THE BULLED? CH. 
old. Unless yon want them for “ piping,” never take them 
from the nest till they are tolerably well feathered, as before 
that it is difficult to rear them. If, however, yon want them 
for training, they should not be more than six days old when 
yon take them in hand. 
How to Catch the Bulledstch. — If it is summer time, they 
may be taken with a decoy -bird and limed twigs. Have ready 
a singing bullfinch in a cage. Procure some willow twigs, 
about eighteen inches long, and slender enough to be very 
pliable ; warm them before the fire, and anoint three inches of 
the top of each well with birdlime. Plant your decoy in the 
vicinity of the bushes the birds frequent, and encircle your 
decoy’s cage with the daubed twigs. If, however, you have 
bushes only on one side, a semicircle of twigs will be better, 
open to the bushes. Your decoy will soon be surrounded by 
curious wild finches, and if you have good fortune you may 
catch a dozen birds in almost as many minutes. 
In the winter months, while the snow is on the ground, good 
sport may be had with the horse-hair noose. Drive into the 
ground, in various positions, short wooden stakes ; let the 
stakes be six yards or thereabouts from each other, and stretch 
from one to another fine twine. Make nooses of horse-ham, 
and fasten them to the twine, so that they be six inches apart 
and four inches from the ground. Then scatter all about 
holly -berries, haws, &c. The birds, in pecking about, will get 
their heads in the nooses, and in struggling to free themselves 
will be held fast. If the ground is white with frost or snow, it 
will be better to use white horse-hair. 
A summer or two ago I saw a birdcatcher at Enfield taking 
birds at a wonderful rate with a trap, such as I never saw 
before or since. It happened to be in a neighbourhood where 
bullfinches abounded, so that was the sort of bird he principally 
caught; but I see no reason why it might not be used with equal 
successwith other kinds. Upona light square frameof wood, about 
four feet long and three wide, and a foot deep, was stretched a 
fine net. Driven into the ground were four slight, round rods, 
perfectly smooth, which worked in grooves at each corner of 
the netted frame. The rods were about six feet high, and by 
a little peg the frame was supported on the top of them. One 
end of a long piece of twine was fastened to this peg, and the 
other end was held in the catcher’s hand. Fastened to stakes 
in the ground beneath this four -legged awning were two braced 
bullfinches, and the ground itself was strewn with seeds. The 
