“In the act of skinning a bird, you must either have it upon a table, or upon your knee; probably you will prefer your knee, because, when you cross one knee over the other, and have the bird upon the uppermost, you can raise it to your eye, or lower it, at pleasure, by means of the foot on the ground; and then your knee will always move in unison with your body, by which much stooping will be avoided, and lassitude prevented.”
Stuffing Birds. The first thing to be done in stuffing is to replace the skull, after it has been well anointed with the arsenical soap, and washed with the solution of corrosive sublimate inside. The thread, with which the beak is tied, is taken hold of by the left hand, and the head is repassed into the neck with the forefinger of the right hand, while the thread is pulled on the opposite side; and we are careful that the feathers, at the margin of the opening, do not enter with the edges of the skin. The bird is now laid on the table with the head turned towards the left hand, and the legs and wings adjusted to their proper situation. A flat piece of lead, about a pound in weight, is laid on the tail, while the feathers of the margins of the opening are raised by the forefinger and thumb of the left hand, to prevent their being soiled. The inside of the neck is now coated with the arsenical soap; flax is stuffed into it, but not too tightly. The back and rump are anointed, and the body should then be stuffed with tow, to about a third of the thickness required, so that the wire may have a sort of cushion to rest on.
Four pieces of wire are then prepared, of the thickness proportionate to the size of the bird to be stuffed. The centerpiece should be somewhat longer than the body of the bird. At about a fourth of its length a small ring is formed, by the assistance of the round pincers or plyers, and the other end is pointed with a file. This wire is oiled and introduced across the skull, and passed into the neck, through the center of the flax or tow with which it is stuffed, the ring being situated toward the anterior part of the skull, for the purpose of receiving the points of each of the wires that are passed through the feet and thighs.
The following is the mode in which this perforation is effected: A hole is bored with a bradawl the caliber of the wire which it is intended to use. The wire, which is to continue in the leg, is passed across the knee and brought out interiorly, and, placing it into the ring above mentioned, the same operation is performed on the other side. The extremities of the wires of the legs, and the end of the central wire beyond the ring, are all twisted together with flat pincers, and then bent towards the tail. The tail-bearer is next formed, which consists of the fourth piece of wire, with which an oval is formed, by twisting the two ends two or three turns, so that they may form a kind of fork, with the oval nearly the length of the body of the bird; the two points of the fork must be sharpened with a file, and near enough to enable them to enter the rump, through which they must pass, and their points will be concealed by the rectrices, or large straight tail feathers, while the oval is within the body of the bird. If the bird is large, the tail-bearer must be firmly attached to the interior wires, by twisting a small wire several times round both. But unless the bird be very large, it may remain quite free.
All the parts of the skin at which we can come must be thoroughly rubbed with preserving soap, the rump in particular, which should besides be soaked with the solution of corrosive sublimate. The stuffing is now proceeded with, by inserting chopped flax or tow, till it has attained its proper dimensions. The skin is brought together and sewed up, while we take the greatest care to separate the feathers at every stitch.
The orbits of the eyes are next finished, by inserting, with small forceps and a short stuffing stick, a small quantity of chopped cotton, while attention is paid to round the eyelids properly. The glass eyes are now inserted, taking care to place them properly under the eyelids. But, before fixing the eye, a little calcareous cement must be used, to prevent them from coming out. If any part of the nictitating membrane is visible below, it must be pushed up with the steel point.
The stuffing of the bird being now completed, the next thing is to place it either on a branch, or, if a bird which does not sit on trees, on a piece of plank; whichever of these it is, two holes are bored for the reception of the wires, which have been allowed to protrude from the soles of the feet, for fixing the bird. (See fig. 8.) These, of course, are pierced in such situations as are necessary for the attitude or position of the legs. The wires are put through these holes, and twisted so as to secure the bird in its position. The attitude of the bird will, of course, depend upon the fancy and taste of the operator, and ought to be in conformity with the manners of the bird in a living state.
The wire frame-work, above described, is the most simple of any in its construction, and is better adapted for small than large birds. Indeed, it will hardly suit those of the larger species. The following is another method of constructing the framework, which may be used either in large or small birds:
Like the former it is constructed of four pieces of wire. The center piece should be double the length of the bird; it is bent at a third of its length in an oval form, and twisted two turns, the shortest end being passed into the oval, and then raised against the longer end, so as to produce a ring at the end, outside of the oval, large enough to admit the two wires which pass from the feet to the inside of the bird. It is now twisted a second time, and firmly united to the longer end, which ought to be straight, with a sharp point, effected by means of a file. As before directed, it is rubbed with oil, and forced through the stuffing of the neck. It ought to be so constructed, by measurement, that the oval part of the wire shall be in the center of the body inside. The wires of the feet and legs, as before directed, ought to be straight and pointed, and passed through the soles of the feet as before. When the point is penetrated, the other end of the wire may be bent, so that by means of it we may be able to assist in forcing up the remainder of the wire. The two internal ends of the foot-wires are twisted together, and curved within, so as to pass through the small circle or ring of the middle branch above the oval, to each side of which they are now attached with a piece of small string.
The tail-bearer is constructed on the same principles, and attached in the same manner, as before described, and the latter apparatus is introduced after the neck and back are finished in the stuffing.