9 
tion of skinning a bird and that of a quadruped. The skin of 
the former is, however, generally more tender than the latter, 
and therefore requires somewhat more care. As in the quad¬ 
ruped, the first thing to be done is to stuff up the month, 
nostrils, and any wound that may be bleeding, with some ap¬ 
propriate material. If the collector kills his own birds, this 
should be attended to immediately after the bird is shot. In 
this case he can be more sure of taking it home in a condition 
proper for skinning, if he take the further precaution of laying 
it upon the ground a few minutes for the blood to coagulate, 
and then of carefully wrapping it up in paper before depositing 
it in his game bag. 
Before commencing the skinning, the dimensions of the bird, 
from the point of the beak to the point of the tail, from one to 
the other tip of the extended wings, and, in peculiar cases, 
the length of the body and weight of the whole, should be as¬ 
certained and noted down. 
As in quadrupeds, the first incision is made along the ab¬ 
domen, from the pelvis to the breast bone, previously separat¬ 
ing the feathers and down carefully with the fingers of the 
other hand, so as to expose the skin along the line of incision. 
Care should be taken not to puncture the abdominal cavity, as 
the consequent protrusion of the viscera will incommode the 
operator during the rest of the operation. The incision being 
made, the operator, with the handle of the knife, a flat smooth 
stick, or, what is still better in larger birds, his finger, 
proceeds gently to separate the skin from the subjacent 
parts, until he reaches the joint of the leg, then taking the 
foot of the bird in the other hand, he thrusts or pushes 
this joint forward upon the abdomen, until the joint is seen 
or felt, when the knife is to be introduced into it, so as to 
separate it, and all the soft parts about it, from the bone and 
soft parts of the thigh. This being accomplished on one, 
the same thing is necessary on the other side. The separation 
of the skin is then continued along the outside of the thighs and 
over the back, until all the lower portion of the body of the 
bird is separated from the skin, except at the root of the tail. 
Here the knife is again necessary to divide the bone at this 
