6o 
MANUAL OF TAXIDERMY. 
parts with a solution of bleached shelac dissolved 
in alcohol. By far the best way to insure absolute 
safety is to shut up the skins in insect-proof 
cabinets. Various methods have been tried to 
prevent the ingress of moths, etc., in cabinets, 
but the best and simplest is to have a door 
fitted to the outside of the drawers of an other- 
wise perfectly jointed cabinet. This door is 
provided with a bead which surrounds the out- 
side and fits in a groove on the margin of the 
woodwork outside the draws, while the whole door 
fits in a groove which extends quite across the 
bottom. Another method which we practise on 
our latest-made cabinets is to have each drawer 
moth-proof, by having a margin made all around it 
which fits into a groove, then all the drawers are 
covered by closing a flange on the sides. 
Section VIII. : Measuring Specimens. — Speci- 
mens of all rare birds should be measured. With 
the beginner, it is best to measure every specimen. 
I measured some fifteen thousand birds before I 
made a single skin without so doing, and now I am 
careful to take the dimensions of all rare speci- 
mens. The dimensions of a bird are taken as 
follows, using dividers and a rule marked in hun- 
dredths of the inch : First measure the extreme 
