i6 4 



THE BLACKBIRD 



Thus we learn that sole reliance upon natural aids in respect of culti- 

 vated crops is a delusion, inasmuch as in most cases birds do not 

 begin to work until the pests have committed considerable dam- 

 age, and in not a few instances do not cope effectively with the 

 insect ravages so as to save the crop from ruin. Except, therefore, 

 in wild or semi-wild, or no " repressive measures " quarters, the good 

 birds do appears to be much overrated, similar remarks applying to 

 ladybirds and their larvae, the lacewing fly and ichneumon fly, all of 

 which destroy the insect fees of crops. 



BLACKBIRD. To the forester ; grazier ; forage, cereal and root 

 crop, also vegetable-growing farmer, the blackbird is a boon, for 

 in these domains it feeds upon worms, beetles, caterpillars, larvae 

 of insects, snails and eggs of slugs, and does no harm by devouring 



FIG. 103. THE TAKE-UP TRAP FOR BLACKBIRDS. 



References: s, basket, 2 ft. 6. in. square, 15 in. high, with door at top for removing the birds; 

 /, bent stick in bender ; u, upper stick with notch ; v, lower stick. 



wild fruits, such as raspberries, blackberries, haws, hips, and ber- 

 ries of dogwood, ivy, and yew. Added to all these properties is 

 its value as food, now unappreciated by Britons, though in Norway 

 rhyme days blackbirds appear to have been a royal dish. Of 

 course, this is in the autumn and early winter time when, for 

 exportation, it would probably be necessary to secure them alive, 

 for which purpose we commend the Take-up Trap used for catching 

 pheasants required for pens, but of smaller size. 



The blackbird, thrush, etc., Take-up Trap (Fig. 103) may be 

 set by hedges, in shrubberies, copses, etc., on level ground; the 

 ends of the bent stick for bender, are fixed in the wicker, the bender 

 being about 2 in. from the ground. The two sticks are then 

 placed in position as shown in the illustration, the upper end in the 

 wicker, but so that it can " fly " inwards, the lower end resting 

 against the bender, and the whole held up by the lower stick, one 

 end of which is placed in the notch of the upper stick, the other 

 resting on the ground. Some apples or other fruit should be strewn 

 underneath the trap inside the bender and the upper stick secured 



