THE SKINNING OF BIRDS 171 



being a bird, moreover, which most text-books of biology choose 

 for demonstrations, and thus familiarity with some of its parts 

 may make it a stepping-stone to further research. 



Let the pigeon, therefore, however killed, have a plug 

 of wool placed in the throat, pushed down and pulled out 

 again by means of the crooked awl, to cleanse the mouth from 

 any blood or other impurities ; let one also be run through the 

 nostrils in like manner, and finally insert another plug of clean 

 wool through the nostrils and in the throat, not, however, so 

 large a piece as to unduly distend the latter. Now lay the bird 

 upon its back on a clean sheet of paper, and make a note of 

 the colour of the eyes, bill, legs and toes ; note also the positions 

 assumed by the legs and wings in relation to the body, and the 

 general shape and length of the bird as a guide to future 

 operations. 



Let the bird's head point towards the right hand, and, 

 taking the pliers, No. 10, in that hand, seize the quill feathers 

 with the left ; stretch the wing to its full extent, place the nose 

 of the pliers close to the junction of the wing with the body 

 and snap the bone with them. Do the same with the other 

 wing. Now observe which side of the bird is the better, that is 

 to say, the less shot or the cleaner, and choose the worse side 

 upon which to make the first incision. In determining which is 

 the better side of a bird, the condition of the head should be the 

 first consideration, and, if this be much shot, that damaged side 

 will be chosen as the worse, not only on account of the difficulty 

 which the tyro will experience in dealing with such a specimen, 

 but also because the better side will ultimately be the " show " 

 side, and the head is, perhaps, the most important part in giving 

 character to a bird. 



Having, therefore, selected the worse side, turn the bird's 

 head diagonally to the front and to the left, arid, taking the 

 scalpel No. 4 or 6 in the right hand, part, with the left, the 



