PEOOESS OF SKINNING. 61 



sion of the skin, you now find you have a naked body con- 

 nected dumb-bell-wise by a naked neck to a cap of reversed 

 skin into which the head has disappeared, from the inside 

 of which the legs and wings dangle, and around the edges of 

 which is a row of plumage and a tail.* Here comes up an im- 

 portant consideration : the skin, plumage, legs, wings and tail 

 together weigh something — enough to stretch'\ unduly the skin 

 of the neck, from the small cylinder of which they are now 

 suspended ; the whole mass must be supported. For small 

 birds, gather it in the hollow of your left haud, letting the 

 , body swing over the back of your hand out of the way; for 

 large ones, rest the affair on the table or your lap. To skin 

 the head, secure the body in the position just indicated, by 

 conflning the neck between your left thumb and forefinger; 

 bring the right fingers and thumb to a cone over the head, and 

 draw it out with gentle force; or, holding the head itself be- 

 tween the left thumb and forefinger, insert the handle of the 

 sca,lpel between the skin and skull, and pry a little, to enlarge 

 the neck-cylinder of skin enough to let the head pass. It will 

 generally}: slip out of its hood very readily, as far as its 

 greatest diameter ; § there it sticks, being in fact pinned by 

 the mars. Still holding the' bird as before, with the point of 

 the scalpel handled like a nut-picker, or with your thumb-nail, 

 detach the delicate membrane that lines the ear-opening ; do 

 the same for the other ear. The skull is then shelled out to 

 the eyes, and will skin no further of its own accord, being 



* You find that the little straight cut you made along the belly has somehow be- 

 come a hole larger than the greatest girth of the bird; be undismayed; it is all 

 right. 



t If you have up to this point properly i)MsAed off the skin instead of pulling it, 

 there is as yet probably no stretching of any consequence; but in skinning the 

 head, which comes next, it is almost impossible for a beginner to avoid stretching 

 to an extent involving great damage to the good looks of a skin. Try your utmost, 

 by delicacy of manipulation at the lines of contact of skin with flesh and only 

 there, to prevent lengthwise stretching. Crosswise distension is of no conse- 

 quence—in fact more or less of it is usually required to skin the head, and it tends 

 to counteract the evils of findue elongation. 



t The special case of head too large for the calibre of the neck is treated beyond. 



§ And you will at once find a great apparent increase of amount of free skin in 

 your hand, owing to release and extension of all that was before shortened in 

 length by circular distension, in enlargement of the'neck-cylinder. 



