The University daily. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 18??-????, 1893-06-13
Taxidernay

boy Or girl can learn III a lew trials
after having been given some guild
ing principles. Birdswell stuffed and
mounted make handsome orla
ments for the home.
But every school should have its
Natural History collection espe
cially 4 collection Of our native
birds, stuffed and labeled. We
have INVEST Virginia about 200
species 81 birds. But Of these 200.
species IT is surprising how few
most people know
Suppose each student would
bring in one bird ii the year in q
short time we might have COM
plete collection Of the birds IN our
State. To say nothing Of the edu-
cation it would be to the students
III Natural History such q collection
would Be a thing Of beauty and Of
great scientific interest to all.
With these preliminary remarks
let us proceed to show something
Of tile mode Of procedure in an art
which If begun becomes more and
more interesting and affords hours
upon hours Of entertainment to the
&taxidermist and friends.
To begin with the bird IS il the.
bush and must be gotten. For
all birds less than hawks or crows
never use a rifle; it tears the skin
too much. For all smaller birds
use a shot gun loaded rather light
" with No. IL shot. This shot IS
about the size Of mustard seed and
will not injure the skin much.
Having secured the bird it's better
to allow it to stiffenb before skinning
it, and that will prevent it bleeding
on its plumage. For SHINING the
bird have a small sharp pair Of
scissors and a knife.
Begin at the lower point Of the
breast bone with the scissors and
open the skin down to the feshy
part Of the tail. Be careful not to
cut into the entrails as the muscles
here are very thin and tender.
Leaving a, considerable bunch Of
flesh for the tail feathers to cling to,
cut through the. pope's nose and
skin down the back some distance.
Then skin down the sides till you
come to the legs; skin out the legs
without tearing the skin till you
nearly reach the knee joints then
break off the bones leaving the
feetin the skin. Now let some
onegelse hold up the legs Of the
bird, OF hang it up by nail, and
skin it down by pressing the flesh
away from the skin till you come
4 to the wings. Skin the wings down
to the first joint and . cut them off
there leaving the rest Of the wings
iii the skin. You have now reached
the neck which skin deWn to. the
head; here take your thumb nails
and press It over the skull till the
ears stop you. Take the point of
the knife and gouge them loose
and now you have reached the
eyes. Be careful not to cut the
/. eyes, but use your, knife till you
have passed them. When you
have reached the roof of the bill
stop. Now gonge out the eyes by
running your knife around them.
Put the head down on a board and
cut from the eye holes down
through the lower jaw and then
from the eye holes straight back
to the base. Of the skull, You now
have the body Of the bird loose
from the skull and skin and the top
Of the skull is continuous with the
upper part of the bill. Clean out
the brain and blood carefully, push
I the bill back through the neck and
Aturn skin right side out. Have a
paper Of white powdered arsenic
ready and with the knife or a little
paddle put the arsenic all over the
fresh surface Of the skin. Put
plentiful dabs of it on the fleshy
tail, in the leg holes, wing holes,
and up the neck and in the mouth,
and some should have been put in
and on the skull before the skin
was tnrned.
In the case5of large birds it would
be well to make an incision ia the
second joint Of the wings from the
outside and take out the flesh and
put in some arsenic. You can Get
enough arsenic at the druggists for.
five cents to prepare twenty bird
skins, and when thus prepared will
not be attacked by insects and will
keep for years.
With a small stick push cotton
through its mouth out into the
eye holes. Push more cotton down
the throat. Then place a handful
Of cotton Up IN the body of the
bird, but5be careful not to place
any between the shoulders.
Smooth back the feathers until
It has its natural shape. Next
make paper cylinder as large as
the bird and slide it into it head
foremost. Place it IN a natural Do.