288 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN AECHIPEI^GO. 



I usually filiot tlie bii'dsj and my hunter always 

 skinned tliem^ noting the locality of eachj its fiex^ and 

 as nearly as possible the color of its eyes. The gi-eat- 

 est annoyance that troubles the collector of birds in 

 the tropics is caused by the swarms of small ants that 

 fill every conceivable place. If a bird is shot and 

 laid do\^Ti on the ground for half an hour, it will al- 

 most surely be injured so much l>y these insects that 

 it will not be worth sHnnlng, There is no certain 

 means of keeping them away altogether, except by 

 completely isolating a place with water, which is 

 usually done by putting small basins under each leg 

 of a table, but before one is aware of it, something 

 is sure to be placed so as to touch the table, and thus 

 fonn a bridge for these omnivorous pests to cross 

 over and c<3utinue theii* work of destruction. As 

 soon as the birds are brought in they are hung up 

 by a thread or piece of small twine. After the 

 skins are taken off, they are thoroughly poisoned 

 T^-ith ai'senic and camphor, mixed with water to the 

 consistency of cream. Each is then filled with the 

 cotton from the cotton-wood tree, until it has exactly 

 the sijse of the bird. They are then spi'ead in the 

 sun on a bamboo frame, which is suspended by 

 twines fastened at its comers. After they have be^ 

 come thoroughly dried, they are kept in a tight tin 

 box ^vith large pieces of gmn-camphor, and even then 

 they must be looked after every day or two, for they 

 are still liable to be injured by the ants, which are 

 particularly fond of gnawing at the base of the bill 

 and around the eyes. During the rainy season it is 

 extremely difficult to dry the sMns properly, there is 



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