368 



ON BIHD-NETS, 



Mr. Gurney goes on to say : — 



" With Mr. CreswelFs permission, I will give the total takes for eleven 

 consecutive years : — 



1859 , . 



132 birds. 



1860 . - 



. . 292 



y} 



1861 . . 



. . 192 



jy 



1862 . . 



. . 313 



,, 



1863 , . 



. . 267 



yf 



18641 

 1865 J' * 



493 



3> 



1866 . . , 



614 



}> 



1867 . . . 



631 



iy 



1868 . . 



1869 . , . 



486 



273 



>> 



'' The nets, v^hich are about five feet high, are generally placed at high- 

 water mark. All of them together reach at least a third of a mile. They 

 are fatal to every thing between a Lark and a Shelduck.'' 



DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS. 



'' There is a tide in tlie afeirs of men. 

 Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ''— 



a fortunate supply of Ducks &c. no doubt. 



In Lincolnshire the people call particular tides ''bird-tides;" not 

 because they destroy birds, but the reverse. Pishey Thompson tells the tale 

 {' History of Boston/ edit. 1856, p. 367) thus :— 



*' A singular circumstance has long been noticed respecting certain tides 

 in the Witham and the Welland, called ' bird-tides/ These occur annually, 

 about Midsummer, and are almost always much lower than any others 

 throughout the year, leaving the green marshes on the borders of these 



