INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF BIRDS. 21 
pieces after some time. Corrosive sublimate is frequently re- 
commended as a preservative, but skins so prepared become ex- 
ceedingly brittle, and after a lapse of years scarcely bear handling, 
ultimately falling to pieces. Arsenic is undoubtedly the best 
preservative for bird-skins. 
Fine bleached cotton- wool is necessary for the filling in of the 
eye-sockets of the specimens. Nothing conduces more to the neat 
appearance of a properly prepared skin of a bird than the aspect of the 
head and eyes. For small birds there is nothing better than cotton- 
wool for the filling out of the skin. Ordinary cotton-wadding is also 
necessary for wrapping round the skins after they have been made 
up. It helps to keep the skin in good shape and to dry it quickly. 
Tow is useful for filling out skins of larger birds ; and if possible, 
the neck should always be made of tow, instead of wool, for, if the 
specimen should ever be required for mounting, the wires of the 
taxidermist can easily be worked through a neck made of tow ; 
whereas wool is impervious. 
Fine white sawdust should be always handy for sprinkling on the 
body of a bird while it is being skinned, and some plaster of Paris 
is an almost indispensable adjunct in skinning wading and swimming 
birds, which are often covered with fat. As, however, these materials 
cannot always be procured in the tropics, dry sand may be used as a 
substitute, and, in an emergency, tobacco ash, or even dry earth, 
can be made available. Care must be taken to prevent the edges 
of the feathers becoming soiled by contact with the body of the bird 
as it is being taken out. Little wisps of cotton-wool should be at 
hand, to interpose along the base of the feathers while the skin is 
removed, as they serve to keep the feathers back and prevent them 
touching the flesh of the body. With a little practice the collector 
will find that he knows instinctively what feathers will be affected 
by his action as he removes the skin from the different parts of 
the body, and his fingers will naturally intervene between the 
feathers and the flesh. 
Supposing, therefore, that the bird to be skinned is a Thrush or 
some other small bird, the collector should begin operations by 
seeing that all his necessary appliances are at hand — fine white 
sawdust, or dry sand, tow, wool, nail-scissors, and knife. Some 
