35 



Indian corn next yera- was greatly improved Ly the 

 occurrence. 



Turkeys are entrapped sometimes in the States 

 by means of bird-calls. These instruments are 

 made of little bones, cut in a certain fashion, and 

 attached to a little leather bag filled with horse-hair. 

 A sound may be obtained from them closely re- 

 sembling the cry of the hen turkey. The males 

 reply to this, flock to the spot, and fall easy victims. 

 The Americans have a mode of killing turkeys 

 which ought to be mentioned ; it is a kind of trap. 

 When there are plenty of turkeys in a wood, a sort 

 of cage is constructed about the spot which they 

 usually affect. It is made of branches of trees inter- 

 laced, so that, although the light can pass through, 

 it forms an impenetrable barrier. This cage is care- 

 fully hoUowed out beneath, and all the herbage is 

 removed from the ground. One of the extremities 

 of the hollow is closed, but the other offers a free 

 passage of three feet in height, and of the form of a 

 pointed arch. At intervals, the sides of the cage 

 are tied to each other by means of perches. When 

 the trap is complete, the ground imderneath is 

 thickly strewn with Indian corn, and a train of this 

 grain is laid through the arched passage to the 

 outside of the trap. The turkeys soon discover the 

 grain, and, as they pick it up, find their way through 

 the entrance into the trap. Once in, they cannot 

 find their way out again, and sometimes the fortu- 



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