ON PRESERVING BIRDS. 337 



Your dove will be in artless, fearless innocence, looking 

 mildly at you, with its neck, not too much stretched, as 

 if uneasy in its situation, or drawn too close into the 

 shoulders, like one wishing to avoid a discovery ; but in 

 moderate, perpendicular length, supporting the head hori- 

 zontally, which will set off the breast to the best advan- 

 tage. And the breast ought to be conspicuous, and have 

 this attention paid to it ; for when a young lady is sweet 

 and gentle in her manners, kind and affable to those around 

 her ; when her eyes stand in tears of pity for the woes of 

 others, and she puts a small portion of what Providence 

 has blessed her with into the hand of imploring poverty and 

 hunger — then we say she has the breast of a turtle-dove. 



You will observe how beautifully the feathers of a bird 

 are arranged, one falling over the other in nicest order ; 

 and that, where this charming harmony is interrupted, the 

 defect, though not noticed by an ordinary spectator, will 

 appear immediately to the eye of a naturalist. Thus, a 

 bird not wounded and in perfect feather must be procured 

 if possible, for the loss of feathers can seldom be made 

 good ; and where the deficiency is great, all the skill of 

 the artist will avail him little in his attempt to conceal 

 the defect, because, in order to hide it, he must contract 

 the skin, bring down the upper feathers, and shove in the 

 lower ones, which would throw all the' surrounding parts 

 into contortion. 



You will also observe that the whole of the skin does 

 not produce feathers, and that it is very tender where the 

 feathers do not grow. The bare parts are admirably 

 formed for expansion about the throat and stomach, and 

 they fit into the different cavities of the body at the wings, 

 shoulders, rump, and thighs with wonderful exactness ; so 

 that in stuffing the bird, if you make an even rotund 

 surface of the skin where these cavities existed, in lieu of 



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