MEAEING AND PROTECTION. G9 



]jijrc ;i largo hole iu tlie body for the nail, wliicli is to he 

 driven iiiti;) the braneh. J'hu/e these iiioek birds pi-etty thick 

 whei'e pheasii.ute roost. J>y Ijoriiii;- the IkjIo hi tJie b(.)ily 

 Im. di.'uuetin- they will, when plaeed ou a. nail, move with 

 the wind, wiicu the deeepti(jn is })erl'eet enongh, as they ;n-e 

 dithcnlt to distinguish troui a pheasant, oven in daylight. 

 W'liatever kind of mock pheasant is employed, they should 

 not Ije placed too near pniblie roads or finitpaths, and in 

 those cases in which they are liable to observation during 

 the day, they should be moved frer[uently. 



Alarm o'uns set in coverts with wires leadino' m different 

 directions are most valuable as alarming poachers, and 

 indicating the locality in which they are pursuing their 

 depredations. (Jne of the best, and certainly the cheapest, 

 alarm guns with which I am accjuainted, is that devised by 

 Captaiu Darwin, and described m his useful manual on 

 Game Preserving, which has been too long out of ])i-int. The 

 author writes: "1 have constructed an alarm gnu which 

 combines the desiderata of cliea)iue.ss and simplicity more 

 completely than any I have yet seen. I do not lay claim to 

 the iuvention of thi.s gun, but 1 certainly hnd I can adopt 

 materials in its construction that will come to a tenth part of 

 the money ttsually charged ; in fact, any tolerable mechanic 

 ought to make it in an hour. It is formed as follows : get a 

 piece of iron gas-pipe, three inches long and three-Cjuarters 

 bore. At the threaded end make a plug of iron a (piarter of 

 an inch thick, and tapped in the centre for a uipjile. Drive 

 this plug into the barrel, and lirii::e if. The nipple is then 

 screwed in. Then get a corres]jonding piece of the gas-pipe, 

 from tw<j feet six inches to three feet long, also threaded at 

 the end. Screw the collar (that always goes along with this 

 sort of gas-pipe) ou to the long piece as tight as it will go. 

 The gun is now com])lete with the e.-vception of tfie hammer, 

 which is a piece of round inm about a foot long, and slipipiing 

 easilv dowu the barrel. To set the gun you must tie the hjng 

 barrel fast to the stem of a tree in the plantation, with the 



