INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF BIRDS, ol 
into their place, and will not move. Another excellent method 
is to tie the wing-bones together at the elbows, leaving the natural 
space between them. It is also well to take a fine needle, and 
gently lift the skin of the crown and sides of the head, so that the 
ear-coverts fall into their natural position. Then the body of the 
bird can be filled in with wool or tow to its natural size, and finally 
wrapped round with a thin layer of cotton-wadding, and left to dry. 
The two mandibles of the bill should be restored to their exact 
position as in life, and either tied together with cotton (not through 
the nostrils) or fastened by means of a tiny piece of cobbler’s wax 
placed in the tip of the upper mandible. In finishing the skin, the 
feet, with the claws folded, should be placed side by side, and fastened 
together by means of a pin run transversely through the soles. The 
protruding ends of the pin can afterwards be cut oft' close to the feet. 
This is Mr. Foster’s plan, and is by far the best and neatest method. 
It is advisable to unwrap all the skins the next day to see that 
the feathers are smooth and the wings are in position, before they 
are finally laid in their tin case for transmission to England. To 
each specimen should be attached a small label with the locality, 
date, altitude, and sex clearly marked on one side, and, on the other, 
the colour of the bill, feet, and iris. The plan adopted by some 
collectors of attaching a number to the specimen and keeping a 
corresponding entry in a book is not to be recommended, as, if 
the number or the book gets lost, the history of the specimen is 
lost also. 
