mg enough 

 to permit the head to pass, draw out the skull through this opening, and dress it as already 

 directed. IJeturu it, draw the edges of the cut nicely tugetlier, and seu' up the c^peuiug with 

 a great many fine stitches. Simple as it may appear, this process is often embarrassing, for 

 the cut has an uiduippy tendency to wander ab(Hit tlie necli, enlarging itself even under the 

 most careful manijiulation ; while the feathers of the parts are usually so slnirt, that it is diffi- 

 cult to eflace all traces of tlie operation. I consider it very disagreeable ; but for ducks I know 

 of no alternative. I have however found out a way to avoid it with woodpeckers, excepting 

 the very largest ;, it is this : Before skinning, part the eyelids, and ))luuge the scalpel right 

 into the eyeballs; seize the cut edge of the ball with the forcejis, and pull the eye right out. 

 It may be dexterously done without spilling the eye-water on the plumage ; but, for fear of 

 this, previou.sly put a little pile of plaster on the spot. Throw arsenic into the socliet, and 

 then till it witlr cotton poked in between the lids. The eyes are thus disposed of. Then, in 

 skinning, when you come tn the head, dissever it from the neck and Avork the skull as far out 

 as you can; it may be sufficiently exposed, in all eases, for you to gouge out the base of the 

 skuU with the scissors, and get at the bi-ain to remove it. Apply an extra large dose of 

 arsenic, and you wiU never hear from what jaw-muscle has been left in. In all these cases, as 

 already remarked, the head is preferably set lying ou one sidi', with the bill pointing obliquely 

 to the right or left. Certain birds require a special mode of sctthig : these are, birds with very 

 long legs or neck, or both, as swans, geese, jielicans, cormorants, snakebirds, loons, and 

 especially cranes, herons, ibises, and flandngoes. Long Ugs should Tie doubled completely on 

 themselves by bending at tlie heel-jniut, and either tucked vmdiT the Mings, or laid on the 

 under surface ; the chief point is to see that the toes lie flat, so that the claws do not stick up. 

 to catch in tldngs or get broken ofl'. A long neclc should lie carefully folded: not at a sharji 

 angle with a crease in the skin, but with a short curM', and brought round either to the side 

 of tlie bird or ou its breast, as may seenr most convenient. Tlie oliject is to make a " bah' " 

 of the skin as nearly as may be, and when it is properly eflected it is surprising what little 

 space a crane, for instance, occupies. But it is rarely, if ever, aihiiissilde to bend a tailback 

 on the body, however inconveniently long it may be. Special dilations of skin, lilu' the pouch 

 of a pelican, or the air sacs of a prairie hen, may be moderately displayed. 



Thin Skin. — Loose Plumage. — It is astonishing how much resistance is oft'ered by 

 the tliin skin of the smallest bii'd. Though no thicker than tissue paper, it is not very liable 



