DECOYING AND TRAPPING- ANIMALS. 27 



bark, but tlie making of it is not " wortb tbe candle," it being 

 so easily bouglit from any professional bird-catcher. 



To tbose who wish, to make tlieir own, I commend the follow- 

 ing : Take balf a pint of linseed oil and put it into an old pot, 

 or any vessel that will stand tbe fire without breaking. 

 The vessel should not be more than one-third full. Place it 

 over a slow fire and stir it until it thickens as much as required. 

 This can be ascertained by cooling the stick in water and trying 

 if it will stick to the fingers. "When sufficiently boiled, pour 

 into cold water, and it will be found ready for use. 



I have submitted the foregoing to a practical. birdcatcher and 

 maker of bird-lime, and he has "passed" it as correct, only 

 adding that the oil takes somewhere about four hours to slowly 

 boil before it becomes sufficiently tenacious for use. Holly-bark 

 he does not believe in, as he says it takes too long to make ; 

 but that is no reason why we should pass over bird-lime made 

 from this substance. The " Encyclopaedia Britannica " says : 



It is usually prepared by boiling holly-bark ten or twelve hours, and when 

 the green coat is separated from the other it is covered up for a fortnight 

 in a moist place ; then pounded into a rough paste, and washed in a 

 running stream till no motes appear. It is next put up to ferment 

 for four or five days, and repeatedly skimmed. To prepare it for use, 

 a third part of nut oil or thin grease must be incorporated with it 

 over the fire. 



Bird-lime can also be made from many other plants, but the 

 best quality is made by either of the two methods mentioned 

 above. 



The "Edinburgh Encyclopsedia " says further that — 



When bird-lime is about to be applied to use, it should be made hot, 

 and the rods or twigs should be warmed a little before they be dipped in 

 it. Where straws and cords are to be limed it should be very hot, and 

 after they are prepared they should be kept in a leather bag till used. 

 In order to prevent bird-lime from being congealed by cold, it should be 

 mixed with a little oil of petroleum ; and, indeed, before the common 

 kind can be used at all, it must be melted over the fire with a third part 

 of nut oil or any thin grease, if that has not been added in the prepara- 

 tion. The smaller kinds of birds are frequently taken with bird-lime, 

 which is one of the most eligible modes in frost or snow, when aU sorts of 



