SETTING UP BIRDS ON IMPROVED PRINCIPLES 197 



the wing of the worse side until the bones appear, then make 

 an incision from the gape of the bill to the anterior edge of 

 the wing, and from here extend the cut over the wing down to 

 the tail. Make another incision thence, passing just inside the 

 leg to meet the one at the anterior angle of the wing, the 

 effect being that an oval piece of skin can be stripped from the 

 body, exposing the whole of that side, including the wing and 

 leg. Now take the cut edges in the. fingers of the left hand and 

 lift the skin in the ordinary manner with a knife away from the 

 flesh of the other side, leaving it attached only at (i) the bill ; 

 (2) the angle of the eye ; (3) the wing at the junction of the 

 humerus, radius, and ulna (see Plate VIII.) ; (4) the leg just above 

 the tarso-meta-tarsal joint ; and (S) at the end of the tail. No 

 members, it will be observed, are cut off, and, where the attach- 

 ments of the skin are noted, the skin is merely freed around 

 and at the leg and wing as when skinning a bird for mounting. 



Place wadding between the skin and flesh, so that the 

 former, and the feathers outside, may be kept clean, and 

 remove the intestines and other organs, leaving, however, the 

 windpipe attached at the chest and throat. This done, remove 

 all . flesh from the bones with the knife and scissors, getting 

 them as clean as may be, but being careful not to cut the 

 ligaments which hold the joints together. Remove the eyes, 

 and, through the orbit on the opened side, extract the brains. 



Before the removal of the flesh, it will, of course, have been 

 necessary to take note of the, amount of flesh upon the bones 

 of the opposite side to the incision, for purposes of reproduc- 

 tion. If this cannot be done by the eye aided by the memory, 

 it will be necessary to cut the breast part off" in one portion, 

 and strip the flesh from the leg in the same manner, and keep 

 them for reference. When the bones are well cleared of flesh, 

 run a pointed wire through the skin from the outside, in at the 

 top of the skull, and let it traverse the orifices (or neural 



