Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

jToDRESSING GAME AND FISH 2«3want to know where such tastes originated, read theannals of medieval sieges.Small game birds, such as snipe and plover, canbe cleaned very quickly by pressing a thumb oneach side of their breasts, and, with a swift push,break the skin back, carrying feathers, backboneand entrails with it, and leaving only the breast.Grouse can be treated in the same way if the skinof the breast is first slit. The legs and rump, ifwanted, can be removed separately.Keeping Small Game.— To ship rabbits,squirrels, etc. : do not skin them, but remove theentrails, wipe the insides perfectly dry, wrap mpaper, and pack them back dc^^'n.Never pack birds in straw or grass without ice,for in damp or warm weather this will heat orsweat them. If they freeze they must be kept so, asthey will quickly spoil after thawing. Food in abird's crop soon sours; the crop should be removed.preserve birds in warm weather for shipment:draw them, wash the inside perfectly clean,dry thoroughly, and then take pieces of charcoalfrom the fireplace, wrap them in a thin rag, andfill the abdominal cavity with this. Also fill thebill, ears, eyes, and anal opening with powderedcharcoal, to keep off flies and prevent putrefaction.Reject all pieces of charcoal that are onlyhalf-burnt or have the odor of creosote. Birdsstuffed in this way will keep sweet for a week inhot weather.Cleaning Trout.— Brook trout have no no-:iceable scales, but they should be scraped free ofilime. Rainbow trout need scaling.Remove the vent, cut the gills free from thelower jaw and back of head, and slit open f^omiiead to anal fin. Draw the inside out by thegills, and scrape the clotted blood away fio.n thebackbone. If the fish are only for the pan, not tobe exhibited, cut the heads off; then they are easierto clean. Large ones, anyway^ should have headsand tails cut off before fryingj^