288 WITH NATURE AND A CAMEBA. 



luck upon grass and fallow-fields ; in one or two 

 cases, where dung- had been spread. One couple of 

 young fellows, who must I think have been entirely 

 devoid of olfactory nerves, occupied an upland slope 

 which was thickly manured with pieces of fish in 

 all stages of decomposition. My brother made our 

 friend Swaysland laugh heartily by gravely inrpiiring 

 of the men Avhether they were catching Cormorants 

 — the humour of the idea being suggested by the 

 similarity of the smell to that encountered where 

 these birds breed. 



Bird-lime is hardly ever used now amongst Sussex 

 bird-catchers, but is still employed in the West of 

 England and on the Continent for taking Gold- 

 finches, Siskins and Redpolls. 



Cock Chaffinches are caught in some parts of 

 the country by means of bird-lime during the early 

 spring, when they are bubbling over with song and 

 pugnacity. The method adopted is to take out a 

 tame bird in a small cage tied up in a handker- 

 chief, where the little creature will continue to rattle 

 off its defiant notes all day long, and hide it amongst 

 some bushes close by where a wild bird is singing. 

 A stuffed bird is then set up just over the caged 

 one, and, although well in view, is surrounded by a 

 number of twigs and sticks liberally besmeared with 

 bird-lime. The unsuspecting free bird on hearing 

 the song of the hidden captive, at once concludes 

 that it i)rocee(ls from the stuffed one, at which he 

 instantly dashes in a storm of anger, and, knocking 

 it over, becomes entangled amongst the smeared 

 twigs. 



In order to see tliis kind of birdcatching in actual 

 operation we went out with a crack Seven Dials 

 man one day, but he was not at all successful during 

 the time we spent with him. When we came to the 



