A Complete Guide IN COLLECTING AND PRESERVING BIRDS AND MAMMALS BY C. J. MAYNARD ILLUSTRATED BOSTON S. E. CASSINO AND COMPANY 1883 Copyright, BY S. E. CASSINO & CO. 1883. ELECTROTYPED. BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, No. 4 Pearl Street ....

Twenty-five or thirty years ago amateur collectors of birds were rare; in fact, excepting in the immediate vicinity of large cities, individuals who spent their leisure time in gathering birds for the sole purpose of study, were so seldom met with that, when one did occur, his occupation was so unusual as to excite the comments of his neighbors, and he became famous for miles around as highly eccentric. Such a man was regarded as harmless, but as just a little “cracked,” and the lower classes ga

Fig. 1.—Page 2. Sieve trap: B, common coal sieve, set with one edge raised by stick A, to which is attached the string C, one end of which is held by the bird-catcher at a distance. When the bird, attracted by the bait, goes under the sieve, the stick is jerked out and the sieve falls. Fig. 2.—Page 3. Ever-ready bird-trap: D, body of trap made of netting F and A, hoops supporting netting. A, ring to which are attached the wires C, which point backwards. The bait is placed within the body of the

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 skinn

Section I.: Ordinary Method. —The only instruments that I use in removing the skin of birds ordinarily is a simple knife of a peculiar form (see Fig. 3 ); but I like to have a pair of dissecting scissors by me to be used in cases given further on. I also have plenty of cotton, and either Indian meal or dermal preservative at hand to absorb blood and other juices. Fig. 3. To remove the skin from the bird, first see that the mouth is plugged with cotton, and if it is, note if this be dry, if not r

Section I.: Cleaning Feathers. —If a bird is bloody, the feathers may be washed either in turpentine or water. Saturate a rag or piece of cotton, and clean off the blood, which if dry may require some soaking. Try to keep the water from spreading as much as possible, but be sure that every particle of clotted blood is removed and the spot washed thoroughly. Then dry by covering the spot well with either plaster or dermal preservative, the latter being preferable as it never bleaches the plumage.

Section I.: Instruments. —The instruments necessary for mounting are cutting pliers ( Fig. 12 ), or tin shears, straight-nosed pliers ( Fig. 11 ), wire of various sizes, tweezers, and other implements used in skin-making; leg awls, for dried skins, and awls for boring stands; also stands of various kinds. Fig. 11. Fig. 12. Section II.: Mounting from Fresh Specimens. —Be sure that a skin is perfectly clean in every way before attempting to mount, as it cannot be washed nearly as well afterwards.

Section I.: Plain Stands. —The best stands for the cabinet are simple wooden ones, either of pine or other woods, turned by machinery with a simple cross-piece for perching birds. As a rule, the shaft should be about as high as the cross-piece is long, but in cases of specimens with long tails, the shaft should be somewhat higher, while the base should a little exceed in diameter the length of the perch, and should be about as thick as the shortest diameter of the other parts. Section II.: Ornam

Mammals are, as a rule, much more difficult to procure than birds, especially the smaller species. Mice occur in all localities. The white-footed mice are often found in the deserted nests of squirrels or of crows in the tree-tops. Jumping-mice are found in the meadows, under haycocks or in nests deep in the earth during winter, at which time they are in a dormant condition. Field-mice of several species occur in the meadows, where they have nests, while the house-mouse and several species of mi

Section I.: Skinning Small Mammals. —Lay the animal on its back, make an incision about one-third of the length of the body on the under side of the body from the vent forward, peel down on either side until the knee-bones are exposed, then cut the joint and draw out the leg, at least as far as the heel. Remove the flesh, cover well with preservative, and turn, then proceed thus with the opposite leg. Pull down to the tail and draw out the bone by placing a stick on the under side of it and pres

Section I.: Small Mammals. —Skin as directed, but the skull should not, as a rule, be detached unless the animal be large enough to have the lips split. The eye cavities should also be filled with clay. Cut a piece of wire of the suitable size to support the head; have it about twice as long as the head and body of the specimen in hand. Wind up a turn or two with the pliers small enough to enter the cavity in the base of the skull, which will have to be enlarged to admit of the ready removal of

Mounting reptiles, batrachians, and fishes as collected in this department is scarcely a part of taxidermy. I shall only give general instructions regarding mounting some species. Snakes may be readily skinned by cutting a longitudinal insertion about a fourth of the distance down from the head on the lower side where the body begins to enlarge, near its greatest diameter; then the skin may be speedily taken off both ways. When the vent is reached the skin comes away harder, but in order to make