Bird Catching in India. 



169 



prohibiting the export of plumage a large traffic goes on in 

 egrets' plumes, which are smuggled out of the country. 

 Every yeai early in May parties of Muhammadans go round 

 the United Provinces foi; the purpose of securing these plumes. 

 Each party is composed of from seven to eleven men with 

 three nets to seven men, four to nine men, or five to eleven 

 men. Their otperations last till the setting in of the monsoon, 

 that is toi say, for about four weeks. The apparatus they use 

 consists of two. nets made of fine string. These nets are; 

 about twenty-five feet long and nine wide, but they taper 

 ofif tOt a point at each end. 



The nets are laid flat on 

 the jground in shallow water, side 

 by side with a space of about 2 

 feet between, except at the ends 

 where the nets meet.. 



A rope runs along the outer 

 edge of each net, ending in a loop 

 at each end of the net. The loops 

 are put round pegs driven firmly 

 into the ground. The inner side of 

 each net is pegged to the ground. 

 Across each net, at the places where 

 it begins to narrow, are fastenc'd 

 sticks (a b and c d). Each stick 

 is attached at one end (a) (c) to a 

 peg, so that when it is lifted up this 

 end acts like a hinge. Round the 

 far end of each stick (b) (d) the 

 nope threaded through the outer 

 edge of the net is wound. 



To the end (d) of each of 

 the sticks (c D) a rope about 8 

 feet long is fastened. To the mid- 

 dle (of this a longer rope is joined, 

 to the far end of this a long piece 

 of cane is attached. 



When the nets are set, a 

 sharp pull at the cane causes the 

 free tends (c d) of the four sticks 



