12 OBNITHOLOOICAL AND OOLOGICAL COLLECTING. 



and leave the double bones of the wing remain intact.' Skin thoroughly; 

 anoint them with poison and let them drop back in their place. Both wings 

 being detached and skinned we now proceed down the neck until the base of the skull 

 1b reached.^ For good reasons do not pull or stretch the neck skin in this operation. 

 In order to keep back any blood or liquid which is often ready to flow, before severing 

 the head from the neck tie a cord firmly about the neck just above the skull, as 

 shown in Plate 2, Pig. 6 i. Before severing the head from the body we will carefully 

 detach the membrane of the ear by inserting an awl or other pointed instrument 

 under it, and by pulling upward and outward quickly the membrane will come out 

 (Plate 2, Pig. 6 k). The eyes come next and can be observed through the thin mem- 

 brane; cut very slowly through this until the eye is exposed, and be careful not to 

 cut through the eye-lids (Pig. 7 m, Plate 2).^ Now loosen the skin from the skull 

 until you come down to the base of the mandibles. Scoop out the eye-balls, sever 



After the tendon has been removed run a. sharp-pointed wire in at the sole all the way 

 up and through the heel as seen in our illustration. On this wire, at the sole and at the 

 heel place with a brush, all the arsenical paste or arsenical soap that the wire will hold, 

 and then draw the wire up and down until the tarsi has been thoroughly poisoned. 1 have 

 frequently repeated this operation two and three times, and then coated the outside of the 

 tarsi and toes with the clear arsenical solution. 



1. LEAVING ALL, THE BONES IN WINGS OP BIRDS.— Never take any of the 

 wing-bones out of any of the larger birds, such as eagles, hawks, owls, loons, pelicans, 

 geese, ducks, large gulls, herons etc. You can hardly estimate the value there is in 

 leaving all the win^-bones in the' larger birds and 1 may say, even in the smaller ones. 

 Skin down to the double bones of the wing (ulna and radius) or elbow, clean the flesh 

 thoroughly from the single bone (humerus) and stop there; if it has been done prop- 

 erly the humerus will be seen as it is in Plate 4, Fig. 7. After treating both wings alike, 

 and, after you have sTtinned the bird completely as directed, and it is lying before you, 

 separate the feathers along the under side of the wing, make an incision, take out all 

 the flesh, but leave the Siecondaries of the wing attached to the ulna. This is clearly 

 Illustrated in Plate 4, Fig. 7. In order to thoroughly clean the entire wing of the flesh 

 an opening between the metacarpal bones should be made. This is also seen in the Fig. 

 just referred to. While it is of great importance to make this cut in order to take out all 

 the flesh and poison tfie skin and bones thoroughly to the end of the wing, many taxi- 

 dermists overlook this important point. In order to skin the wing in this manner, make 

 the incision .along the under sid^ of the wing as indicated in ou^ drawing, and after having 

 tile skin lifted up along both sides of the cut drive pins along its edge into your bench 

 to hold the skin back out of the way while you are removing the flesh. Poison the bones 

 and skin thoroughly, take the pins out and the wings are completely prepared. If the 

 wings are to be spread you should sew this opening up very nicely. In mounting a bird 

 with the wings spread never detach the feathers from the ulna of the wing, for you cannot 

 replace them as nature has done ; nor can you spread them so regularly if you detach them. 

 In skinning the wings as I have described there are many advantages to be gained. The 

 wings fold up or spread out perfectly^ ■ you can also always depend upon getting the proper 

 length of them. There is another point in the philosophy of leaving all the wing-bones in 

 birds. They assist materially in obtaining the proper shape of the back, and it is abso- 

 lutely impossible to find any artificial structure which will fill their place 'in this regard, 

 while their solidity is beyond question. 



2. EXCEPTIONS IN SKINNING THE HEADS OF CERTAIN BIRDS.— The heads 

 of some birds are too large to pass through the neck-skin, and thry must be skinned and 

 treated differently. To skin the heads of woodpeckers, ducks, geese, swans, flamingoes, 

 cranes, ostriches, peacocks, etc., an opening cut niust be made from the outside as seen in 

 Fig. 5, Plate 4. Skin down to the base of the bill as usual, cut away the flesh, take out the 

 eyes and brain, poison thoroughly, fill the eye-sockets with cotton and sew up the slit as 

 seen in Fig. 6 of the sxme plate. This is done, of course, after skinning down as far as 

 possible on the inside. Make a hole in your bench to fit the shape of your bird's bill and 

 rest it in there while si inniflg the head (Plate 4, Fig. 5). 



3. OWLS' ETES.— Never remove the bony eye-oup in owls. If you take these out 

 your owls will lose their characteristic expression. Dig the eye-ball out with your scalpel 



