CATCHING WOODPIGEONS 135 



numbering not more than five-and-twenty or thirty 

 individuals, and often consisting of only fifteen, ten, 

 or even half a dozen birds. Flocks of a hundred or 

 two are seldom seen, and hardly ever four or five 

 hundred as counted by the eyes of certain sportsmen 

 who always see double. 



On one occasion, however, when the migration 

 was at its height, as many as 125 pigeons were 

 taken at one haul of the net, threatening to break 

 it by their struggling weight. But such a stroke of 

 luck as this does not often occur. La Chasse aux 

 Palombes, as the French call it, is nevertheless a 

 pretty lucrative business. It is not unusual, in an 

 autumn campaign, for a man to take from five to 

 six hundred couple of Pigeons, the average price of 

 which varies from 2 francs to 2^ francs, a good profit 

 when the pigeon-catcher is working solely for his 

 own benefit, for the expenses amount to very little, 

 the materials costing less than 100 francs, or £^, 

 and lasting for an indefinite period, while the rent 

 to the landowner for the use of the ground is 

 represented by the delivery of perhaps fifteen 

 couple of pigeons a year. Again, these pro- 

 fessional fowlers sometimes carry on their business 

 for the amusement of the neighbouring landowners 

 as far as Bordeaux, Bayonne, and Arcachon, when 

 it is nearly all profit, for besides their share of the 

 birds caught, they are paid for their time, and are 

 allowed their board, lodging, and travelling 

 expenses. So that they return to their families 

 with well-filled pockets. 



Most of the huts erected for the large landed 



