478 



THE ANIMALS AND MAN 



spread from tip to tip of outstretched wings; length of 

 wing, i. e., length of wrist-joint to tip; length of bill in 

 straight line from base (on dorsal aspect) to tip; length of 

 tarsus, and length of middle toe and claw. 



To skin the bird, cut from anus to point of breast-bone 

 through the skin only. Work skin away on each side to legs; 

 push each leg up, cut off at knee-joint, skin down to next 

 joint, remove all flesh from bone, and pull leg back into place; 

 loosen skin at base of tail, cut through' vertebral column at 

 last joint, being careful not to cut through bases of tail- 

 feathers; work skin forward, turning it inside out, loosening 



it carefully all 

 around, without 

 stretching, to wings; 

 cut off wings at el- 

 bow-joint, skin 

 down to next joint 

 and remove flesh 

 from wing-bones; 

 push skin forward 

 to base of skull, 

 and if skull is not 

 too large (it is in 

 ducks, woodpeckers, and some other birds), on over it to 

 ears and eyes; be very careful in loosening the membrane 

 of ears and in cutting nictitating membrane of eyes; do 

 not cut into eyeball; remove eyeballs without breaking; 

 cut off base of skull, and scoop out brain; remove flesh 

 from skull, and "poison" the skin by dusting it thoroughly 

 with the powdered arsenic and alum mixture. Turn skin 

 right side out, and clean off fresh blood-stains by soaking 

 them up with corn-meal; wash off dried blood with water, 

 and dry with corn-meal. Corn-meal may be used during 

 skinning to soak up blood and grease. 



There remains to stuff the skin. Fill orbits of eyes with 

 cotton (this can be advantageously done before skin is re- 

 versed); thrust into neck a moderately compact, elastic, 

 smooth roll of cotton about thickness of the natural neck; 



Fig. 244. Setting-board in cross-section to show 

 construction. (After Comstock.) 



