ORNITHOLOGICAL OBJECTS. 369 



picked up, it must be pressed firmly beneath the wings, 

 and it soon ceases to exist. Fill the shot holes with 

 cotton wool, also the mouth, and then wrap carefully up 

 in fine tissue paper before placing in your game bag. 

 By following out these few simple items your bird will 

 seldom become stained, or its plumage ruffled, in which 

 case, by the way, it is next to impossible to produce a 

 satisfactory specimen. Should the bird, in spite of all 

 your care, become blood-stained, you can remove the 

 stains with the aid of a little warm water applied with 

 cotton wool. When you dry the feathers, keep constantly 

 agitating them with the blade of your penknife or a 

 little stick. If you neglect this precaution, the feathers 

 when dry will present a very ragged and miserable 

 appearance. 



A word as to the instruments used in dissecting a 

 bird. The operator needs no more than a sharp pen- 

 knife and a pair of scissors with finely pointed blades ; 

 together with cotton wool, tow, needle and thread, and, 

 lastly, a little glass bottle of solution of corrosive subli- 

 mate dissolved in alcohol, similar to that used for pre- 

 serving eggs. Cases of instruments for skinning birds, 

 elaborate and expensive alike, are offered for sale ; but I 

 would advise you to have nothing to do with them : the 

 simpler your appliances the better. The articles I have 

 named are fit for every purpose, provided they are 

 used with a gentle hand. 



Supposing, then, that your bird is secured. Place it, 

 with the head pointing to your right shoulder, on your 

 dissecting table, on which should be spread a sheet of 

 cotton wool — this will prevent the plumage of your 

 specimen from becoming deranged — and proceed as 

 follows. With the back of your knife blade evenly part 

 the plumage from the lower part of the breast quite to 



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