INTRODUCTION. 21 



ings. The soiled places are moistened with hot water before the 

 absorbent is applied, and they are patted with the hand while the 

 plaster is drying off. This must not be done while the birds are in 

 the flesh, for the application of hot water will increase the flow of 

 blood from the openings. 



In putting away birds which are too large for the setting-board, a 

 good way is to make a paper cylinder which will slip easily over the 

 bird while in the flesh. When skinned and filled out in the usual 

 way, the slip is again drawn over the specimen and allowed to remain 

 till it is dry. In making skins of birds with long necks and heavy 

 heads, it is necessary to put a long wire, or a tough sapling, through 

 the whole length of the body and neck, because the skin becomes 

 very brittle when it is dry, and runs the risk of being broken in 

 handling. 



Proficiency in the art of mounting birds can only be acquired by 

 long practice, and a lot of poorly mounted specimens sitting about a 

 house are neither useful nor ornamental ; but anyone, by following 

 these instructions, should be able, with a little practice, to make up 

 skins fit to appear in any public museum or private collection. 



NESTS AND EGGS. 



Next in interest to a good collection of mounted birds, or skins, is 

 a collection of nests and eggs. By this I do not mean simply an 

 accumulation of nests and eggs, the number of which constitutes the 

 value of the collection, but a carefully handled nest, and a correctly 

 identified set of eggs of every bird known to breed within the district 

 over which the collector extends his observations. 



The suggestions following are for the guidance of those who may 

 wish to include them in their collections: 



Nest-building I regard as most interesting and important in the 

 study of a bird's history, for it tends to bring out all the intelligence 

 and taste of a species better than anything else in which we see 

 it engaged. There are some actions in a bird's life over which it 

 has no control, such as the depositing of eggs of a certain size and 

 color, and the hatching of them in a given time. These things are 

 fixed already, but the selection of the site for the nest, the material 

 of which it is to be composed, and the careful finish bestowed on 



