B I R D-C ATCHING. 
commands, until the lark, foaring above, is captivated 
with the brilliancy of the glafs, and perhaps feeing him¬ 
felf in it, and hearing the call-bird, drops down upon the 
l'pot, when the net is drawn, and the bird fecured. This 
is called daring or doring. Thefe nets are ufed only till 
the middle of November: for the larks will not frolic in 
the air, except in fine funny weather ; and of courle can¬ 
not be inveigled into the fnare. When the weather grows 
gloomy, the larker changes his engine, and makes ufe of 
the fpread-net before-mentioned, which is put on two 
poles, and carried by men undereach arm, who pal's over 
the fields, and quarter the ground ; when they hear or 
feel the larks hit the net, they drop it down, and the 
birds are taken. 
PHEASANTS. 
In order to catch pheafants, it is neceflary to be ac¬ 
quainted with their haunts and breeding places, which are 
in young, thick, well-grown, coppices, free from the an¬ 
noyance of foot-ways or cattle ; for pheafants, being of a 
very timorous nature, efteem the ftrength of their covert 
as their bed afylum. It is to be obferved that pheafants 
generally (teal out of the woods three times a-day, by lit¬ 
tle runs or paths which they make in the grafs and through 
the hedges, to feed in frelh paflures, green wheat, Hub¬ 
ble, &c. adjoining to the coppices, firli about fun-rifing, 
then about noon, and a little before fun-fet. When thefe 
runs are formed, place over them a net three or four yards 
long or more, and one yard and a half wide, which is to 
be fixed down with wooden pegs or pins, cut out of hazle, 
fo that the net may be dole in every part except at the 
opening or aperture towards which the pheafants are ex¬ 
pected to run; and here it muft be fupported with little 
dicks, leaving the opening large and clear like an arch¬ 
way. Round the end of the net at this opening mud be 
placed a drong running dring, eight or ten yards long, 
which on the (lighted pull will dole the aperture. Then 
forne light green bows or bufhes of furze or broom are to 
be laid over the net and round its entrance, fo as to con¬ 
ceal it from the birds ; and the net mud be fupported, if 
neceffary, by fmall upright dicks placed under it. When 
the nets are thus judicioufly fet, the bird-catcher takes 
the end of the running, and either lies down in the grafs, 
covered over with boughs, or conceals himfelf in a bufh, 
until the pheafants come out to feed ; which being very 
ftupid birds, they will readily pafs into the aperture of 
the net; and, as the young brood generally follows clofe 
to the mother, the whole nide (vulgarly called a ni) are 
all taken, by merely pulling the running dring. Should 
there be any doubt of the pheafants palling through the 
runs where the net or nets are laid, the pheafant-catcher 
Ihould be provided with a pheafant-call, which may be 
purchafed at any of the toy-lhops, and with which he 
mud oecafionally found the chuckling note of the cock or 
lien, at fird in a very low tone, and then fomewhat louder, 
until he hears the call returned by the birds, and finds 
them approaching towards his nets. He mud, however, 
carefully conceal himfelf all the time ; for, if the fmalleft 
vedige of him is feen, he may take up his nets, for the 
birds will not move, nor come that way. 
There is another method of catching pheafants, by 
fnares, which is as follows: plant little ftakes in their 
paths or runs, with a couple of horfe-hair noofes af¬ 
fixed to each, one to lie flat on the ground to entangle 
their feet, and another to dand about the height of 
their head, to take them by the neck. This is a pretty 
certain method, and by it many are caught. To accuf- 
tom the pheafants to ufe any particular runs in preference 
to others, fcatter over them fome loofe ears of unthradied 
barley or oats, for a few days or a week before the fnares 
are fet, and there will be little doubt of fuccefs. The bed 
feafon for fport is while the young powts run with the 
cock and hen ; becaufe then there are many in company, 
and the chance of catching them is reduced almod to a 
certainty ; but, as the pheafant is of a fullen melancholy 
i 
5 * 
difpofition, when they once begin to feparate, they are 
mod times found alone, and there is no taking more than 
one at a time. 
