NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



cut out of soft wood or light metal is effective. By 

 a string and ring it can be suspended from a thin wire 

 stretched horizontally across the seed beds, so that 

 the breeze will make it move. To be of any lasting 

 service its position on the cross-line must be changed 

 every two or three days. A good scarecrow can be 

 made in the form of a revolving windmill, so balanced 

 that it will move with the slightest breeze. At one 

 end about six vanes can be fitted, painted shiny red 

 and white. In the board at the other end, fit a small 

 piece of common mirror glass. Fix this windmill 

 on a pole a few feet above ground. When the wind- 

 mill revolves, the mirror flashes bright beams in all 

 directions over the beds, much to the terror of the 

 birds. A petrol or paraffin tin containing a few 

 smaller tins or pebbles may be hung in a tree and a 

 long cord attached. The other end of the cord, when 

 jerked, will cause the tin to rattle alarmingly. 



To scare birds from orchards, firing blank charges 

 at stated periods is sometimes employed, but this is 

 rather expensive." What is known as an automatic 

 clock gun has been invented and placed on the 

 market by Mr John Hall, Station Road, Wigton, 

 Cumberland, England. It is made to hang from a 

 tree or to stand on the ground, and automatically 

 fires off a noisy blank cartridge, firing at regulated 

 intervals and working as regularly as a clock. It 

 only requires a couple of minutes to recharge and shift 

 its position each day. This does away with the 

 expense of a human shooter. It is essential that its 

 position be changed each day. This clock gun is 



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