SEX

May be determined by cutting through the ribs under the right wing, and pushing away the intestines. There, bound to the small of the back, will be seen the testicles of the male—two spheroidal, whitish bodies, which vary in size according to the season of the year. In the female will be seen the ovaries, a flattened mass of whitish bodies. These are often so minute as to defy the naked eye, and the inquirer is obliged to employ the microscope to make the distinction. The sign recognized by ornithologists all over the world is ♂ for males, and ♀ for females; to which is added for young birds the Latin juvenis or juv. or O, meaning young, and Nupt. for birds in nuptial or breeding plumage.

STUFFING.

In the first place we must prepare the wires that we shall need. There are three of these—the head wire and two leg wires. The first of these must be about three or four inches longer than the bird as it lies stretched out on the table ([Fig. 2], A); the second and third two or three inches longer than the leg (C).

Fig. 2. [[Click here for negative image]]

These wires must be perfectly straight (in the case of small wires this may be done by stretching), and have one end sharpened. To do this make a little groove with the file in the table, lay the end of the wire in this, and holding it in the left hand, place the forefinger near the end, and seizing the file in the right hand slowly sharpen, revolving the wire at the same time with the left. This will seem a little awkward at first, but you will soon become accustomed to it. Now take a piece of sand-paper and polish the wires.

Take the longest of the three wires, and bend the unsharpened end into an oblong ring—in length according to the size of the bird to be mounted. Or, instead of the ring, you may make a little oval block of wood, secure the head wire to one end, and bore holes for the leg wires, which must be firmly fastened. For this Blue Jay we will make it about one inch in length. Now around this ring or block as a nucleus, or foundation, place the tow and wind it on with thread or string, continually putting on more tow until you have an egg-shaped form (B). Wind around and then lengthways to accomplish this. For birds larger than a canary, the body may be made of hay or excelsior, and finished with a coating of tow. This is easier to put wires through, and is more economical. The tow body must be as near the size of the natural body as possible, if anything a trifle smaller, on no account larger. In order to be more accurate, I generally keep the body of the bird skinned, on my table, and while winding compare the artificial body with this until it is perfected. In this way a better shaped and firmer body is produced. Be careful that you do not get the body too soft (you cannot get it too hard), or when you come to set up your bird it will be too weak to stand on its legs; the wires will have nothing to clinch and hold to. Now take a bit of cotton, and with the forceps introduce into the eye-socket through the neck. Repeat on the other side. Fill up the cavity between the mandibles and the space in the cranium with finely cut tow. Unless you are making a "skin," this had better be done directly after poisoning the skin, before turning the head through the neck. Now as to the neck. Some say, "Fill out gently with chopped tow." I prefer to wind the wire, A, for a short distance, with a bit of tow. To make this stick, first rub the wire with a piece of beeswax. This, I think, makes a better neck, and is less liable to misshape and contort the skin.

Now push the leg wire through the sole of the foot, and run it along the leg-bone up through the leg. Great care must be taken not to break the tarsus or run the wire through the loose skin which envelops the leg so as to tear it. Repeat on the other leg. Now wind a little splint of tow around the bone and wire of each leg. This will require some practice, but once acquired it is very easy. Place the body in the skin, and with a twisting motion run the wire out through the top of the head. Gently draw the skin over the body until it is about half way in. Then run the leg wires through the body, a little front of the middle and a trifle higher up. When the wire appears through the other side, seize it with the twisters, and bending it into a hook, draw it firmly into the body. Repeat on the other side. Now work the body entirely into the skin, by bending lengthwise the legs, and gently sliding them on the wires. This done, take a little chopped tow or cotton and place it under the body, on each side, directly where the shoulders come. Pin or sew the edges of the skin together. There will be a long piece of wire projecting from the head. Cut this off, say quarter of an inch from the head; and making a ring at the unsharpened end, push it through the stump of the tail into the body. This is to support the tail (D).

Just now the bird is a decidedly shabby looking affair, and if you are not careful you will find yourself getting discouraged, and thinking that you have spoiled the skin. But do not despair, for if you have carefully followed the directions, all will be right, and you will soon have the pleasure of seeing a well-mounted specimen. But it will only be after many failures that you will succeed. Remember "Post nubila Phœbus,"—and it is just the same with bird stuffing.