Walter Porter Manton

“ After [20] skinning away, you will come to a hard substance; this is the thigh. Skin carefully around this until you come to the under side, when you can easily insert your scissors and sever it from the body. Push the leg up out of the skin until you come to the tarsus; clear away all muscles and tendons, and bring the legs back into its skin again. Repeat this process on the other side without turning the bird around. Now skin carefully around the tail; place your forefinger across this, and pressing it back a little, insert the scissors and sever the stump. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Wherever we are, in a room, garden, field, or road, in the morning or evening, winter or summer, action or rest, something interesting may be extracted; for at the moment when the attention is warmly excited, an event may be turned to the best account. ”

“ It is only the refined and the lover of nature who can thoroughly enjoy this art of reproduction. A close observer of nature, in two short hours spent in the fields and woods, will see and learn more than the unobserving and careless person in as many years. ”

“ 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. ”

“ If the young have already formed, a squarish-shaped hole may be made on one side, and the contents hooked out. The hole may be afterwards closed by pasting a bit of film or tissue paper over it. While drilling through the shell, the egg should be held over water, so that if dropped it may not be broken; or an arrangement made of wire resembling a pair of scissors, the ends terminating in a ring or oval, may be used. ”

“ The arsenic is to poison, and the alum to act as an astringent, especially in setting the feathers and fur of skins partially decayed. As arsenic is an irritant poison, great care should be taken while using. See that the hands are free from all scratches, cuts, hang-nails, and broken skin. These may be covered with court-plaster or collodium. Wash the hands immediately after using, and be careful to clean well under the nails. ”

“ A full set of eggs is always desirable, if they can be obtained, but, as the old saying is, "A half-loaf is better than no bread." The contents may be removed by making a hole in the side of the egg with an egg drill, and sucking out the white and yolk with a glass blow-pipe, or by means of a little syringe with a bit of rubber tubing attached to the nozzle. ”

“ When birds are to be mounted with spread wings, as if flying, it is sometimes desirable to [23] make the incision along the back instead of the belly, the ventral feathers thus presenting a smoother appearance.
MAKING A SKIN.
After a skin has been poisoned and dressed, it may be "made" by inserting into each eye-socket, through the neck, with the knitting-needle, a little ball of cotton. Then make a little roll of cotton and insert it into the neck; one end in the cavity of the skull, the other just appearing at the end of the neck. ”

“ The larger sizes are used for hawks and all large birds. With several sizes of shot, you can vary your loads according to the bird that you are pursuing. Here the breech-loading gun is vastly superior to the old-fashioned muzzle-loader, for it is but the work of an instant to change from large to small, or vice versa. Be careful not to load too heavily. Most of your birds will be killed within a few yards, and it is astonishing how little powder and how few shot will produce the desired effect. ”

“ A very pretty perch can be made by arranging wires in the shape of a twig or branch, having one end firmly fastened in a block of wood. Wind the wires to the proper size with tow, and after giving the whole a coating of thin glue, sprinkle over it smalts and dry moss, rubbed fine in the hands; when this is dry, you can glue on artificial leaves, flowers, and grasses as your taste prompts. Another good perch for small birds is a stump made of pasteboard, with a small opening on one side. ”

“ You have come to me to-day to learn something of the art of Taxidermy, so we will take up, for your first lesson, bird skinning and mounting. But first let us see what
TOOLS we shall need to accomplish our end: a pair of good sharp scissors—surgical scissors, with long handles and short, stout blades are the best; a knife or scalpel; a pair of spring forceps; a com [14] mon knitting-needle; a rabbit's foot, which should be cut off at the knee, the nails cut out, and thoroughly cleansed and dried,—used for smoothing and dusting the feathers of birds after mounting ”

“ The best stand on which to mount mammals is an oval block of wood varying in thickness according to the size of the specimen. The name should be painted in black letters on the side of the block, and the whole varnished. Rocks, stump effects, etc., are made by bending paste-board to the required shape, fastening to a standard, and stiffening with glue. Sand, smalts, etc., may then be dusted on. If there are several mammals mounted in the same case, a watercolor background is very effective. ”

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“ A very good call, which seldom fails in bringing the bird from its retreat, is made by placing the back of the hand to the lips and sucking. By practice, this may be made to resemble the cries of a wounded bird. Early [52] morning and just before sun-down have been found to be the best hours for collecting, although something may be done at any time of day. During the noon hours, birds generally remain hidden in the cool depths of the thickets and woods. Birds are seldom found in the deep forest ”

“ 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.
Fig. 3. [Click here for negative image]
The legs are now straddling wide apart. ”

“ Do not start out in the morning without having first partaken of a lunch, however slight, as a preventive, if nothing more; for tramping on an empty stomach will almost always upset one for the whole day. ”

“ As soon as you return from your day's tramp, a good "wash-up" and a change of clothes will rest you far more than sitting down. Especially, if your feet are wet, lose no time in changing socks, and all other garments that are in the least damp. ”

“ Therefore I would caution the beginner against all impatience and disappointment at unsuccessful attempts, and urge him to press forward, continually striving to improve upon past failures, and soon, to his own astonishment, those things which at first appeared difficult and awkward, will become comparatively simple and easy. ”

“ The specimen should now be set away for several days, or even weeks, if the bird be a large one, and allowed to dry; after which it may be unwound; the eyelids soaked, by inserting little flabs of wet cotton until they [32] become soft and pliable; the eyes inserted in putty, and the lids carefully adjusted over them. The protruding head wire and the pins in the wings are cut off, and your bird mounted on the perch which you have already prepared for it. ”

“ Now work the body entirely into the skin, by bending lengthwise the legs, and gently sliding them on the wires. This done, [29] 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. ”

“ Now turn the bird up, and with its belly pointing toward you, let the tail fall over the forefinger of your right hand, and with your thumb nail and fingers, continue to push and work the skin until you come to the wings ”

“ The choice of a gun for collecting purposes is, of course, optional with the reader; but a good twelve or fourteen bore breech-loading shot gun will give better satisfaction than any other, and will be worth the price of the gun in time-saving, when in the field. ”

“ It is a continual source of pleasure, and promotive to the love of the great Nature which moves so mysteriously around us. It is true that we have seen those of coarse and vulgar minds and clumsy fingers, eminently successful ”

“ Hints on Writing and Speech-making. By Thomas Wentworth Higginson.
Arithmetic for Young Children. Being a series of Exercises exemplifying the manner in which Arithmetic should be taught to young children. ”