ON PRESERVING BIRDS, 



271 



cutting and shoving, to get the skin pushed up till you 

 come to where the wing joins on to the body. 



Forget not to apply cotton ; cut this joint through ; 

 do the same at the other wing, add cotton, and gently 

 push the skin over the head ; cut out the roots of the 

 ears, which lie very deep in the head, and continue 

 skinning till you reach the middle of the eye ; cut the 

 nictitating membrane quite through, otherwise you 

 would tear the orbit of the eye ; and after this, nothing 

 difficult intervenes to prevent your arriving at the root 

 of the bill. 



When this is effected, cut away the body, leaving a 

 little bit of skull, just as much as will reach to the 

 forepart of the eye ; clean well the jaw-bones, fasten a 

 little cotton at the end of your stick, dip it into the 

 solution, and touch the skull and corresponding part 

 of the skin, as you cannot well get to these places 

 afterwards. From the time of pushing the skin over the 

 head, you are supposed to have the bird resting upon 

 your knee ; keep it there still, and with great caution 

 and tenderness return the head through the inverted 

 skin, and when you see the beak appearing, pull it 

 very gently till the head comes out unruffled and 

 unstained. 



You may now take the cotton out of the mouth ; cut 

 away all the remaining flesh at the palate, and what- 

 ever may have remained at the under jaw. 



Here is now before you the skin, without loss of any 

 feathers, and all the flesh, fat, and uncleaned bones out 

 of it, except the middle joint of the wings, one bone of 

 the thighs, and fleshy root of the tail. The extreme 

 point of the wing is very small, and has no flesh on it, 

 comparatively speaking, so that it requires no attention, 



