ON PRESERVING BIRDS. 
297 
the eye; cut the nictitating membrane quite through, Preserving 
otherwise you would tear the orbit of the eye; and ——— 
after this, nothing difficult intervenes to prevent your 
arriving at the root of the bill. 
When this is effected, cut away the body, leaving 
a little bit of skull, just as much as will reach to the 
forepart of the eye; clean well the jaw-bones, fasten 
a little cotton at the end of your stick, dip it into the 
solution, and touch the skull and corresponding part 
of the skin, as you cannot well get to these places 
afterwards. From the time of pushing the skin 
over the head, you are supposed to have the bird 
resting upon your knee; keep it there still, and with 
great caution and tenderness return the head through 
the inverted skin, and when you see the beak ap¬ 
pearing, pull it very gently till the head comes out 
unruffled and unstained. 
You may now take the cotton out of the mouth; 
cut away all the remaining flesh at the palate, and 
whatever may have remained at the under jaw. 
Here is now before you the skin, without loss of 
any feathers, and all the flesh, fat, and uncleaned 
bones out of it, except the middle joint of the wings, 
one bone of the thighs, and fleshy root of the tail. 
The extreme point of the wing is very small, and 
has no flesh on it, comparatively speaking, so that 
it requires no attention, except touching it with the 
solution from the outside. Take all the flesh from 
the remaining joint of the wing, and tie a thread 
about four inches long to the end of it; touch all 
with the solution, and put the wing bone back into 
