SOUTH AFRICA 21 
ends, as these stop it from running freely. Mine were made for 
me by an old fellow in England who was a master of the art. 
Alas, he is now no more, and satisfactory nets are extremely 
difficult to get; the machine-made article is useless for small birds. 
The average-size net will catch the smallest bird up to the size of 
a dove, and in nets with larger pockets even waterfowl can be 
captured. As I shall be mentioning these nets from time to time, 
it may be of interest to explain how they work. 
A flue net is actually three nets in one, there being a center net 
of small (34-inch) mesh which is sandwiched between two nets 
with large mesh (about 6-inch). All these are joined together at 
their four corners, and the large squares or meshes of the outer 
nets coincide. The center net is eighteen inches larger each way 
than the others, making it slack when the others are tight. From 
each corner there is a cord with which to fix the net between 
branches. The corner strings are drawn very tight, thus making 
the two outer nets taut, while the inner net, through its greater 
size, remains slack. The overlapping portion, called the bagging, 
is pulled upwards until the center net is tight, and then this bag- 
ging is folded and rested on the top strands of the other nets. On 
whichever side the bird hits the net, when flying through a gap, 
it will pass through the larger mesh of the outer net, and the force 
of the impact will drive the fine-meshed inner net through the 
corresponding large mesh opposite. In doing this the slack, or 
bagging, that was resting lightly on the top, is pulled down and 
used up in forming a pocket. The outer nets, being very tight, do 
not give with the impact, and so the inner one is forced through 
until it is more or less the shape of a heron’s beak, with the bird 
inside at the apex. Instantly the bird’s own weight causes the 
pocket to fall, and in doing so overlaps the strand of the outer net 
forming the bottom of the pocket. Thus, force of gravity keeps 
it imprisoned, and any struggling only complicates matters, for 
it then gets hopelessly entangled in the net. The bird, however, 
cannot do itself any injury. 
