ACROSS THE PLAINS' 169 



partments (one contained call birds), and a jinker, 

 with two horses for the large vehicle and a pony for 

 the other. There were four in the party, including 

 "the Boss" and myself. We travelled slowly in the 

 direction of Yanco, and late in the afternoon turned 

 into a farm paddock, where we outspanned in a grove 



BIRD TRAPPERS' CAMP. 



of gum trees. Remarking that Galahs were "eating 

 him out," the farmer welcomed us, and expressed the 

 hope that we would make a good haul. 



That evening the trappers carried nets, poles, 

 bagging, iron stakes and mallets to a crop paddock, 

 where they worked hard for an hour. Two pairs of 

 nets were set, flat on the ground, so that a sharp pull 

 on a master-rope would cause them to spring up and 

 fold over each other in an instant. The rope, in 

 each case, was taken through a hole in a bag screen 

 erected along the wire fence, opposite the nets. 



