COLLECTING. 



concealed in a neighboring thicket or artificial 

 bower. A very simple trap, but excellent for 

 catching sparrows, may be made by tilting a com- 

 mon coal sieve on one edge, keeping it up by 

 means of a stick which has a cord attached to 

 the middle (see Fig. i). The birds will readily go 

 under the sieve, in search of food, when the trap- 

 per, who is concealed at a short distance, jerks out 



Fig. 2. 



the stick by means of the cord ; the sieve falls and 

 the birds are captured. This trap requires con- 

 stant watching, which, in cold days, is not very 

 pleasant ; thus a much better trap may be found 

 in one of my own inventions, which is called the 

 " Ever-ready Bird Trap." It is made of strong 

 netting stretched over wire, and is placed on the 

 ground or on a board in a tree. A decoy bird, of 

 the same species as those to be captured, is pro- 



