Then the bird enters at the entrance A, goes through the ring B, so on past the wires C, which are arranged in a circle to prevent his egress. The bird is removed through an orifice in the back, drawn together with a string at F.

Fig. 3.—Page 33.

Skinning-knife: The handle of this knife should be round, and the blade does not close.

Fig. 4.—Page 37.

Skull of bird (side view): Dotted line from A to B shows cut to be made in removing back of skull to give access to brain.

Fig. 5.—Page 37.

Skull of bird, under side: Dotted lines A, A, A, show cuts to be made in removing a triangular piece of bone and muscle, to which the whole or a portion of the brain will adhere.

Fig. 6.—Page 42.

Dissection of a song sparrow, showing male organs of reproduction: 1 and 2, lungs; 3, 3, testicles. The four organs below these are the kidneys.

Fig. 7.—Page 43.

Dissection of a song sparrow, showing female organs of reproduction: 4, lungs; 1, 1, small yellow glands, present in both sexes; 2, ovaries; 3, oviduct. These last four figures are merely diagrams, only sufficiently accurate in outline to convey an idea of the position of the parts indicated.

Fig. 8.—Page 50.

Tweezers for making skins, mounting, etc.: Several sizes are used, but as a rule the points should be longer than those given in the cut.

Fig. 9.—Page 51.

Drying forms fastened to a board, D, skin in the form. I now use these forms detached. See text. Also, see page 54 for a better method of making skins which I now practise.

Fig. 10.—Page 54.

Form of a skin of an oriole: I now use the long label given on page 58. A skin should not be made too full; a dead bird laid on its back will convey an idea of the thickness of the body of a skin.

Fig. 11.—Page 64.

Straight-nosed pliers: Used for bending wires in mounting.

Fig. 12.—Page 64.

Cutting-pliers: Used for cutting wires in mounting.

Fig. 13.—Page 66.

Body of a bird: E, neck-wire, which should be as long as the neck and tongue in order to reach into the upper mandible. This wire should be wrapped in cotton. B, wire before clinching; G, C, wire clinched; F, tail wire bent in the form of a T at H, a leg wire going through tarsus along dotted line to D.

Fig. 14.—Page 67.

Roughly-drawn skeleton of a pinnated grouse, only sufficiently accurate to indicate the different bones: A, skull; B, B, B, vertebræ; furcula of neck and back, or wishing-bone; D, forearm; F, carpus, showing hollow in bone through which the wire is to be passed in wiring the wing; G, end of furcula; H, tip of keel; I, indentations in posterior border of stemma; J, femur; K, tarsus; L, heel; M, pelvis; N, cocyx; O, crest of keel; P, side of keel; X, wire used in mounting skeleton; A, B, ribs.

Fig. 15.—Page 69.

Outline figure of grouse showing external parts: A, back; B, rump; C, upper tail coverts; D, under tail coverts; E, ventral region; F, tibra; G, tarsus; H, breast; I, side; J, throat; N, chin; L, abdomen; M, feet.

Fig. 16.—Page 73.

Outline drawing of a mounted bird: A, A, dotted line to indicate the relative position of the head and body, with the perch on which the bird stands; B, B, winding cotton to keep the feathers in position; C, C, indicating proper position of wings; D, tail feathers “plated.” I do not now recommend this method. E, E, tail bearing wire; F, upright of gland; H, horizontal bar of stand; I, feet of bird on stand; S, leg-wire wrapped around bar after emerging from foot.

Fig. 17.—Page 92.

Lower portion of bolt used in mounting large mammals: A, movable nut on screw C; B, immovable flat washer.

PART I.—BIRDS.

CHAPTER I.—COLLECTING.

Section I.: Trapping, etc.—Several devices for securing birds for specimens may be successfully practised, one of the simplest of which is the box-trap, so familiar to every schoolboy. If this be baited with an ear of corn and placed in woods frequented by jays, when the ground is covered with snow, and a few kernels of corn scattered about, as an attraction, these usually wary birds will not fail to enter the trap. I have captured numbers in this way, in fact, the first bird which I ever skinned and mounted, was a blue jay, caught in a box-trap. I was only a small boy then, so I do not now remember what first suggested mounting the bird, but the inherent desire to preserve the specimen must have been fully as strong then as in later years, or I never