Wanderings in South America, the north-west of the United States and the Antilles, 1812, 1816, 1820 and 1824, with instructions for the perfect preservation of birds, etc., for cabinets of natural history / by Charles Waterton, Esq.

  • Waterton, Charles, 1782-1865.
Date:
1825
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Wanderings in South America, the north-west of the United States and the Antilles, 1812, 1816, 1820 and 1824, with instructions for the perfect preservation of birds, etc., for cabinets of natural history / by Charles Waterton, Esq. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    Preserving Birds. the beak. This may be done with such nicety, that the stitch cannot be observed ; and thus you have the artificial eye in true proportion. After this, touch the bill, orbits, feet, and former oil- gland at the root of the tail, with the solution, and then you have given to the hawk every thing necessary, except attitude, and a proper degree of elasticity, two qualities very essential. Procure any common ordinary box, fill one end of it, about three-fourths up to the top, with cotton, forming a sloping plane. Make a moderate hollow in it to receive the bird. Now take the hawk in your hands, and, after putting the wings in order, place it in the cotton, with its legs in a sitting posture. The head will fall down. Never mind. Get a cork, and run three pins into the end, just like a three-legged stool. Place it under the bird’s bill, and run the needle, which you formerly fixed there, into the head of the cork. This will support the bird’s head admirably. If you wish to lengthen the neck, raise the cork, by putting more cotton under it. If the head is to be brought forward, bring the cork nearer to the end of the box. If it requires to be set backwards on the shoulders, move back the cork. As in drying, the back part of the neck will shrink more than the forepart, and thus throw the beak higher than you wish it to be, putting you in mind of a star- gazing horse, prevent this fault, by tying a thread to the