THE AKT OF PRESERVING BIRDS. 
33 
head so placed that the bill is turned at right angles with 
the body, with the head resting on one side, and not on the 
hack as before. 
All Ducks with large heads should be skinned in the 
same way, with the exception that the insertion must be 
made under the head, on the throat. Ducks, Herons, Geese, 
large Sandpipers, and all other long-necked birds, should, 
when placed to dry, rest upon the breast, with the head 
and neck placed upon the back, and the head turned on 
one side. Herons with very long necks should have them 
bent once. The bill must be placed parallel with the neck 
and pointing forward. 
While travelling it is not always convenient to fill out 
the bodies of large birds; it is better to pack them flat, 
with but little cotton in them, — just enough, however, to 
keep the opposite parts of the skin from coming in contact. 
The neck should always be filled. When it is impossible 
to procure stufiing for small birds, they may be packed flat 
also. 
Birds that have been preserved with carbolic acid, even 
after they have been lying for years, and have become 
perfectly dry, may be skinned in the following manner : 
Place wet cotton or hemp under the wings, in the throat, • 
and around the legs, and finally envelop the whole body 
in a thick coating. Place it in a close box, and let it 
remain a day or two until it is softened, then take it out 
and remove the skin' as before directed; but more care will 
have to be exercised than in skinning fresh birds. Alco- 
holic specimens may be skinned; but the wet plumage had 
better be dried in the air without plaster. Mr. A. L. Bab- 
cock has a number of mounted birds in his collection at 
Sherborne, Massachusetts, that were preserved in alcohol, 
and sent from South America. 
The beginner will find that some birds, such as the 
Cuckoos, Pigeons, and Doves, are very difiicult to skin over 
2^ c 
