22 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF BIRDS. 
taxidermists begin by plugging the nostrils. This should be avoided, if 
possible, as the shape of the nostrils and their adjacent parts should 
be left undisturbed. Many genera of birds are characterized by the 
shape of the nostrils and their bristles, and every care should be 
taken to keep these exactly as they are in life. If, as is often the 
case, there is a discharge of mucus from the nostrils, it should be 
carefully soaked up with wool before the skinning begins ; but no 
more than a tiny wisp of wool should be inserted, care being taken 
not to disturb the actual shape of the aperture. A far better way 
of preventing any discharge during the preparation of the bird's 
skin is to open the bill and, while plugging the mouth, insert a 
tiny piece of wool into the cleft in its roof. 
The mouth must always be carefully filled with cotton- wool 
before commencing to skin. 
Any shot- wounds should be either dusted with sand or lightly 
plugged with wool ; but it should be remembered that blood-stains 
are more easily removed by taxidermists in England than by the 
collector in the field, and that it is" therefore better not to try to 
clean skins on the spot. Any discharge from the nostrils must, 
however, be looked after carefully, as it spoils the skin when the 
head is being turned back, and the stain of mucus cannot be eradi- 
cated. If the eyes too have been damaged, it is well to sprinkle 
them with plaster of Paris or dry sand, and plug them under the 
eyelids with a tiny wisp of cotton-wool before commencing. 
To Skin a Small Bird. 
The next object is to remove the skin from the body, get rid of the 
latter, and restore the skin to its natural appearance. Through 
the incision now to be made the whole of the bird's body has to 
be drawn out, and the only thought is how to do this as neatly and 
expeditiously as possible. Many taxidermists make the incision down 
the side of the body under the wing. This has the advantage of 
preserving the feathers of the breast and abdomen intact, but there 
is also a risk of making the skin lop-sided. Another method is to 
cut the bird open along the breast-bone, from just where the fat of 
the neck appears to the top of the abdomen. This cut must be 
