50 
MANUAL OF TAXIDERMY. 
sary. Small spots of dried blood may often be re- 
moved from dark feathers by simply scraping with 
the thumb-nail, aided by a moderately stiff brush, 
much after the manner in which a living bird 
removes foreign substances from its plumage. Do 
not leave clotted spots of blood in the plumage, as 
the feathers never lie well over them, and such 
places are liable to be attacked by insects, and 
even a spot of blood under the wing should, in 
my opinion, always be removed. Before any at- 
Fig. 8. 
tempt is made either to make a bird into a skin 
or mount it, it should be thoroughly cleansed. 
Stains of dirt may be removed with alcohol, which 
dries more readily than water, but it will not start 
blood as well as turpentine or water. 
Section II. : Making Skins of Small Birds. — 
The instruments for skin-making are a flat brush, 
a duster for cleansing, three or four pairs of tweez- 
ers of varying sizes (see Fig. 8), needles, curved 
or straight as preferred, silk thread for sewing, 
and soft cotton for winding, and metal forms made 
of rolled tin or zinc (Fig. 9). Lay the skin on its 
