THE CHAEEINCH. 
the little wild birds in the neighbourhood come to see what 
good thing can have happened. In quite a mob, chaffinches,, 
and linnets, and goldfinches flutter about the decoys, when 
click go the strings of the “ snap swift as an arrow the ugly 
net rears its broad sides, and, meeting at the top, a great bag is 
formed, and in it are imprisoned as many of the inquisitive 
creatures as failed to take alarm at the first creak of the 
machine. Enough, however, of the snap-trap. To teach the 
wholesale snaring of birds -with a view to trafficking in their 
bodies for a profit is certainly not the object of the author of 
“ Home Pets.” 
To descend at once from the wholesale to the decidedly retail 
— from dabbling in gold-mine shares to the obtaining of two 
farthings for a halfpenny, — we will next describe the boy’s 
first bird-snare, the trap of bricks. 
Simple as is this trap, unless it be accurately adjusted, it 
will certainly fail ; therefore, and especially as it can be done in 
a few lines, a hint as to its structure may be of service. Place 
two bricks lengthways upon their 
narrow sides, a third across their ex- 
tremities, and the fourth at the opposite 
end, so as to make a kind of lid. Then 
drive into the centre of the enclosure 
a stout piece of stick, and between this 
and another similar bit supporting the- 
cover, place horizontally a well-forked 
twig. Strew some seeds or crumbs 
within the trap, and at the base of the 
supporting twig; then you have done all that you can, and 
must trust to your good luck for the rest. 
If in lieu of four bricks the young bird-trapper can obtain a 
sieve, he will, by following the subjoined instructions, find his 
chances of a “ catch ” considerably 
augmented. Having selected a 
favourable spot, prop up your sieve, 
as shown by the accompanying wood- 
cut, at an angle of something like 
forty -five degrees. Throw some crumbs 
of bread or seeds under the trap, then 
take the unattached end of the string, 
and conceal yourself at some distance. 
When the birds come to peck up the bait, and you see they are 
exactly under the sieve, pull your string, and the sieve will fall 
