20 



MAKING A BIRDSKIN. 



will now appear ; carefully out the membrane joining the skin and 

 eyeball, making the incision as far back as possible, iu order to avoid 

 cutting the skin, which should be pulled forward until it is entirely 

 free of the eyeball. 16. Remove the eyes with the forceps. 17. With 

 the sharp-pointed scissors make an incision directly across the roof of 

 tiie mouth, inside the branches of the lower mandible, just back of the 

 skin, and below the eye-sockets. 18. With the sharp-pointed scissors 

 make incisions from either end of this cut back along the branches of 

 the lower mandible through the base of the skull on either side of the 

 neck at its junction with the skull. 19. Connect these cuts by a fourth, 

 which passes through the base of the skull just above the neck, and 

 pull the body and neck from the skull. 20. Scoop out what brains 

 remain with the handle of the scalpel. 21. Pull the end of the wing- 

 bone (humerus) inward, skinning the feathers off the bones of the fore- 

 arm (radius and ulna), and remove the flesh. 22. Do the same thing 

 for the legs, but, after cleaning, do not in either case pull the bones 

 back. 23. Remove as much flesh as possible from the base of the tail, 

 including the oil-gland at the base of the tail above. 24. Hold the 

 skin over the arsenic and alum box, and with a bit of fluffy cotton at 

 the end of a stick, or held in the forceps, dust it thoroughly with the 

 poison, giving an extra allowance to the base of the tail and bones of 

 the skull, wings, and legs. 25. Pull the legs back into place. 26. 

 Place a fluff of cotton on the end of a wire and roll it into a firm, smooth 

 ball, placing one in each eye-socket. 27. Coax the skin back over the 

 head, using the first two fingers of each hand and placing the thumbs 

 at the base of the skull. When the tip of the bill appears through 

 the feathers, use the fingers outside, on the feathers, pressing the skin 

 back over the head, and keeping the thumbs in the same position. 

 When the bill is free, take it with the right hand, and use the fingers 

 of the left to urge the skin over the skull, being careful to get it in 

 its former place so that the feathers of the head will lie smoothly. 

 28. Dress the feathers of the head, particularly those about the 

 eye. 29. Take hold of the tip of the bill and shake the skin gently 

 but vigorously to aid in settling the plumage. 30. Lay the skin on 

 its back, the bill pointing from you, and turn back the feathers 

 about the opening on the belly. 31. See that the wing-bones lie flat 

 on the back of the skin, with their ends touching each other.* 33. 



* The most difficult part in malting a birdskin is to induce the wings to aS' 

 sume anything like their natural position when closed. This is because the arti- 

 ficial, cotton body is apt to force them outward on to the sides rather than on 

 the back, where they belong. 



In the bird in the flesh the wings are held in place by being attached to the 

 body ; in the skin they are loose and hanging. To remedy this, after drawing 



