SKINNING BIRDS. 45 



injuring my health, and that of others, I began to 

 experiment upon other substances, and after trying 

 a quantity of various things, have succeeded in 

 manufacturing a nearly odorless compound which 

 has the following advantages over arsenic : It 

 thoroughly preserves the skins of birds, mammals, 

 reptiles, and fishes from decay, and also prevents 

 the attacks of dermestes or anthrenus, while the 

 feathers of birds and hair of mammals are not as 

 liable to be attacked by moths as when the skin is 

 preserved with arsenic. This preservative when 

 properly applied abstracts the oil from greasy skins, 

 thus preventing them from becoming decayed 

 through carbonization, as nearly always occurs in 

 ducks' skins after a few years. It is a deodorizer, 

 all disagreeable smells leaving the skin to which it 

 is applied ; and above all it is not a poison. I used 

 this dermal preservative, as we have named it, as 

 an absorbent while skinning birds, especially small 

 ones, as then the plumage is dusted with it neces- 

 sarily, which insures more or less protection to the 

 feathers from the attacks of moths. 



To render my preservative, or indeed any other, 

 effective, it must be thoroughly applied to the 

 skin; all the portions, especially those to which 

 any flesh adheres, must be well covered with it, 



