88 
HINTS TO TRAVELLERS. 
additional specimens of all genera of which there are numerous closely- 
allied species ( e,g . rodents, antelope, deer, &c.), and of all the small 
nocturnal mammals would be welcome to zoologists. If only portions 
can be obtained, skulls with horns attached are to be preferred. In humid 
tropical regions entire skins cannot be dried in time to prevent decay, 
and it is necessary to place them rolled up in a small compass, in spirits. 
The smaller birds shot on an excursion should be carried to camp in the 
game-bag, folded in paper, the wounds, mouth and anus being first 
plugged with cotton. Powdered calcined gypsum will here be found 
very useful in absorbing blood from feathers, on account of the facility 
with which it can be afterwards cleared from the specimens. Dull- 
coloured and small birds are most likely to be new or interesting. 
Immediately after killing a small mammal or bird, make a note of the 
colour of its eyes and soft parts, and, if time admits, of the dimensions of 
its trunk and limbs. It facilitates skinning of birds to break, before com¬ 
mencing, the first bone of the wings a short distance above the joint, which 
causes the members to lie open when the specimen is laid on its back on 
the skinning-board. The animal should be laid with its tail towards the 
right hand of the operator, and the incision made from the breast-bone 
nearly to the anus. A blunt wooden style is useful in commencing the 
operation of separating the skin from the flesh. When the leg is reached, 
cut through the knee-joint and then clear the flesh from the shank as far 
as can be done, afterwards washing the bone slightly with arsenical soap, 
winding a thin strip of cotton round it, and returning it to the skin. 
Repeat the process with the other leg, and then sever, with the broad- 
bladed scissors, the spine above the root of the tail. By carefully cutting 
into the flesh from above, the spine is finally severed without injuring the 
skin of the back, and it is then easy to continue the skinning up to the 
wings, when the bones are cut through at the place where they had pre¬ 
viously been broken, and the body finished as far as the commencement 
of the skull. A small piece of the skull is now cut away, together with 
the neck and body, and the brains and eyes scooped out, the inside washed 
with the soap, and clean cotton filled in, the eyes especially being made 
plump. In large-headed parrots, woodpeckers, and some other birds, the 
head cannot thus be cleaned; an incision has, therefore, to be made either 
on one side or on the top of the head, through which the back of the skull 
c&n be thrust a little away and then cleansed, the incision being after? 
