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WITH BOAT AND GUN IN THE YANGTZE VALLEY. 



SOME METHODS OF TAKING BIRDS. M .1 

 The Drag-net. 



King Tang, B.C. 1766, used the drag-net for birds. His method is thus described : — 

 The net should be 50 feet long and 12 feet wide, with meshes about an inch square ; two 

 men, one at each end, drag it along over the grass, when the frightened birds are easily 

 captured. The kind of net, in vogue 3,660 years ago, is that still used in China. 



Another way of taking birds is with a bamboo cage, 2 feet long, divided into four 

 or five compartments or cells, each provided with an automatic door, so contrived that when 

 touched it will close of itself. In the middle of the cage is a cell with a closed door to 

 imprison the decoy. In the other cells are placed leaves, fruit or seeds within the open door 



