144 Reed Birds of the Markets. [ZOE 
The demand for them is not very great, yet at this time of year 
the daily sales in San Francisco probably range from one or two 
dozen a day to ten dozen or more. 
About two or three are served to one person, sometimes more, 
according to the supply and price and the standing of the restau- 
rant. The annual destruction must amount to many thousands and 
has only the extenuation on its side of being carried on most ex- 
tensively when the birds are not breeding but congregated in more 
or less mixed flocks in open fields, or along roadsides and patches 
of chaparral. The hunting is almost exclusively done by French- 
men well advanced in years, and may be considered under two 
heads: First, the solitary individual, afoot, who keeps just without 
the jurisdiction of city police, and with a muzzle-loader of small or 
medium bore, fires murderous charges of fine shot with small loads 
of powder into the mixed flocks of linnets, canaries, etc., feeding in 
the grass and weeds, or rakes them from the top-rail of a fence or 
telegraph wire. If in a field he marks closely the spot, and depos- 
iting his hat or something else for a mark, circles about the fatal 
area, picking up the dead and wounded. Hints or threats from 
suburban citizens are always and promptly acted upon, and he will 
be seen no more for several days if at all in that locality. It is not 
his policy to question his right or privilege to shoot in any particu- 
lar neighborhood, and in this respect he differs markedly from the 
average sportsman. The particular delight of this individual is to 
follow up flocks of horned larks, for they are usually many and 
command the best price. Secondly, there is the old Frenchman in 
a cart or light wagon drawn by a wreck of a horse. His method is 
to keep moving along country roads and do most of his killing from 
the fences and telegraph wires on either side of the road. He is 
invariably accompanied by a small boy, probably an apprentice, 
who does the retrieving. His policy also distinguishes him from — 
the average sportsman, inasmuch as he will not fire when another 
team 1s near, not so much from a dislike to risk frightening the 
horse of another but rather to prevent attracting attention to his ne- — 
farious occupation. 
Formerly the man on foot was accompanied by an ill-trained dog: 
but now he usually travels alone; probably the dog was found of 
little use in retrieving and a great deal of a nuisance when traveling | 
on cars and ferry-boats. 
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