36 THE YOUNG 
with the chest, as it and the head are 
treated separately. 
So far this sounds like a very lengthy 
proceeding, but, in practice, the skinning 
of a whole body of, say a thrush, does not 
occupy more than five minutes, and there 
should not be more than the very slightest 
soiling of the fingers, if any, and none 
whatever of the feathers. Do not throw 
the body away, as it will be useful in fin- 
ishing. 
We now come to the head, which is the 
hardest part of the whole operation, since 
any stretching here, beyond what is un- 
avoidable, must be very carefully guarded 
against. And, in mentioning this, it is 
well to remember that the skin should be 
supported during the whole process as 
much as possible, being allowed to rest on 
the tables, or on the knee, which, for my- 
self, I prefer, as the weight of the feathers 
alone is enough to cause an awkward 
stretch in the thin backskin. 
The head is cleaned by turning it back- 
wards through the skin of the neck in 
most birds. Some of the waterfowl though 
must have a special slit made below the 
beak, to allow the skull to be turned 
through, but they are very few, and it is 
only a modification of the usual process. 
Taking hold of the end of the neck, 
where it was severed from the body, the 
skin is gradually turned back till the 
skull is reached. The head is then 
steadied by grasping the back from the 
outside, and the skin gently pushed back 
over the smooth cranium till the eyes are 
reached. Then, grasping the exposed 
skull, the eyelids are detached from the 
orbit, and the skin turned forward to the 
commencement of the beak. 
This leaves the head ready for cleaning, 
which is generally found the hardest part 
of the finishing process. I find that the 
best and quickest way, and one which 
answers exceedingly well, is to insert the 
point of the knife into the base of the 
skull as far forward as possible between 
the two halves of the lower mandible, 
passing it up to the roof of the skull, and 
then by cutting backwards along the sides 
of the lower mandibles to the back of the 
skull, removing the tongue and the whole 
attachment of the neck and its organs 
SCIENTIST. 
with about one-third of the skull, allowing 
the contents to be removed entirely. When 
the eyes are next removed, the anterioi* 
two-thirds only of the skull remain at- 
tached to the beak, and the whole is per- 
fectly cleaned.— Science Gossip. 
To be Continued. 
Something for Young Microscopists. 
FOR some time past our stock of paste 
eels has been exhausted, and we have 
been unable to send them to those who 
asked for them. We now have a stock on 
hand, so that we can supply a small 
quantity to any of our subscribers that 
wish it. Those who call at the office 
should bring a small bottle, or tin or 
wooden box with them. Those who send 
by mail must enclose five cents in postage 
stamps to pay for packing and mailing. 
These eels are exceedingly interesting 
and curious when seen under the micro- 
scope. For the benefit of our younger 
readers we give the following directions 
for managing and showing them: As 
soon as you have mailed your order for 
the eels, prepare some flour paste, well 
boiled and about as thick as cream. This 
will be in just the right condition when 
the eels arrive. The eels will come in the 
form of a little paste, packed in a hole in 
a block of wood. Take the block out of 
its wrapper, fill the hole with thin paste, 
and then put the block into a cup of paste, 
covering it over thoroughly. In a day or 
two the entire surface of the paste in the 
cup will be a mass of living eels. 
To exhibit the eels proceed thus : Skim 
off a little from the surface of the paste 
and place it on a glass slide, adding a 
little water. Cover it with a thin glass 
and examine with a half inch, two-thirds, 
or one inch objective. The paste will be 
seen to be a living mass of eels. The light 
should not be very intense if the best re- 
sults are desired. 
A slide prepared in this way and illum- 
inated by means of the spot lens, or 
paraboloid, presents a most beautiful and 
extraordinary appearance. The living 
creatures seem like brilliantly self-lumin- 
