MAKING UP SKINS. 
459 
bother you, as would be the case if it is showered on the table; if any feathers are dis¬ 
placed, put them in place with the lingers or spring forceps. Now lay the bird on 
its back, in the hollow of one hand, or on a table, with the tail toward your body; 
pull its legs down and spread them wide apart, this will open the incision on belly, 
through which the stuffing is put in. 
Hold the head between thumb and fingers of one hand, and in the other secure 
the stuffiing forceps, in which take a ball of cotton*—about same size as the eye of 
the bird on which youare working—and pass it through the abdominal opening into 
the eye socket. Fill the other eye in the same manner, and when both eyes have 
been stuffed, not so full as to bulge, but to the natural fulness of the eyeball, examine 
the eyelids and feathers of the head, and see that they are in proper position. The 
next step is stuffing the neck ; this is done by taking between the points of the stuff¬ 
ing forceps a firm roll of cotton, not quite as large, but a little longer than the bird’s 
neck and pushing it into the skull between the two balls placed in the eye sockets. 
If the neck has been stretched, shorten it as much as necessary by pulling on the 
free end of the artificial neck, which reaches almost, if not quite, to the belly opening. 
The end of the cotton roll in the neck can either be pushed up against the skin of the 
breast, or spread open and pushed sidewise, to give sides of breast a round and 
natural appearance. Roll up a moderately firm ball of cotton, shaping it something 
like the bird’s body, but a little smaller, and slip it in the opening of the belly ; if 
you have not put in too much cotton, the edge of the abdominal opening! will come 
together when you cross the legs and tie on the label, as illustrated in Fig. IV. If 
the skin of the throat is sunken between the sides of the ,iaw, this can be obviated 
by opening the mouth and pushing under the hollow, tvitli point of forceps or a bit 
of wire, a small plug of cotton wadding. When the mandibles will not remain closed, 
slip a thread through the nostrils and tie it under the bill, or stick a pin under the 
i bill, where sides of the lower mandible start to widen, and force it in an oblique di¬ 
rection into the roof of the mouth. 
Pick up the bird which is stuffed and labeled, hold it in one hand, and with needle 
or spring forceps in the other hand, smooth and straighten all uneven feathers, fold 
the wings close to the back and sides of body, and if the shoulders stick out, press 
them slightly together with thumb and finger. Be careful to see that the wings are 
even, and that their tips meet over the tail, as you view the bird from above. Spread 
the tail feathers if you desire, and wrap the skin up in a thin la} r er of cotton wadding 
and lay it away to dry. | 
Making up Large Skins. 
A bird larger than a sparrow-hawk, when made up, should have a wire or stick 
in the neck to prevent it from being broken, and if you have the time, it is better 
to wire the legs, wings and tails, as well as the necks, as all these parts are liable to 
be broken off. Clean all fat from the flesh side of the skin before it is poisoned. 
Water birds, especially ducks, geese, swans, cormorants, loons, etc., are often very 
fat; always cut and scrape the fat off, if this is neglected the specimen will soon be 
worthless. Having properly skinned, cleaned, and thoroughly poisoned the speci¬ 
men, take a large pair of stuffing forceps or stuffing rod and fill§ the eyes and skull 
* Fine tow will also answer. Never stuff a specimen with hair. wool, feathers or any animal substance. 
Whenever possible. I use cotton for small birds, and for large ones tow, excelsior, tine hay, dried grass 
or moss. 
t In large birds close it up with few stitches ; this may also be done with small birds, but it is not nec¬ 
essary. 
t Taxidermists have many ways of laying out skins. Sometimes a U-shaped frame of tin or stiff paper 
is employed. Another and very good plan is to take a thick wad of cotton, which is laid on an even sur¬ 
face, and make a depression in it of .eh a depth that the specimen will be buried to at least the edge of 
the wings, with the edges of the cotton pushed up snugly to keep feathers in place. If you wish to dis¬ 
play fie crest of a bird, lay it in a “ cotton bed ‘ such as last described, erect the crest, turn the head on 
one side with bill pointing directly to the right or left and let it dry in this position. 
5 Imitate nature as well as possible when tilling the head, neck and legs. 
