The Pigeon Butcher's Defense 97 



in way of profit would have been reached as Prof. 

 Roney says. Under very favorable circumstances, a 

 good netter in such a season as we had in 1878, would 

 make from $100 to $200, but by far the larger portion 

 would not reach $100 over expenses. 



At the Crooked and Maple nestings day in and day 

 out the average catch was about twenty dozen per day to 

 each net and two men. These sold, except immediately 

 after the "poisoned berry story," at from twenty to 

 thirty cents per dozen head, at the net, or if the catcher 

 was saving alive, in which case his catch would be one- 

 third smaller, owing to the trouble of handling the live 

 tirds, he would get from thirty-five to forty-five cents. 



The principal object in saving them alive was that no 

 birds spoiled from warm weather, and at my pens close 

 by the nesting they would be received at any hour, while 

 to sell dead birds it was necessary to depend on some 

 chance buyer or to haul to Petoskey, fourteen miles dis- 

 tant. At Boyne Falls prices were a little higher, say 

 twenty-five for dead and fifty cents for live, but the 

 average catch was not five dozen per day to each net. 

 There were exceptions both ways, which went of course 

 to make up the average, the most notable being that of 

 the 2,000 dozen caught by one party, not in ten days, 

 but in twenty, employing two nets and six men. This 

 I know, for I was at the net and saw part of the catch- 

 ing, while Prof. Roney never got that far. This 2,000 

 •dozen was shipped East and netted the catchers just 



