across and deep till you see the
backbone near the oil gland at the root of the tail. Sever the
backbone at the joint, and then all the root of the tail together,
with the oil gland dissected from the body. Apply plenty of cotton.

After this seize the end of the backbone with the finger and thumb,
and now you can hold up the bird clear of your knee and turn it round
and round as occasion requires.

While you are holding it thus, contrive, with the help of your other
hand and knife, by cutting and shoving, to get the skin pushed up till
you come to where the wings join on the body. Forget not to apply
cotton; cut these joints through, add cotton, and gently push the skin
over the head, cut out the roots of the ears, which lie very deep in
the head, and continue skinning till you reach the middle of the eye;
cut the nictating membrane quite through, otherwise you would tear the
orbit of the eye; and after this nothing difficult intervenes to
prevent your arriving at the root of the bill.

When this is effected cut away the body, leaving a little bit of
skull, just as much as will reach to the fore-part of the eye, clean
well the jaw bones, fasten a little cotton at the end of your stick,
dip it into the solution, and touch the skull and corresponding parts
of the skin, as you cannot well get at these places afterwards.

From the time of pushing the skin over the head you are supposed to
have had the bird resting upon your knee. Keep it there still, and
with great caution and tenderness return the head through the inverted
skin, and when you see the beak appearing pull it very gently till the
head comes out unruffled and unstained.

You may now take the cotton out of the mouth. Cut away all the
remaining flesh from the palate, and whatever may have remained at the
under jaw.

Here is now before you the skin without loss of any feathers, and all
the flesh, fat, and unclean bones out of it, except the middle joint
of the wings, one bone of the thighs, and the fleshy root of the tail.
The extreme point of the wing is very small, and has no flesh on it,
comparatively speaking, so that it requires no attention except
touching it with the solution from the outside. Take all the flesh
from the remaining joint of the wing, and tie a thread about four
inches long to the end of it, touch all with the solution, and put the
wing bone back into its place. In baring this bone you must by no
means pull the skin. You would have