The Boy's Own Book of Indoor Games and Recreations / A Popular Encyclopædia for Boys

by C. Stansfeld Hicks; John Nevil Maskelyne; Gordon Stables

The Legs.—Skin down as far as you can, remove the meat, anoint the skin with arsenical soap, and cover the leg bones with paper, to prevent them damaging the skin.

The Feet can be left alone, unless large, when they can be cut into and anointed.

The Tail and the Back, if that of a large bird and very fat, like that of a peacock, should be well covered with wood ash, and scraped till as much fat as can be removed comes away. Then anoint freely with arsenical soap, fill the body with wool or paper, not too full, and close it with a couple of stitches across the breast. Smooth all the feathers into their place, and leave in a dry place before packing, for a day or two. Then pack the paper round the whole, to prevent the skin from being damaged.

So far the skin has only been cured, an operation which, in the case of a small bird and practised hands, takes about seven minutes. Next for the setting up. Though the skin thus preserved may be laid by and keep good for years, and may at any time be set up by a professional, yet it is a great amusement for a boy to stuff his birds himself, and this is how it is done:—

Fig. 2.

The body and the neck which have been taken out of the bird serve as models. The former is copied in tow, wound round with cotton. Through this is run a sharp-pointed piece of wire, bent over and fastened at the tail end. It protrudes beyond the body, is wrapped round with tow or wool to imitate the neck, and run up the latter, from which the stick has been removed. The point is run through the skull, bent back and made fast ([Fig. 2]).

Then run a sharpened wire up each leg, inside, starting from beneath the foot, and sticking into the body, where it is doubled back. Be careful that these wires are exactly in the centre of the body, or the legs will appear too far back.

The body and neck of the bird are now stuffed, but form a straight line. Sew up the breast with a few stitches, and with the following manipulation give the right curve to the neck: Bend it back at a little more than a right angle to the body, pressing with the thumb where the neck joins the body. Then press with the thumb at the back of the neck, and with the other hand pull the neck forward again. This will give it the desired graceful curve.