42 WILD LIFE AT HOME. 



a bit of looking-glass fixed to a long stick or 

 fishing-rod, and easily moved to any angle, will 

 reveal their contents. Professional naturalists supply 

 rods and glasses already fitted, but we generally 

 use a lady's small dressing-mirror with a folding 

 handle, by which we lash it to a long stick cut 

 from a hedge. 



It is often better, when about to make a photo- 

 graphic study of some object situated in a high 

 tree plentifully supplied with branches, to ascend 

 without the camera and haul it up afterwards by 

 means of a rope. 



In many cases the legs of the tripod may be 

 lashed to convenient branches close to the nest to 

 be photographed, but in some this is impossible 

 on account of their extreme slenderness. In cases 

 of this kind we hoist a ladder up and lash it in 

 a position as nearly perpendicular as possible, in 

 order to reduce the leverage produced by the 

 photographer's weight to a minimum, and, ascend- 

 ing above it, fix the camera as seen in the 

 illustration on page 41. Of course this is going to 

 a lot of trouble, but if it is desired to make a 

 picture of, say, a carrion crow's nest and eggs 

 in situ, it is necessary to get well above them, as 

 the structure is very deep, the bird wisely recog- 

 nising that it must be so in order to prevent her 

 treasures from falling out when the whole tree is 

 being violently swayed to and fro by a spring gale. 



Nests situated in high hedges are oiten very 



