412 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES PISH COMMISSION. 
Few measurements were taken as a rule, except in the case of a new s[)ecies or 
some iieculiarity in form. Tlie coloring’ of bills, legs, feet, etc., Avas noted. The 
girth of the specimen was taken by Avrappiiig a stri[) of paper around the body over 
the wings, and piuniiig it like a band, then slipping it off toward tlie tail and using 
it as a guide in stuiling tlie skin in order to retain the original size of the bird. 
The process of skinning was much the same as that in general use among col- 
lectors, and may be briefly described as follows: Make an incision through the skin 
from the breast bone to the anus, taking care not to soil the feathers or mutilate the 
sexual organs. Separate the skin on one side to the knee, expose the thigh, thrust the 
knee up on the abdomen, and loosen the skin around it until you can, with scissors 
or knife, separate the joint and muscles, llepeat the operation on the other side; 
loosen the skin about the base of the tail, and cut through the vertebrae, at the last 
Joint, taking care not to sever the bases of the quills; invert the skin and loosen it 
from the body. Loosen the skin from the first bone of the wings, and cut through 
the middle of it, or separate it from the body through the joint and draw the skin 
over the neck until the skull is exjiosed. 
Detach the delicate membrane of the ear from its cavity in the skull without cut- 
ting or tearing it; then, by means of the thumbnails, loosen the skin from other parts 
of the head np to the eyes, taking care not to lacerate the balls. Scoop out the eyes, 
and, by making one cut on each side of the head, through the small bone connecting 
the base of the lower jaw with the skull, another across the roof of the mouth behind 
the base of the upper mandible and between the jaws of the lower, and a fourth 
through the skull behind the orbits and parallel to the roof of the mouth, you Avill 
have freed the skull from all accompanying brain and muscle. Should anything still 
remain remove it separately. In making the first two cuts do not sever the small 
bone extending from the base of the upper mandible to the base of the lower jawbone. 
Invert the skin of the head to the base of the bill, and clean off all the muscle and fat 
from the head and skin of the neck. Oorn-meal should be used freely between the 
skin and carcass during the process of skinning. Skin the wings down to the wrist 
joints, detaching the roots of the larger feathers Avith the thumb or finger nails, 
removing the muscles liom the bones but leaviug the latter; or, make an incision on 
the under side along the bone, removiug the flesh through the opening thus made. 
The latter method is preferable with large birds. 
Skill the legs doAvn to the lower joint of the thigh, remove the flesh from the bone, 
remove the muscle and fat, including the oil gland, from the base of the tail, but do 
not cut the roots of the feathers. To prevent stretching during the process of skinning, 
handle the skin as close as possible to the point of adhesion, a stretched skin being 
unsatisfactory in every respect; keep the feathers separate from the fleshy parts to 
prevent soiling the plumage and apply a suitable absorbent whenever a bloody or 
fatty surface is exposed. 
Woodpeckers, ducks, etc., have the head so much larger than the neck that it is 
impossible to skin over it; in such cases cut the neck off before the skull is reached, 
turn the skin right side out, make an incision from the top of the head down to the 
base of tlie skull, and skin the head through the opening; stitch the incision together 
either before or after the specimen has been stuffed. Some birds have very tender 
skins that adhere to the rump or lower part of the back so cIosel,y that it is difficult 
to sejiarate them; in such cases a little delay in skinning Avill facilitate the operation. 
