SKINNING AND PEESEKVING BIRDS. 105 



One of the most important, however, of all methods of skinning 

 ever invented, is that known as skinning from under the wing ; 

 it is perhaps more difficult to a "beginner than the other way of 

 skinning, but its advantages are enormous. Supposing you have 

 a bird very badly shot, or one with its wing half torn off or 

 ripped underneath, as sometimes happens, you then, instead of 

 complicating matters by making an incision in another place, 

 take advantage of the ripped side and cut it open there. The 

 birds, however, for which this system is invaluable are sea birds, 

 or all birds having white or very light coloured breasts. To cut 

 such birds on the breast practically ruins them, for however well 

 a sea bird's skin may be cleaned, there still remains some little 

 greasiness between the roots of the feathers ; and in spite of the 

 most careful sewing, the capillary action of the thread used in 

 stitching up (aided, of course, by the position of the mounted 

 bird — ^breast downward) is sufficient to draw to the surface 

 whatever oily fat or grease remains in the skin ; and though it 

 may not show for a few months, yet, sooner or later, a rust 

 coloured line of grease appears, and in spite of all cleaning will 

 reappear, and gradually spread over the breast, destroying the 

 beauty of perhaps a unique specimen. 



To skin a bird from under the wing, select the worst side, 

 or that injured the most by shot, &c., and laying the bird 

 with that side uppermost, make an incision from just above the 

 leg to just under the wing. Push the leg-bone up, and cut it off 

 with a pair of scissors ; then work the skin away a little from 

 the back, and as much as possible from the breast, gradually 

 working your way until you see the wing-bone, which cut oft'. 

 Careful skinning brings you to the neck and windpipe, which 

 also cut off. The whole of one side of the bird is now skinned 

 out with the exception of the tail; come downward on the 

 opposite side to your incision, and across the breast until you 

 can cut off the remaining wing ; having done this, keep skinning 

 downward until the leg is arrived at, and cut off. N'othing now 

 holds the skin to the body but the tail-bone, which separate. 

 Clean and finish the bird in the ordinary way. 



I shall now suppose that, instead of making a skin (as previously 

 described), you desire to stuff the specimen with the ultimate 

 idea of its forming part of a collection mounted in the same 



