﻿2C)S ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 



the part to an unnatural thickness. The wing being 

 restored to its natural shape, proceed to the leg, which 

 is comparatively easy : the skin will readily slide off 

 the flesh if the leg is gently forced upwards, and when 

 the small or narrow part begins to appear, cut the 

 muscles all round, tear off the flesh, and after anointing 

 the bone with the soap, twist a little cotton or tow 

 round it, so as to give it something of the appearance 

 of the natural shape ; gently pull out the leg again, and 

 all will come right. There is one fault in adjusting 

 the legs which all inexperienced persons fall into : they 

 pull out the legs too far, and thus make them appear 

 much longer than they are in nature. To obviate this, 

 let it be remembered as a general rule, that the knee 

 joint of nearly all birds is on a line with the vent ; and 

 in preserving a bird the leg should always be pushed 

 upwards until the knee comes exactly in a line with, or 

 rather above, the root of the tail. Again adjust the 

 feathers, and proceed to the wing and foot on the other 

 side, which of course are to be treated in the same 

 manner. 



(223.) The neck and inside of the skull is next to 

 be removed. Take hold of the end of the neck, and 

 pass the skin backwards ; that is, draw it over the head 

 in a contrary direction, until the hind part of the skull 

 appears : here great care is necessary, for in some birds 

 (the woodpeckers and ducks, for example) the neck is 

 narrow and the head large ; in ordinary birds, however, 

 the skin, if gently pushed and worked by the finger and 

 thumb (not pulled), will reach sufficiently far on the 

 nape to admit of the angles of the lower jaw being 

 pared down (if necessary) with the knife, the point of 

 which is also used to scoop out the thin skin of the ears, 

 which always lay in a little hollow, and should not 

 be broken ; a very little farther the sockets of the eyes 

 will begin to appear, but still go on, gently passing 

 the skin over the skull, detaching the former from the 

 nerves which connect it to the eye by the knife. When 

 about two thirds of the eye is thus exposed, cut through 



