Fig. 6.
In the female the ovaries lie on the right side ([Fig. 7], 2) in about the same position as is occupied by the testicles in the male. The ovaries vary in size from that of half the size of an egg to minute points, depending, as in the male, on the season of the year and age of the specimen. In very young birds the ovaries consist of a small white body which under a magnifying glass appears somewhat granular. In both male and female are two yellowish or whitish bodies, in the former sex lying above the testicles, but further forward, and consequently just in front of the kidneys; and in the female they occupy about the same position. In addition to the ovaries in the female, the oviduct is always present ([Fig. 7], 3), large, swollen, and convoluted during the breeding season, but smaller and nearly straight at other times. In young specimens it appears as a small white line.
Fig. 7.
The denuded breast and abdomen seen in birds during the breeding season, cannot always be depended upon as a mark of sex, as this occasionally occurs in males as well as in females.
Section IV.: Preserving Skins.—Taxidermists for many years have made use of arsenic in some form as a preservative; and in the first edition of my “Naturalists’ Guide,” I recommended the use of it dry, stating that I did not think it injurious if not actually eaten. I have, however, since had abundant cause to change my opinion in this respect, and now pronounce it a dangerous poison. Not one person in fifty can handle the requisite quantity of arsenic necessary to preserve specimens, for any length of time, without feeling the effects of it. For a long time I was poisoned by it, but attributed it to the noxious gases arising from birds that had been kept too long. It is possible that the poison from arsenic with which my system was filled might have been affected by these gases, causing it to develop itself, but I do not think that the gas itself is especially injurious, as I have never been poisoned since I discontinued the use of arsenic.