f lie f)oun(v llaturalist : 



A Penny Weekly Magazine of Natural History. 



No. 23. APRIL 3rd, 1880. Vol. 1. 



" PRACTICAL TAXIDERMY." 



SKINNING. 



MR. Browne says that the best 

 bird to practice upon is a Star- 

 ling, but as this is a rather shy bird, 

 i and not easily caught, we will suppose 

 ! that you have trapped a Sparrow, and 

 having killed it, and allowed it to re- 

 I main some hours in a cool place, is now 

 ready for the skinning. Place upon 

 [ the table a penknife, a pair of scissors, 

 some cotton wool, some tow (untwined 

 rope), and some preservative medium, 

 which we will return to presently. 

 : Begin by placing the bird upon its back 

 on the table, and break both wing 

 bones as close to the body as possible. 

 Take out the old plug of cotton from 

 the mouth, and replace it by a new 

 one. Get a needle and thread, pass it 

 through the nostrils, and tie up the 

 mouth, leaving the ends long. Now 

 feel with your finger for the breast 

 bone, and, having parted the feathers, 

 insert your knife about the middle of 

 it, and gently cut the skin down to the 

 vent. Be careful to cut through only 

 one skin, below the breast bone there 

 ■ are two, and if you cut through the 

 inner one the entrails will be laid bare, 



and the bird spoiled before you have 

 done. Take hold of the edge of the 

 skin on one side by the thumb and 

 finger of the left hand, and with the 

 knife in the other gently loosen the 

 skin as far down as you can get, take 

 hold of the leg, and push it up through 

 the opening, and by means of the 

 scissors sever it from the body at the 

 joint which presents itself. Insert 

 some cotton to keep the feathers from 

 touching the flesh, especially if the bird 

 is fatty. Do the same on the opposite 

 side. Take hold of the bird by the 

 root of the tail with the thumb and 

 finger of the left hand, the finger being 

 on the rump, and the thumb on the 

 under side. Separate the skin as 

 much around the root of the tail as 

 possible, and then insert the point of 

 the scissors between the backbone and 

 the skin close to the root of the tail, 

 feel with the finger you have upon the 

 rump that the scissors point does not 

 go through the skin, and having got 

 the point safely in the right place, cut 

 the bone in two. The knife must now 

 be taken in the right hand, and by 

 means of the thumb and the knife 

 blade get hold of the stump end you 

 have just cut off, and with the other 



