286 WITH NATURE AND A GAMEEA. 



releases a small door above its head which instantly 

 closes, and eventually the little prisoner finds its 

 way, along with five or six others, to a bird dealer's 

 shop in the nearest town. 



Larks are caught on dark nights, as they roost 

 upon the ground, by means of a net fifty yards 

 long and eighteen feet deep. It is mounted on 

 two poles, one at either end, and carried along by 

 a couple of men with the top about four feet off 

 the ground and the bottom just touching the grass, 

 so as to disturb the sleeping birds and make them 

 rise. Directly a Lark flutters upwards the net is 

 dropped, and the victim, discovered by its efforts 

 to escape, is taken out. Sometimes several birds 

 are secured at one drop of the net, and often Par- 

 tridges, Fieldfares, and Coots have also been taken. 

 Of course, it is of no use attempting this kind 

 of nocturnal sport where fields have been " bushed" 

 by gamekeepers to prevent poachers from netting 

 Partridges. 



There are some favourite bird - catching places 

 during the autumn migration at considerable dis- 

 tances from Brighton, and when the men intend to 

 visit these they start the night before so as to be 

 on the ground they intend to work by dawn the 

 following morning. 



Most of the birds caught on the Downs find 

 their way to the London markets ; the live ones to 

 such quarters as Great Andrew Street, Seven Dials, 

 and the dead ones to Leadenhall. 



The character of the ground upon which we 

 found nets spread did not appear to exercise any 

 influence, as might have been supposed, over the 

 men in the selection of their pitches. We found 

 some on stubble and land from which root crops 

 had been removed, whilst others were trying their 



