46 
THE NATURALIST’S GUIDE 
hand. Now measure the length of the ear on the back 
side, from the skull to the tip, for the length of the ear.” 
Measure ‘‘the width of the muzzle” between the two nostrils. 
In animals larger than a gray squirrel, measure the “girth” 
with a tape-measure, or piece of string, just back of the 
forelegs. 
These measiu"ements will answer for all excepting the 
bats, in measuring which proceed as before ; but, instead 
of the forelegs, find “ the length of one wing,” “ the length 
of the wing to the hook, or thumb,” and “ the stretch of 
wings ” as in birds. 
Seals also vary slightly ; instead of the word “ leg ” 
use “ flipper,” and find the width of the hind flipper as 
well as the width of the fore one ; also, in addition, “ the 
distance between the fore-flippers.” The sex of a mammal 
is easily determined without dissecting. These measure- 
ments are to be first recorded upon a strip of paper, as 
in the birds, and afterwards copied into a book, as seen 
on the next page. 
Skinning, — To skin a mammal, place it upon its back ; 
make a longitudinal incision in the skin over the abdo- 
men, extending from the root of the tail about one fourth 
of the length of the body. Peel down each side, as in 
skinning a bird, pushing forward the leg so as to expose 
the knee-joint; sever the leg from the body at this place, 
and clean the bone ; proceed in this manner with the other 
leg. In small animals, sever the tail as close to the body 
as possible, leaving the bone in ; but in large animals it 
can generally be removed by placing two pieces of wood on 
each side of the bone against the skin, holding them firmly 
in place with one hand, and after giving a strong pull with 
the other the tail will slip out easily. With some animals, 
such as the Beaver, Muskrat, Skunk, etc., this cannot be 
done ; then the skin of the tail has to be opened the whole 
length, and the bone removed. Proceed to draw the skin 
