Jiird Skinning and Mounting. 17 



LABELLING. 



Let us take this Blue Jay for your first at- 

 tempt. The first thing to be done is to measure 

 and label it — and, by the way, never neglect 

 this, for a bird without its label in a collection, 

 is like a ship at sea without its rudder. Length 

 — Lay the bird on its back, and with a pair of 

 dividers (for a large bird a tape line must be 

 used) measure from the tip of the beak (the 

 head lying flat on the table) to the tip of the tail. 

 Place the points of the dividers on a rule that is 

 divided into one-hundredths of an inch, and 

 see how much they measure. Extent. — Place 

 the bird across the ruler, and using reasonable 

 force, stretch the wings out, and see how far 

 they reach. Length of Tail. — Place one 

 point of the dividers at the end of the " pope's 

 nose," and open them until the other is at the 

 tip of the longest tail feather. The Tarsus. — 

 Place one point of the dividers at the middle of 

 the sole of the foot, and measure as far as the 

 first joint. The Beak. — Place one point of the 

 dividers at the beginning of the cere^ on the 



