
42 HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN. 
sweeping strokes, hugging the skin rather than the body. The 
knee and shoulder commonly require disarticulation, unless 
you use bone-nippers or strong shears; the four cuts of the 
skull may presuppose avery able-bodied instrument —even a 
chisel. ‘The wings will give you the most trouble, and they 
require a special process ; for you cannot readily break up the 
adhesions of the secondary quills to the ulna, nor is it desi- 
rable that very large feathers should be deprived of this natural 
‘support. Hammer or nip off the great head of the upper arm- 
bone, just below the insertion of the breast muscles; clean 
the rest of that bone and leaveitin. Tie a string around it 
(what sailors call ‘‘two half hitches” gives a secure hold on 
the bony cylinder), and tie it to the other humerus, inside the 
skin, so that the two bones shall be rather less than their natu- 
ral distance apart. After the skin is brought right side out, 
attack the wings thus: spread the wing under side uppermost, 
and secure it on the table by driving a tack or brad through 
the wrist-joint ; this fixes the far end, while the weight of the 
skin steadies the other. Raise a whole layer of the under 
wing coverts, and make a cut in the skin thus exposed, from 
elbow to wrist, in the middle line between the two forearm 
bones. Raise the flaps of skin, and all the muscle is laid bare ; 
it is to be removed. ‘This is best done by lifting each muscle 
from its bed separately, slipping the handle of the scalpel 
under the individual bellies ; there is little if any bony attach- 
ment except at each end, and this is readily severed. Strew 
in arsenic; a little cotton may be used to fill the bed of mus- 
cle removed from a very large bird; bring the flaps of skin 
together, and smooth down the coverts ; you need not be par- 
ticular to sew up the cut, for the coverts will hide the opening ; 
in fact, the operation does not show at all after the make- 
up. Stuffing of large birds is not commonly done with only 
the four pieces already directed. The eyeballs, and usually 
the neck-cylinder, go in as before; the body may be filled any 
way you please, provided you do not put in too much stuffing 
nor get any between the shoulders. All large birds had better 
have the leg bones wrapped to nearly natural size. Observe 

