Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-05-23
Bird-Lime and Its Uses.


Bird-lime is q tenacious, sticky SUBJ
stance, used to smear twies or sticks
for the purpose of catching birds that
may alight thereon, and might be used
for destroying the pestiferous European
sparrows which are rapidly becoming .
great nuisance in all our large towns
and their suburbs. Il can also be en-
ployed for catching fruit-eating birds,
or forcing them to leave the garden and
orchard; for bird that once sets foot
on fresh splash of bird-lime and is not
caught will be very likely to leave the
locality and not revisit it again during
the season. Although bird-lime is
made in the United States in small
quantities, Japan is probably the only
country in which it is regularly manu-
featured on large scale. 1t is made
from the bark of the mochi tree, an
evergreen with thick evergreen leaves.
The manufacture extends over several
months. The bark is taken from the
trees in June and macerated in water
about forty days; after which it is beaten
in mortar with q pesue shod with
iron, the Hat under surface of which is
armed with spikes projecting down
ward When the mass in the mortar
becomes glutinous it is taken out and
washed in water to remove as much OF
the rough outer bark as possible. 1t is
then again pounded and treated in q
vessel of hot water on which it floats.
Here 1T is again manipulated by the
workmen for the purpose of disengag-
ing the remaining particles of bark.
Alter this it is again washed in cold
water. These processes of pounding,
boiling and washing are repeated until
about nine-tenths Of the original mass
is washed away, and the material be-
comes sufficiently clear and pure. 1t is
then dull whitish color, extremely
viscid. and of q very gummy consisten-
cy. When well prepared it is said to
keep good for long time.
An inferior article is made in Europe
from the bark of the common holly.
treated in a manner similar to tha
above described. Other preparatior
have been made under the same nams
but without the same results. A rece-
writer, speaking of the uses to whi6,-
this article is put by the Japanese, says
that they are far more diverse than one
would suspect, the principal one being,
of course, the sharing of birds and ami
mails. BY means of bird-lime, animals
as large as monkeys are caught. When
they once get the stuff upon their paws.
they soon cover themselves with il, and
SO exhaust themselves in trying to get
rid of it that they fall an easy prev.
Birds as large rs ducks are taken, and
by a very ingenious process. The
| young shoots of the wistaria, which at
tain considerable length, and are strong,
light and flexible, are gathered, dried
and knotted together in one continuous
length. This is smeared with bird-lime,
and 1oated out to sea, where very often
in the morning the hunter is rewarded
by the capture of several birds. 1t is a
very inexpensive method of bagging
Wild fowl, as the tackle will serve any
number of times till the bird-lime dries,
whom it is easily replaced. There is no
noise made in this kind of hunting to
drive away the ducks, or to inform the
neighbors of what is going on about the
haunts ofwild fowl.
Small birds are caught in various
ways, some by means of a decoy bird
concealed near a patch of tempting
food, which is beautifully planted with
| little splinters of wood, like large
needles, the upper half of which are
| covered with lime. In China and Japan
they use bamboo splinters, but those
made Of Eastwood or any similar light
kind will answer just as well. The
Japanese also catch small birds on trees
by using long bamboo rods, the tops of
which are smeared with the lime. and
then stealthily thrusting them against
their feathers. Rats and mice are easily
caught by spreading a small quantity
of bird-lime on pieces of paper or
board, and placing these near their
poles. 1t is also spread upon the leaves
of the bamboo and universally employed
throughout Japan for catching flies and
other insects. Even flea-traps are made
Of it, and used by the Japanese in bed.
Bird-lime has as yet been very little
used in this country, but it could be in
troduced &c advantage in many sections
and for many purposes; and if the En-
| gli>h sparrows are to be destroyed, il
can be done more rapidly and with less
danger with traps than with powder
and shot, although the former may not
afford quite so much sport to boys who
are fond of gun, and take more pleas
ure in a noisy hunt than still one
N. y Sun