8 GAME PRESERVERS AND BIRD PRESERAiaiS. 



mucli larger than an unusually fine cock-sparrow 

 himself, furnished with a saucepan and stones to 

 rattle together, is not sufficient. Lads must be 

 employed old enough to be entrusted with guns, 

 and they must shoot some of the birds at this 

 time of the year, as they soon become cunning 

 enough to disregard a noise which experience 

 teaches them is ' Vox et pra3terea nihil.' 



Our very large gardens can only be protected 

 in the same way. Mr. Meyers tells the Com- 

 mittee he has thirty or forty acres of gooseberries 

 and strawberries alone. He adopts this plan, 

 and protects all birds as much as possible during 

 the rest of the year. In smaller gardens netting 

 is most efiectually used. String netting is sold 

 now at ^d. the yard, and even wire netting is 

 now very cheap. We grudge no expense to 

 fence our gardens securely against the beasts of 

 the field, and need not grudge a small outlay to 

 make them secure at certain times against the 

 fowls of the air. With our seed-beds protected 

 by wire guards, which can be moved from bed to 



