THE TIRA.SS AND HOG-NAT. 171 



part of the net trails along the ground, the Partridges, on 

 its near approach, are sure to take wing ; on which the 

 lines are immediately dropped by the fowlers, and the 

 birds are enveloped in the folds of the net. The " Tirass," 

 we are told, should be dyed green. 



Then, again, there is the so-called Hog-Nat, or high- 

 net ; but this device is little used, I believe, in the Penin- 

 sula. It is 30 to 40 fathoms in length, by 30 feet in 

 depth, and the meshes some 3 inches square. At early 

 morn and late in the evening, Partridges, when going to 

 or returning from their roosting-places, always fly low, 

 often at hardly the height of a man, and they, moreover, 

 almost invariably take the same course. This point ascer- 

 tained, the net is set up on two poles of about 20 feet in 

 height, the upper line being fastened at some 18 feet from 

 the ground, and the under line at 4 feet, so that the lower 

 portion of. the net forms a sort of bag. Two men keep 

 watch near the net, whilst others, with dogs, hunt the sur- 

 rounding country; so that when the Partridges are flushed, 

 and take their usual course, they fly against the net and 

 fall into the bag mentioned. The watchers at the same 

 instant wrench up the poles supporting the net, and throw 

 them to the ground on the top of the latter, which renders 

 the escape of the birds almost impossible. 



The net, however, most in request in Sweden, by 

 gentlemen in the daytime and poachers at night, for the 

 capture of Partridges, is called the Ri/ssja, which in 

 principle is very similar to the device of the same name, 

 described and depicted, in " Scandinavian Adventures," 

 for the taking of fish. As seen in the accompanying 

 illustration, it is cone-shaped, the hoops forming the 

 framework, gradually diminishing in size from the entrance 

 to the apex ; it is provided with arms or wings placed 

 obliquely forward. The usual length of the " Ryssja," in 

 Scania at least, is about 21 feet, and its diameter at its 



