340 



Taxidermy. 



junction with the skull, and the tongue removed with it. Cut off 

 Loin the back part of the skull a sufficiency to admit of scoopirg 

 out the brain, and clean the skull of all superfluous flesh. Take the 

 wings and strip the skin down to the end of the second joint, cut 

 off the remainder of the shoulder bone, and clean the next two bones 

 bare. Treat the legs similarly, only retaining all the bones left. 

 Tnen clean the bones of the rump, taking care to remove the oil 

 glands, and all fat and grease elsewhere on the skin, which by this 

 time has been turned inside out. Then take your arsenical soap and 

 anoint the rump bones and about the tail, lay a few small flakes of 

 cotton on the wet skin, to prevent the feathers becoming soiled, 

 anoint the legs and skin about them, wrapping a little cotton round 

 the bones, returning the skin of them and of the rump to their na- 

 tural positions. Tie with thread the wing bones together, keeping 

 them a short distance apart, and returning each wing to its place 

 after applying the soap. The skull should then be soaped over, as 

 well as the neck, and a small pledget of cotton placed in each eye- 

 socket j the skin may then be returned over the head and neck, which 

 operation will materially be facilitated, by pulling upon a piece of 

 thread previously passed through the nostrils, before commencing to 

 skin the bird. The feathers may now be smoothed down, and the 

 wings placed in their natural position, where they will be kept by a 

 hard pledget of tow pressed down tightly upon the string connect- 

 ing them — another pledget should be placed on each side of the 

 breast, which further secures the wings. Then roll up some tow 

 into the former size of the neck, and introduce it by means of a stick 

 into the hole in the back of the skull, where it may be tightly fixed. 

 The neck may now be shortened as much as is required, the remain- 

 der of the skin distended with stuffing materials, but not too fully, 

 and the opening sewn up, beginning from above — a few stitches only 

 are required. The bill should be tied, the legs crossed and tied, and 

 after the feathers have been again smoothed down, the stuffed skin 

 should be inserted into a cone of paper head first and there left until 

 it is sufficiently dry, which will be the case in a few days. 



high up as possible and extract the remainder, and clean the head 

 through an opening in the back of the neck, which can be afterwards 



sewn up. 



