414 
JiULLETIN OF TflE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
splieroidal or ellipsoidal wliitisli bodies, varying with tlie season and species from the 
size of a pin bead to that of a hazelnut. The ovaries of the female, consisting of a 
flattened mass of spheres, variable in size with the season, will be found in the same 
region. A magnifying glass is useful in determining the sex of very small birds, 
particularly the young, in which the organs are but iiartially developed. 
To prepare roiujli sl'eletons of birds, remove the skin and clean the bones, taking 
care to avoid injuring the delicate parts. The tools required are simply a knife and a 
pair of scissors. 
The following points require special attention: Birds’ wings terminate in very 
small, pointed bones, corresponding to the thumb of mammals, hidden in a tuft of 
feathers on the bend of the wing, Avhich it is well to leave undisturbed, as well as the 
two or three outermost wing feathers, so as to avoid the risk of removing any of these 
small bones with the skin. Other parts requiring attention are the slender iioints on 
the under side of the neck vertebrie, those jirojecting backward from the ribs, and the 
last bone of the tail ; if the tendons of the legs, wings, under side of the neck, and along 
the sides of the back, become ossified, as they sometimes do, it is not advisable to 
tear them oft. In some birds the neck and back can be left untouched, as the muscles 
will dry up and a thin coat of arsenical soap Avill serve to keep out the insects Avhich 
would otherwise attack these places. The hyoid bones, which supjiort the tongue 
and are attached to the wiudpqie, should be saved, as also the windpqie itself whenever, 
as in many ducks, it has bony structures developed in j>art of its length. 
In many birds, especially birds of prey, there is a ring of bones surrounding the 
pupil of the eye, hence it is safer not to remove the eyeball, but to simply puncture it 
to allov" the escape of the fluid contents. The brain should be carefully removed. 
Cormorants have a small bone attached to the back of the skull, and in auks and 
many similar birds there is a small bone at the elbow. Sometimes there is a little 
bone at the hinder angle of the lower jaw, so that it is a good rule not to trim a bird’s 
skidl too closely. A favorite method of collecting small birds for skeletonizing is to 
make an incision in the lower iiart of the abdomen and place them in 30 per cent 
alcohol. 
NOTES ON SKINNING AND PRESERVING SKINS OF MAMMALS. 
To skin small mammals a median line incision from the lower neck to the tail, 
through which the body is removed, is sufficient, while for large ones branch incisions 
along the inner surfaces of the legs to the feet are usually necessary. Leg bones are 
detached close to the body, and the skull separated from the neck, the tail bones are 
removed, the leg bones thoroughly cleaned of flesh, and the eyes and brain removed 
from the skull. 
The brain is best removed through the largo foramen, with a wire hook. In 
skinning the head care is taken not to injure the lips and eyelids, and the skull, after 
being cleaned, is kept separate from the skin. The skins of mammals of all sizes are 
thoroughly cleaned of flesh, and in small specimens the raw sides are dusted with 
arsenic, lightly filled with cotton, carefully shaped, and laid aAvay to dry. 
The skins of large mammals are disposed of on shipboard to the best advantage 
by salting thoroughly on the flesh side and rolling into a tight bundle and stowing in 
a barrel, with jilenty of damp salt to cover it. If many such skins are to be cared 
for, they are placed as soon as cleaned in a barrel of very strong brine, which sets the 
hair on both sides, and keeps them pliable for the taxidermist who finally receives them. 
