BIRD-CATCHING. 
487 
bird-catching in the forest glade; these pleasures, as 
indeed all honest ones, are not easily painted in words. 
The sport of the fowling-floor, bat folding, the use of lime 
twigs, &c., I have defended most strenuously throughout. 
These amusements are harmless, and in no way connected 
with the disappearance of birds, as is erroneously advanced 
by some. We know the true cause, and smile at the 
cavilling and carping shown by so many people, who 
would fain deprive us of the pleasure of fowling, through 
an over-drawn and hypocritical assumption of tender¬ 
heartedness. We are well aware that our woods and 
forests cannot suffer by the entrapping of such strangers 
as Redwings, &c. 
The sport of clap-netting is, to my fancy, quite as 
enjoyable, if not more so. It is resorted to for the 
capture of cage birds, for none but a gourmand of the 
first water, whose heart lies in the region of the stomach, 
could possibly have the heart to catch singing birds for 
the luxuries of the table. It is a most delightful amuse¬ 
ment to watch the pretty, active little creatures, and 
follow them unseen from bush to bush, to listen, charmed, 
by their song, and then to set the traitorous net, so as to 
lead to a more intimate acquaintance between us. This 
sport serves the noblest ends, and forms an inward bond 
of friendship between men and birds; and I, for my part, 
think there is nothing in the world more pleasant than 
to make plenty of friends, and thus I heartily greet those 
who, like myself, understand how to surround themselves 
with songsters! 
Besides the above there is a far more serious kind 
of bird-catching. In the far north, among the rocky 
breeding-places, which we have described in a former 
chapter, where millions upon millions of birds are 
3 T 
