6o 



THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



and the lire on tlie oil inside must be 

 smotliered out, by closely laying over tbe 

 pot a damp piece of old carpet, or any old 

 rag, leaving over closely until the fire is 

 wholly out. When perfectly cool you 

 have the bird lime ready for use. 



Now the secret how to use it. Manv 

 are of the opinion that bird lime can be 

 plastered on any limb or stick, or any 

 place, and that the birds will come down 

 by the hundreds and stick there until some 

 friends come to their rescue and cage 

 them. This is a vague impression. Much 

 depends upon the skill and dexterity of the 

 operator. In the first place I prepare my- 

 self with a dozen or more twigs, from the 

 extreme ends of some hard wood bushes, 

 those that are dead with-out sap (that the 

 oil will stick to them), straight, small twigs 

 about four inches long. ApjDly the lime 

 to the twigs, and, by laying them together 

 as they lay, twist them one in each thumb 

 and finger, carefully drawing them from 

 each other until the lime is evenly and 

 thinly covered on the twigs ; the larger 

 ends should be covered like a wedge. 

 These twigs should be from five to six in- 

 ches in length. 



Then supply yourself with a straight 

 limb, about as thick as your thumb, with 

 the bark on, but free from any twigs ; this 

 can be from two to five feet in height, you 

 must di'aw your knife through two or 

 three places on different sides of the stick, 

 leaving it so you can place the small twigs 

 into it. 



Now you have the tools, next is the de- 

 coy bird. If you have a live bird in a 

 small open wire cage, you are all right ; 

 if not, you will be under the necessity of 

 first shooting a male bird of any variety 

 you wish to trap ; run a small stiff wire 

 wire through him, so he will hold up his 

 head as if alive and standing natural. Or, 

 after you catch a single live bird, of course 

 use him instead, and he will do his own 

 calling. 



I then go out into the woods, forests or 

 groves, where the variety of birds are 

 which I most desire to catch, and selecting 

 a \acant, clear spot of ground, I get sight 



of the wild bird or birds, I am after, and 

 set standard by pushing it in the 

 ground, and catch my splints in the stand- 

 ard so very lightly as barely to hold up its 

 own weight. Then at the foot of the stand- 

 ard I set my decoy bird ; if a dead decoy I 

 have to use my own imitation chirp or 

 whistle, imitating the call or sound of the 

 particular bird that I have set for. (To 

 expedite business I used to go out with 

 some half-dozen varieties of live call birds 

 so when I could see either variety I wonld 

 set for them.) 



When the trap is properly set I always 

 secrete myself behind a clump of bushes 

 or trees, watching carefully the wild bird 

 as he approaches the decoy. As there is 

 no other bush or limb for him to alight on, 

 except the set twig, he hops first upon one 

 of them and as they are caught in the 

 standard limb very lightly, down goes the 

 twig with the bird stuck fast to it by his 

 feet ; and, as he feels the twig giving 

 away he flaps his little wings to arise, but, 

 instead, his wing tips are also caught on 

 the lime twigs, and the bird goes to the 

 ground on his back' Then is the time of 

 excitement ; the trapper must lose no time 

 in running for the bird, catching him 

 before he can release himself from the 

 twig, which he will often do in a moment, 

 as sometimes the twigs stick more fast 

 to the grass than to the bird, and he pulls 

 himself away. 



I have sometimes been three hours try- 

 ing to catch an oriole, or an indigo, or a 

 red bird, and not then be successful. But 

 when I had live calls I very often caught 

 from four to ten in a single summer after- 

 noon. Of course the trapper must be 

 supplied with a. cage to put his birds in as 

 he catches them ; and, to prevent the wild 

 pets from bumping their heads against the 

 wires, I cover the cage with a coarse loose 

 towel or cloth. — Pease's Feathered World. 



About a score of our friends who ac- 

 cepted the offer made last month, thought 

 we must have forgotten to send them their 

 calliper rule, such was not the case. The 

 demand was greater than we dared antici- 

 pate, and our stock becoming exhausted, 

 caused the delay. We are now using our 

 eighth dozen. 



