MAKING SKINS. 
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being too thick, scrape them down with a blunt 
knife or, better, use our skin-rasp, and thus thin 
them down until the feathers above are as flexible 
as in any other portion. If there be grease on the 
feathers or inside of the skin after scraping, wash 
with benzine, and dry with preservative as de- 
scribed. When every portion of the specimen is 
perfectly pliable, and all superfluous dried flesh 
has been removed, sew up the rents, and make up 
as in fresh birds, but such skins generally require 
more careful binding. It is also often necessary 
to wire the neck of even small birds, especially in 
badly shattered and decayed skins. 
