This cannot be done in the case of large birds. To kill these, insert a thin knife-blade between the skull and last vertebra, cutting through the spinal cord; or break the back by pressing upon it with the knee.
Skins may be either packed in boxes, between layers of cotton, or they may be pushed head first into cylinders of stiff paper having a diameter equal to the largest part of the skin.
A serviceable and comfortable hunting-suit may be made from any good strong stuff, such as corduroy, etc. The pants should be made rather loose, and have the seams firmly sewed. The coat should be a mere succession of pockets, and of course very loose. A soft, broad-brimmed felt hat, and a pair of broad-soled, low-heeled shoes, for ordinary wear; or, for shooting where the country is wet and boggy, a pair of high top boots may be substituted. This will be found to be the easiest, most durable and least expensive outfit that can be made.
Do not start out in the morning without having first partaken of a lunch, however slight, as a preventive, if nothing more; for tramping on an empty stomach will almost always upset one for the whole day.
As soon as you return from your day's tramp, a good "wash-up" and a change of clothes will rest you far more than sitting down. Especially, if your feet are wet, lose no time in changing socks, and all other garments that are in the least damp. By doing this, you will save yourself many a severe cold, and perhaps a fit of sickness.
In case of poisoning with the arsenic, while preparing your skins, the advice of Dr. Coues, in his "Field Ornithology," covers the whole treatment. "Avoid," he says, "all mechanical irritation of the inflamed parts, touch the parts that have ulcerated with a stick of lunar caustic; take a dose of salts; use syrup of iodide of iron, or tincture of chloride of iron, say thirty drops in a wine-glass of water, thrice a day; rest at first; exercise gradually as soon as you can bear it; and skin no birds till you have completely recovered." If these do not cure, medical advice should be procured.
"YOUNG FOLKS' HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES," "YOUNG FOLKS' AMERICAN EXPLORERS," "MALBONE,"
"OUTDOOR PAPERS," "OLDPORT DAYS," "ARMY LIFE IN A BLACK REGIMENT," "ATLANTIC ESSAYS," ETC.