I02 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



served as an entrance to the covered box he kept 

 his birds in — ^the black hole in which their captive 

 life begins, where they were now all vainly fluttering 

 to get out. Going back to the previous subject, 

 he said that he knew very well that many persons 

 disliked a bird-catcher, but there was one thing that 

 nobody could say against him — ^he wasn't cruel; 

 he caught, but didn't kill. He only killed when he 

 caught a great number of female linnets, which were 

 not worth sending up : he pulled their heads off 

 and took them home to make a linnet pie. Then, by 

 way of contrast to his own merciful temper, he told 

 me of the young nest-destroyer I have written about. 

 It made him mad to see such things ! Something 

 ought to be done, he said, to stop a boy like that ; 

 for by destroying so many nestlings he was taking 

 the bread out of the bird-catcher's mouth. Passing 

 to other subjects, he said that so far he had caught 

 nothing but linnets on the common — ^you couldn't 

 expect to catch other kinds in June. Later on, in 

 August and September, there would be a variety. 

 But he had small hopes of catching goldfinches, 

 they were too scarce now. Greenfinches, yellow- 

 hammers, common bimtings, reed sparrows — ^all 

 such birds were worth only tuppence apiece. Oh, 

 yes, he caught them just the same, and sent them up 

 to London, but that was all they were worth to him. 

 For young male linnets he got eightpence, sometimes 



