Formerly it was my practice to poison all rough skeletons with a thin wash of arsenical soap, to make them dry without smelling badly, and to keep off the myriads of insects that the shreds of flesh would naturally attract. Now, however, in obedience to the mandates of Mr. Lucas, I have eschewed the use of arsenical soap for this purpose, and recommend the use of dry arsenic instead, which does not retard the cleaning of the bones.
Rough Skeletons of Birds.—As in the case of a small mammal, first remove the skin from the body; but if the identity of the bird is in doubt, leave the large tail feathers and the primaries in place, for future reference. In fact, it is a good plan to always leave the primaries and spurious quills on the wing, for then there will be no danger that some of the small bones of the last joint will get lost or cut away by mistake. Moreover, when you come to tie up the skeleton, the primaries will afford valuable protection to the ribs.
[a]Fig. 67.]—Rough Skeleton of a Bird. (After F.A. Lucas.)
With a bird, the entire skeleton should be roughed out before any disjointing is done, and even then none is necessary, save to cut off the legs of large birds, especially those with long legs. Study carefully the accompanying figure of a bird skeleton (Fig. 67), and then it will be hardly necessary to say more than to roughly, but carefully, cut off the flesh with a cartilage knife or scalpel, and remove all the viscera. Look out for those delicate little points on the neck vertebræ, and also be very careful not to cut off those curious little appendages (called uncinate processes) that project backward from the middle of each rib. Leave the hyoid bone in its place, and also the bony ring surrounding the eyeball of the great blue heron, the owl, and other birds of prey. If any portion of the windpipe reveals any bony structure, the entire windpipe should be saved. Whenever any tendons are found to be partly ossified, as they will certainly prove to be in the "drumstick" of your Thanksgiving turkey, leave them in place for the osteologist to do with as he pleases.
When in doubt about any special part, give the osteologist the benefit of the doubt by saving the special part for him.
If the bird is a large one, cut off the head, and after cleaning it pack it away in the chest cavity. If the bird is small, you can leave it attached to the neck, and remove the brain by bending the head down and cutting it half off from above, thus exposing the occipital opening at the back of the skull, through which the brain may be drawn out.
After the skeleton has been roughed out, it should always be cleaned by washing it in a basin of water and brushing it meanwhile with a soft tooth-brush. If blood is left on the skeleton, the bones will absorb it, and become permanently discolored thereby. The cleansing done, make the skeleton up into a compact bundle by folding the wings naturally against the body, bending the neck down in some way so that it can be tied upon the body, and either cutting off the legs and putting them into the thorax and pelvis, or leaving them on and folding them up as compactly as possible. Then tie the bundle up thoroughly by passing a light string many times around it, so that it can never lose its compactness. Sprinkle it with dry arsenic, or wash over with thin arsenical soap, and hang it up in the shade to dry.
Skeletons of Reptiles.—After all the foregoing directions, it surely is unnecessary to describe, in detail, the skeletonizing of reptiles. The principles are precisely the same as already set forth for birds and mammals. Wherever special bones or cartilages are found, as in the abdominal-cartilaginous ribs of crocodilians and certain lizards, they must be carefully saved whole and in situ. With large skeletons, take whatever means are necessary to get them, while fresh, into compact shape for drying and packing. With large crocodiles and alligators, the neck, legs, head, and tail all go nicely inside the body, as I have proved scores of times. The skeleton of a large serpent is easily done up in a close coil, by which it not only takes compact shape, but the ribs are well protected. With serpents, do not attempt to cut the flesh from between the ribs, for it is desirable that it should remain.
On each rib of a crocodilian there is a strange, flat piece of cartilage attached to the posterior edge at the middle of the rib, and projecting backward, quite overlapping the next rib, as sure as the world the reptilian development of what in the full-fledged bird becomes a bony uncinate process. You will soon discover this in skeletonizing your first crocodilian, and be sure to respect its anatomy.