8 
The next operation is to connect the two wings inside of the skin 
by means of a string, which should be passed between the lower ends 
of the two bones joining the forearm, previously, however, cutting off 
the stump of the arm, if still adhering at the elbow. Tie the two ends 
of the string so that the wings shall be kept at the same distance 
apart, as when attached to the body. Skin the leg down to the scaly 
part, or tarsus, and remove all the muscle. Apply the arsenic to the 
bone and skin, and, wrapping cotton round the bone, pull it back to 
its place. Remove all the muscle and fat which may adhere to the 
base of the tail or the skin, and put on plenty of the preservative 
wherever this can be done. Lift up the wing, and remove the muscle 
from the forearm by making an incision along it, or, in many cases, 
the two joints may be exposed by carefully slipping down the skin 
towards the wrist-joint, the adhesion of the quills to the bone being 
loosened. 
The bird is now to be restored to something like its natural shape 
by means of a filling of cotton or tow. Begin by opening the mouth 
and putting cotton into the orbits and upper part of the throat, until 
these parts have their natural shape. Next take tow or cotton, and, 
after making a roll rather less in thickness than the original neck, 
put it into the skin, and push firmly into the base of the skull. By 
means of this, you can reduce or contract the neck if too much 
stretched. Fill the body with cotton, not quite to its original dimen- 
sions, and sew up the incision in the skin, commencing at the upper 
end, and passing the needle from the inside outwards ; tie the legs 
and mandibles together, adjust the feathers, and, after preparing a 
cylinder of paper the size of the bird, push the skin into it so as to 
bind the wings closely to the sides. The cotton may be put in loosely, 
or a body the size of the original made by wrapping with threads. 
If the bird have long legs and neck, they had better be folded down 
over the body, and allowed to dry in that position. Economy of space 
is a great object in keeping skins, and such birds as herons, geese, 
swans, &c, occupy too much room when all their parts are in a natural 
position. 
In some instances, as among the ducks, woodpeckers, &c, the 
head is so large that the skin of the neck cannot be drawn over it. 
In such cases, skin the neck down to the base of the skull, and cut it 
off there. Then draw the head out again, and, making an incision on 
the outside, down the back of the skull, skin the head. Be careful 
not to make too long a cut, and to sew up the incision again. 
