NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 47 



"Too much hempseed will turn black the plumage of bull- 

 finches, thrushes, skylarks, and goldfinches ; it will change the 

 plumage of most birds ; they will get prodigiously fat on it." 



The bullfinch is said to be very destructive to buds of fruit- 

 trees. The case ought to be fairly put : he does good also, inas- 

 much as he prunes the trees ; he knocks off a great many good 

 buds, thereby causing those which remain to be more vigorous 

 and fruitful ; in fact, he is a practical gardener, and by his pruning 

 operations does more good than harm if he does any harm at all. 



LAKKS, p. 48. Skylarks are very common all over England ; 

 immense flights arrive annually in October from the north. The 

 birds that then arrive are much darker in colour and much larger 

 than our native birds. Mr. Davy has had larks, a hundredweight 

 at a time in hampers, which have been caught on the hills between 

 Newmarket and Cambridge. They are caught in trammel nets, at 

 night, and are killed as they are caught, both males and females, 

 as there is no sale for them during November and December. As 

 spring advances, the cocks increase in value to bird-fanciers, the 

 hens then are alone sent to the poulterers. The wholesale price 

 obtained by the bird-catchers is about 9s. a gross, or $d. per dozen ; 

 sometimes they will fetch 2s. a dozen. The lark trammellers 

 ("tnnot work of a bright moonlight night ; and the birds cannot be 

 well caught on rainy nights, as the nets are then too heavy. At 

 times of snow they are caught by springes, i.e., horsehair nooses 

 tied on to a string. The best bait is black oats sprinkled along 

 the line of springes ; they are generally caught by the head, 

 leg, or wing. The larger larks are called Scotch larks, they 

 are never caught after the end of February. 



Some time since were landed at Folkestone, from Bou- 

 logne, a large quantity of larks, weighing about seven hundred- 

 weight, all of which had been snared by the leg with horsehair 

 a very common practice on the Continent during snowy weather. I 

 find, on sending to my poulterer for some larks, that twelve weigh 

 one pound, therefore, in the seven hundredweight sent through 

 Folkestone, there were no less than 784 dozens, or 9,408 in- 

 dividual larks. At 2d. each, the value of these birds amounted 

 to 78/. Ss. in money. These Frenchmen go out " larking " with 

 'ood reason. 



B 



CHIFF-CHAFF, p. 49. The bird of the Salicaria kind men- 

 tioned by White was probably the chiff-chaff. This bird is the 

 earliest and merriest spring singing bird we have got. It hangs 

 about leafless trees, arriving often at the end of February ; it 

 is very lively. 



