48 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY PART I 



would result.i It takes just four pieces of stuffing — one for each 

 eye, one for the neck, and one for the body ; while it requires 

 rather less than half as much stuffing as an inexperienced person 

 might suppose. Take a shred of cotton that will make a tight ball 

 as large as the bird's eye ; stick it on the end of your knitting- 

 needle, and by twirling the needle whilst the cotton is confined in 

 your finger tips, you make a neat ball. Introduce this through the 

 belly-opening into the eye-socket; if you have cut away skull 

 enough, as already directed, it will go right in; disengage the 

 needle with a reverse twirl, and withdraw it. Take hold of the 

 bill with one hand, and with the forceps in the other, dress the eye- 

 lids neatly and naturally over the elastic substance within. Eepeat 

 for the other eye. Take next a shred of cotton that will roll into 

 a firm cylinder rather less than the size of the bird's neck. Eoll it 

 on the needle much as you did the eyeball, introduce it in the same 

 way, and ram it firmly into the base of the skull ; disengage the 

 needle by -twirling it the other way, and withdraw it, taking care 

 not to dislodge the cotton neck. If now you peep into the skin 

 you wiU see the end of this artificial neck ; push it up against the 

 skin of the breast, — it must not lie down on the back between the 

 shoulders.^ The body-wad comes next, to imitate the size and shape 

 of the bird's trunk. Take a mass of cotton you think will be 

 enough, and take about half of this ; that will be plenty (cotton is 

 very elastic). It should make a tolerably firm ball, rather egg- 

 shaped, swelling at the breast, smaller behind. If you simply 

 squeeze up the cotton, it will not stay compressed ; it requires a 

 motion something like that which bakers employ to knead dough 

 into the shape of a loaf. Keep tucking over the borders of the 

 cotton till the desired shape and firmness are attained. Insert the 



1 Tor any ordinary bird up to the size of a crow, it is often dii-ected that the 

 leg-bones and wing-bones be wrapped with cotton or tow. I should not think of 

 putting anything around the wing-bones of any bird up to the size of an eagle, swan, 

 or pelican. Examination of a skinned wing will show how extremely compact it is' 

 except just at the shoulder. What you remove will never make any difference from 

 the outside, while you would almost inevitably get in too much, not of the right 

 shape, and make an awkward bulging no art would remedy ; I say, then, leave the 

 wings of all but the largest birds empty, and put in very little cotton under any cir- 

 cumstances. As for legs, the whole host of small perching birds need no wrapping 

 whatever ; depend upon it you will make a nicer skin without wrapping. But large 

 birds and those with very muscular or otherwise prominent legs must have the 

 removal of flesh compensated. I treat of these cases beyond. 



2 Although a bird's neck is really, of course, in direct continuation of the back- 

 bone, yet the natural sigmoid curve of the neck is such that it virtually takes depart- 

 ure rather from the breast, its lower curve being received between the prongs of the 

 merrythought. This is what we must imitate instead of the true anatomy If you 

 let the end of the neck he between the shoulders, it will infallibly press them apart 

 so that the interscapular pliunage cannot shingle over the scapular feathers as it 

 should, and a gaping place, showing down or even naked skin, will result Likewise 

 if the neck be made too large (the chances are that way at first), the same result 

 foUows. These seemingly trifling points are very important. 



