SPORT IN BUTE. 191 



their nests in low scrubby bushes among the thick cover of 

 North Bute. The Kames magpies, however, all built on the 

 tops of high larches or firs. There was no perceptible differ- 

 ence in size of the old birds of the two districts ; and it ap- 

 peared evident that the reason why those at Kames were so 

 aspiring in the situation of their high-roofed nurseries, was the 

 absence of cover to conceal them ; and by far the greater pro- 

 portion of these sly birds put more trust in their own well- 

 known hiding powers among the thickets of North Bute, than 

 in the pinnacle of the most tall and dizzy fortress that nature 

 ever reared. 



It is now upwards of forty years since the secret of trapping 

 flying vermin, by removing their young from the nest and 

 using them as decoys, was first found out by myself and my 

 late father's gamekeeper. The day of our discovery rises 

 clearly to my mind's eye from beyond the deepening mists of 

 these long years ; and somewhat gloomily too, for on that very 

 day I was the means of expelling from the loch of my an- 

 cestors the most romantic and time-honoured dependant on its 

 bounty. 



I had arranged a vermin crusade with the keeper among the 

 islands of Loch Lomond, and the ospreys, which had just re- 

 paired their yearly nest on the ivied castle of Galbraith, were 

 unfortunately too tempting sport for a thoughtless youth and a 

 destructive gamekeeper. My first exploit, after being con- 

 cealed on the islet, was to shoot the female, while my ally, 

 selecting the trustiest of his " stamps," fixed a sea-trout found 

 in the eyrie on the plate, and set the trap. We then rowed 

 to the adjacent twin islands, forming " the Straits " of Loch 

 Lomond, where no less than four couple of vindictive carrion- 

 crows had each a nest of " hopefuls," within a few days of 

 beginning their apprenticeship to the nefarious trade of the 

 family. It was of no use to watch four nests for the chance 

 of shooting the old crows, but a smart thought struck us 

 Why should we not use the young as lait in the circle of 



