2G8 HISTOU'i OE 



They should then be put in cages like the nightingale's back 

 cage, with a little straw or dry moss at the bottom ; but when 

 they are grown large, they should have ant's mould. They 

 should be kept very clean, as indeed should all singing-birds 

 whatsoever ; for otherwise they will have the cramp, and per- 

 haps the claws will drop off. In autumn they will sometimes 

 abstain from their food for a fortnight, unless two or three meal- 

 worms be given them twice or thrice a-week, or two or three 

 spiders in a day ; they must likewise have a little saffron in their 

 water. Figs chopped small among their meat will help them to 

 recover their flesh. When their legs are cramped, they should 

 be anointed with fresh butter, or capon's fat, three or four days 

 together. If they grow melancholy, put white sugar-candy into 

 their water, and feed them with sheep's heart, giving them three 

 or four meal-worms in a day, and a few ants with their eggs. 



With regard to adult birds, those that are taken before the 

 twenty-third of April are accounted the best, because after that 

 they begin to pair. They usually haunt woods, coppices, and 

 quickset hedges, where they may be taken in trap-cages baited 

 with meal-worms. They should be placed as near the spot 

 where the bird sings as possible ; and before you fix the trap, 

 turn up the earth twice the breadth of the cage, because they 

 will there look for food. They are also taken with lime twigs, 

 placing them upon the hedge where they usually sing ; and there 

 should be meal-worms stuck at proper places to draw them into 

 the snare. After they are taken, their wings should be gently 

 tied with thread, to prevent their beating themselves against the 

 cage. This should be first hung in a private place, that the 

 bird may not be disturbed ; and it should be fed every two hours, 



The Pipits, or Field Larks, have much analogy with those of the larks 

 proper, though they differ in certain details of conformation. Like the 

 larks, they sing- in flying, and elevate themselves to a certain height in the 

 air. They seek their nutriment, nestle, and sleep on the ground. Some 

 frequent cultivated fields and meadows; others delight, during the summer 

 season, in the borders of woods, in glades, in furze, and brushwood, thinly 

 scattered ; many prefer mountains, steep shores, rocks, and maritime pas- 

 tures. Some few, in fine, inhabit, during summer, the little hills in sandy 

 and stony situations, and during the after season, sojourn on the banks of 

 rivers, and seek their food upon the strand. A very small number liave the 

 power of perching constantly upon trees. There is considerable trouble in 

 distinguishing them specifically. Of those common to Britain are the liock 

 or Shore Pipit, the Meadow Pipit or Tit, and the Tree Pipit. 



