In concluding this part of my subject, I must warn boys against handling hairy caterpillars with bare hands, as when the hand touches the face or neck it is apt to produce a rash like nettle-rash.
II.—HOW TO CURE AND SET UP A BIRD’S SKIN.
The wholesale destruction, for the sheer love of taking life, which goes on at all seasons round our seacoasts, is simply appalling. It is trusted that these hints on bird-stuffing may not stimulate it, but rather, by leading boys to take an interest in the marvellous structure of bird life, to venerate and spare it, shooting only here and there a solitary specimen for preservation.
On inspecting a bird which is intended for stuffing, it must be borne in mind that many species change their plumage in summer and in winter. This applies especially to sea-birds, and it is often difficult to recognise an individual in his sober winter garb as contrasted with his rich summer attire. Therefore it is quite allowable to preserve two specimens of the same sex and class, in order to show the difference in their plumage.
Mid-winter or midsummer is the best time to shoot birds for stuffing, as when they have been recently sitting, or moulting, their feathers are apt to be worn or only half formed. Be careful to use only small shot and small charges, at short distances, for small birds, or the skin will be irretrievably damaged. Increase the charge in proportion to the size of the bird, but it should never be a very heavy one. A friend once brought me to stuff a tame parrot of his which had flown away. Thinking to injure the skin the less, he had shot it with a charge of peas, but with the result of crushing it almost to a jelly, tearing the skin so that it was useless.
In the event of the bird being only wounded, press the breast bone in with the finger and thumb till life be extinct. This operation will not take more than two minutes. Push a piece of cotton wool down the throat, a piece of thread through the nose just above the beak, and make a loop to hold the bird by. Carefully examine the bird for any wounds, and stop such with a small plug of cotton wool. This will prevent the blood staining the feathers. Smooth down these with a handkerchief and pull out any that are bloodstained, as the sacrifice of a feather here and there is immaterial.
When the bird is brought safely home, it must be decided whether it should be slit down the back or down the breast, or whether, as in the case of large-headed birds like kingfishers, a small incision should be made in the throat, to skin the head through. But first, as regards the implements for the process, which need only be few and simple—a couple of dissecting knives with celt handles, a pair of pointed scissors, a large fish-hook, and a small gouge for the eyes being all that is required for the skinning process. For the setting-up we must add a file for giving the wires a sharp point, and a pair of compasses to measure the body.
Then place the bird on its back, and cut it open from the top of the breast bone to within a short distance of the vent. If, however, the specimen is one remarkable for the beauty of its breast plumage, the process must be reversed. Break both the wing bones under the wings, and place a clean piece of wool in the mouth. Remove the skin with the celt handle of the knife. Here it must be explained that the term celt handle is derived from the prehistoric flint implements dug up in ancient barrows, and which, being necessarily blunt, have given their names to the blunt bone handles of dissecting knives. As you work along sprinkle the skin with a powder of wood ash, plaster-of-paris, or flour. It is a great help to have a fish-hook run through the top of the breast bone, and held firmly by another person, or tied to a hook on the wall. The neck must be cut through when it is met with, likewise the wings where they are broken, and the top joints of the legs. Use great care in drawing the skin down the back, as that is very frequently the most delicate place.
The Head.—If the head is very much larger than the neck, cut the throat lengthways to remove the head. It is immaterial whether the eyes are taken out before the head is skinned down or after. The gouge should go well to the back of the eye and separate the ligament which holds it to the socket. Should the gouge go into the eye, it will let out the moisture, which often damages the skin. Some people crush the skull slightly to make it come out of the skin easily, but this I do not advise. Remove the brains by taking out a piece of the skull at the back as you cut off the neck. Pull the eyes out of their cavity and fill up their place with wool soaked in arsenical soap. Anoint the skin of the head and the neck well with arsenical soap, and place in the neck a piece of stick covered with wool, the end of which put into the hole made in the skull for extracting the brains.
The Wings.—Remove the meat from the wings on the inside as far as you can skin. When you have taken out the body, to finish the wings, cut them open from the outside under the large wing feathers, which be careful not to detach from the large bone. Remove all the meat most carefully, and anoint with arsenical soap.