Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/284

 body of each specimen to ascertain its sex. This is a very simple matter to distinguish. Having opened the body as you would a chicken for cleaning, take out the intestines and look for the kidneys, which will be dark coloured organs very much like two beans in shape. If a male, there will be two little oval-shaped bodies of a dull white or light yellow colour, one on each side of the backbone and at the upper end of the kidneys. If a female, these two little organs will not be there, but a little lower down there will be a string or bundle of eggs, very, very small in some seasons, but well developed in the breeding seasons. It is often very difficult to tell the sex in quite young birds.

Make a moderately strong solution of alum, adding a small portion of saltpetre to it; in this steep your skins for a day or two. When taken out they many appear discoloured, but if you put them into a solution of alum alone the colour will return.

Clean the skin from every particle of flesh, and rub with a mixture of camphor, 1 oz.; alum, 1/2 oz.; sulphur, 1 oz.; corrosive sublimate, 1 oz.; all finely powdered together.

Rub well with Fuller's earth to absorb any oil that may be left in the skins; then dress with arsenical soap and kerosene mixed with it, and let them dry slowly. If they are to be packed away for any time, a liberal supply of camphor or some other preservative will be necessary. There is an excellent paste much used in the bush instead of arsenical soap for preserving birds' skins, it is made as follows:—Take 1 lb. of soft soap, 1 1/2 lbs. whiting, and 3 ozs. chloride of lime pounded fine. Boil these together in about 1 pint of water. It is used in the same way as the soap, and has been found to answer quite as well, if not better.

On many stations where game and water fowl are plentiful the feathers are burnt or thrown away, because no one knows how to purify them, yet, it is a very simple matter, and where feather pillows always bring a good price many pounds can be made every year by anyone willing to go to a little trouble. Have a large cask or barrel filled with water, and to each gallon of water allow a good 1/2 lb. lime, stir well, and let it stand till the lime has settled