Bird Shinning and Mounting. 31 



and obtuse angles to hold them in place (1 and 

 2, Fig. 3). Now your bird will look much bet- 

 ter, and with the exception of rumpled feathers, 

 quite lifelike. To remedy this latter, with the 

 knitting-needle and thumb go all over the bird 

 with a kind of picking process ; lifting the 

 feathers and letting them gently fall into place. 

 You cannot work over the bird too long in this 

 way ; and the more time you spend in dressing 

 the feathers, the better will be your specimen 

 after drying. Now stick two pins along the 

 back, and three along the breast (G, H, I, J, K). 

 Fasten one end of the thread from the bobbin to 

 the projecting head wire, and carefully wind the 

 entire bird. Do this loosely, so as not to dis- 

 arrange any of the feathers, tightening, however, 

 wherever they tend to rise or look uneven. 



This winding process is considered by some to 

 be the most difficult part of bird mounting. 



The specimen should now be set away for 

 several days, or even weeks, if the bird be a 

 large one, and allowed to dry; after which it 

 may be unwound; the eyelids soaked, by in- 

 serting little flabs of wet cotton until they 



