INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF BIRDS. 25 
the thigh-bones are approached. In many birds — such as Thrushes, 
for instance — the skin is very firmly attached to the lower back, and 
any attempt to hurry will end in splitting the skin right across. 
Although an accident of this sort may not ultimately destroy the 
appearance of the skin, it is difficult to restore the natural set of the 
feathers of the upper surface. As the skin is pushed off the lower back 
and thighs, the latter come prominently into view, and they should be 
severed at the knee-joint (see fig. 1). The tibial bone itself, when not 
broken by a shot, should always be kept in the skin, as it becomes a 
support for the legs when the skin is made up. By the severance of 
first one thigh and then the other, nothing is left to cut but the tail ; 
and when the skin has been pulled down sufficiently to expose the oil- 
gland, it may be detached by a sharp cut above the latter. It should 
be noted that a good deal of flesh can be left on the root of the tail 
without damage to the skin, provided that it be thoroughly well dressed 
with arsenical soap. It is a maxim in the preservation of animals and 
birds that all fat should be removed from the skin as far as possible ; 
but at the same time this requires great care, and the arsenical soa p 
will account for many small layers of fat and destroy them. 
It now remains to remove the flesh from the legs and wings, and 
turn the head and neck inside-out. By pushing the leg up from 
the outside, the flesh is soon exposed and is easily removed along 
with the tendons. A wisp of cotton or tow is wrapped round the 
bone, as a substitute for the flesh, and the legs are then drawn back 
to their natural position. The wings are then dealt with : the flesh 
is removed from the humerus, and by a certain amount of pressure 
the skin which conceals the flesh of the other wing-bones can be 
pushed back, and the flesh which lies between them must be cut out 
as far as possible. In the case of large birds it will be found best 
to make an incision along the wing-coverts from the under side of the 
wing. The flesh can thus easily be removed, and the cut is not 
noticed when the skin is made up and the wings folded close to the 
body. The wing- bones and the skin of the wing should be thoroughly 
dressed with arsenical soap, as .any flesh remaining is apt to decay, 
and then the wing-coverts and the quills fall out. In small birds 
there is not so much risk of this misfortune, but large birds are 
often spoilt through inattention to these details. 
