THE LINTU-LAUTA. 



457 



happened in this instance. Mrs. Faldin would treat her little 

 favourites to some fresh grass. This they eat with avidity ; 

 but in the space of three hours they all died one after the 

 other in convulsions most probably in consequence of some 

 poisonous herbs amongst the grass. Mrs. Faldin bewailed 

 greatly over the ducklings, which were always lively and 

 joyous, and declared that from the moment of missing their 

 foster-brothers, the kittens evidently suffered greatly both in 

 health and spirits." 



Decoys are, I believe, unknown in Scandinavia, though the 

 country is in many parts very favourable for the purpose. 

 Many other devices are, however, had recourse to, to beguile 

 the wild duck and other water-fowl. 



THE LINTU-LAUTA. 



Amongst the rest is the so-called Lintu-Lauta (in Finnish). 

 It consists of a small raft of about four feet square, composed 

 of plank ends. At the corners are upright sticks, with the 

 bark on, of about twelve inches in height, B B B ; a line, c c, 

 is passed through the upper part of these uprights, so as 

 to form a railing as it were ; D D are lines connecting 

 the raft itself with the railing, between which the several 



