Post-mortem examinations should be done in a systematic manner; but, if desired, a very speedy examination may be made by rapidly removing, or bending back, the breast bone of the unplucked bird. It will be more generally satisfactory, however, to devote time to the operation, and it is suggested that the work be carried out on the following lines: 1. Nail the body of the dead fowl on a board in the position shown in Fig. 30, having first partly or wholly plucked the bird. [Illustration: FIG. 30.—POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION NO. 1 Fowl nailed on board; lines A B, A C and B D show where to cut.] 2. With a sharp knife cut along lines AC, BD (Fig. 30), and bend the breast bone backwards, exposing the internal organs. (Fig. 31.) As the breast bone is raised it will be necessary to cut through the mesentery and other connecting tissues. Break it back at D, cutting through the flesh and the muscle with sharp scissors. 3. Remove heart, liver, gall-bladder and spleen, making neat severances and without injury to any of the other organs. If the heart or large blood vessels be injured in the operation, blood will flow out and interfere with the work. [Illustration: FIG. 31.—POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION NO. 2 Breast bone removed; internal organs in situ.] 4. Cut through the œsophagus, below or above the crop, as most convenient, and also cut through the large intestine near the cloaca. Without disconnecting the parts, lift out the gizzard, intestines, and other portions of the alimentary canal, carefully tearing away the membranous tissues of the mesentery. 5. Spread the organs out and examine each one carefully and critically, making sections if necessary. (Fig. 32.) 6. Cut open gullet, crop, stomach, gizzard, intestines, and cæca and examine the contents. 7. Examine the lungs, cutting off a portion and throwing it into water, when it will float if healthy, but sink if congested. 8. Cut through the skin of the neck. Sever the windpipe near the head, and also where the bronchi enter the lungs. With scissors cut it open, and examine for molds or gapes or for exudates indicative of various forms of cold or lung congestion. [Illustration: FIG. 32.—POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION NO. 3 Internal organs removed for examination.] 9. Examine the brain (Fig. 34) for blood clots. Some care will be necessary in cutting through the skull so as not to injure the brain tissue, which should be a milky white. A sharp and strong pair of scissors or a small, fine saw (e. g., tenon saw) will be useful for older birds. Remove the skin and cut from behind, raising the bones and exposing the brain. _2. The Normal Condition of the Internal Organs_ (See Fig. 32.) The _œsophagus_ carries the food from the mouth and passing down the neck beside the windpipe opens into— The _crop_, where the food is macerated. Thence it gradually passes into—