44 COMMON BIRDS OF AN INDIAN GARDEN 



regulations interfere with any effectual use of fire- 

 arms ; poison, besides being open to other objections, 

 is inefficient owing to the extreme wariness of its 

 intended victims ; and attempts at establishing a 

 reign of terror, by means of fireworks or other 

 noisy demonstrations, seem generally to cause more 

 annoyance to the human inhabitants of the neigh- 

 bourhood than alarm in the desired quarter. 

 Almost the only speedily effective means of 

 reducing the number of crows in a garden is to 

 secure the services of a professional bird-catcher for 

 a time. This has the advantage of being not only 

 a profitable but also a highly entertaining adventure. 

 The expert arrives about sundown, provided with 

 a sufficiency of bird-lime and a bundle of bamboo 

 rods fitting into one another like the joints of a 

 fishing-rod, and, when the crows have settled down 

 for the night, but whilst a certain amount of light 

 remains, he sets to work. He quietly approaches 

 the foot of the tree he has chosen, and, having 

 determined on an eligible point by careful scrutiny, 

 applies some of the lime to the slimmest of his rods, 

 and goes on quietly and steadily passing it upwards 

 among the branches, fitting in joint after joint of 

 the series until the tip has arrived at striking 

 distance, when a sudden, slight inclination brings it 

 into adhesive contact with his victim, who is forth- 

 with hauled down by main force, struggling and 

 expostulating wildly as he descends. The whole 



