REARING ANIMALS AND MAKING COLLECTIONS 339 



an auxiliary barrel use 32 -calibre shells loaded with dust- 

 shot instead of bullets. Plug up the throat and vent of 

 shot birds with cotton, and thrust each bird head down- 

 ward into a cornucopia of paper. This will keep the 

 feathers unsoiled and smooth. 



Birds should be skinned soon after bringing home, after 

 they have become relaxed, but before evidences of decom- 

 position are manifest. The tools and materials necessary 

 to make skins are scalpel, strong sharp-pointed scissors, 



Fig. 257. — Setting-board in cross-section to show construction. (After 

 Comstock.) 



bone-cutters, forceps, corn-meal, a mixture of two parts 

 white arsenic and one part powdered alum, cotton, and 

 metric-system measure. Before skinning, the bird should 

 be measured. With a metric-system measure carefully 

 take the alar extent, i.e. spread from tip to tip of out- 

 stretched wings; length of wing, i.e. length from 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 