PARTRIDGES. 
For catching partridges there are many contrivances; 
but the eafiefl and Cured method leems to be by a fpread- 
net condructed of three pieces, as fliewn at jig. 1, in the 
annexed plate. The centre-piece ABFG fliould be lix 
feet long and four broad ; and the two end-pieces PQJ[H, 
and KLXY, four feet long and one broad. Thefe pieces 
are to be fewed together from P to Q^_, and from X to Y ; 
then provide four wooden pins or (takes, as reprefented at 
CEN, eight inches long, and a finger thick, with a notch 
at the top to let in the net at each corner, and a ring of 
iron or brafs in the centre, .as (hewn at E. Then take a 
drong packthread, and pafs it through all the meflies 
round the edges of the net, and through the rings of each 
flake at the corners, and bring out the two ends of the 
line at H and G, and tie them together at M, and the net 
is completed. When it is ufed, it is to be fixed to a pole 
at each end, which differs the fide-pieces to fall, as fliewn 
in Jig. 2, where the net is fuppofed to be at work in a field 
of corn. The ridges are denoted by the dotted lines, and 
the letter R flievvs where the partridges lie ; the net is to 
be worked by two men, who mud take hold of the mid¬ 
dle of the poles, keeping the net aflant, the uppeg fide 
about fix feet from the ground, and the iower fide about 
one foot above the corn or dubble ; but, as the birds lie 
very clofe in the night, it is expedient to tie bullies to the 
lower fide of the,net, as at O PQ^,. which fweeping upon 
the ground, will be lure to fpring the birds, which might 
otherwife be paired over; and, when the birds rife, the net 
is immediately to be dropped, which, following quick by 
the weight of the poles, fails not to fecure the game. 
Partridges being naturally fearful timid birds, and in the 
night-time lie very dill and clofe, may beeafily caught by 
any Angle perfon, ufing a fpread-net condructed as (hewn 
at Jig. 3 of the fame plate. The fides mud be fupported 
by two light willow poles, twelve or fifteen feet long, to 
which the net is to be tied, having the fide pieces trailing 
on the ground. The narrow part is to be held clofe to 
the body, fo that the ends of the poles ST may red juft 
above the hips ; then holding up the net, by grafping the 
poles as far down as the arms will reach, and letting the 
wideft end CFR be a foot or eighteen inches above the 
ground, let the perfon walk gently over any field where 
he knows the covey lies, holding the net in this pofition, 
and he will infallibly catch every bird. There is alfo a 
method of catching partridges in a tunnel-net, as fliewui 
in the plate. For this purpofe, when a covey of birds are 
found to ufe any particular field or wheat-dubble, the tun¬ 
nel of the net is to be fixed down as clofe to the ground 
as poflible in one of the furrows ; and the point at A mud 
be dretched out, and pinned down tight with a peg or 
ftake, fo as to keep the tunnel expanded. The wings of 
the net are then to be flaked down with pins or flakes a- 
bout eighteen inches high, as fliewn atGHIKLMNOP, 
and to be fixed in a circular or llanting direction from the 
tunnel or centre. Having thus fixed the net as clofe as 
poflible to the fpot where the covey was obferved to lie, 
an artificial flalking-horfe, as reprefented in the plate, muft 
be ufed; and which may be conflrufted as follows ’: take 
a piece of brown canvas, and fix upon a fquare deal frame, 
firengthened by crofs-pieces, with a forked flake in the cen¬ 
tre, as at k Z, having a (harp point at i, to fix it in the ground. 
The fork and the crofs-pieces are tied in the middle at 
LP, and another piece is fixed lengthwife on the infide at 
EF, to each end of which is fixed-an artificial horfe’s 
head and tail, as fliewn in the figure. The head may be 
cut out of padeboard and painted brown, and the tail 
might be real horfe-hair, or untwided packthread. Two 
fmall holes are made at MN, to look through to watch 
the game. The whole mud be made fufficiently light to 
carry in one hand, and to move with the greated eafe. 
With 
