The St. Johns herald., 1895-05-23
BIRD CATCHING.
How the Trick Is Done in England
 by Professionals.
4 Description of the Methods Employed in Sharing the Chafinc!l in the Suburbs of London Before
 the Brea;s or Day.

A bench was handy, and on these
 the materials for snariag were laid ont
 and ma lc ready, says a Loa1on cnrre-
 spoadert of the St. Lo,.ls Globc-Der-o-
 crat They were few ard simple.
 Each man had stuffed male chafinch
 ia full plumagc mouatc1 on short
 length Of stick ;l o-e en@ If which
 was shc=p sP;':e. Besides this the
 only tools of tie craft ere half a c1zen pieces O. w,ieiIe one Of about the thickness Of a. U: ,br5lla rib and
 niue inches long, and these, like the
 stuffed birds mounting, were provided
 at ono end with Q spike. 4 little
 stone j2r containing bird lime com
 pleted the outfit.
 These preliiniaaries completed, we made start for the forest, which was close at hand. Bob the Butcher (who had Gon the toss fer fr5t try) keeping
 well in advance If the rest of the party. It cocld not, however, be said that chafinchcs were plentiful, though ell round about Us there was an abun- dance of bird music of elIncGt every other kind. It was rot the fault of the valiant peggers. Their cages all the time enveloped in the handizcrchiefs, they seemed to know exactly what was required of them, and fred off their cIaHengc loud and rigging, at the rate Of at least three within the minute. But presently Bob the Butcher, who was some twenty yards ahead, held up his hand in token that he had at last found something" On that the sailor boy was placed for the time be- ing under furze bush, and we all hur- ried up to see the fun.
 4 cruel sport is chaGinch begging.
 Not that any actual pain is inflicted on the poor birds in the act of capture, though no doubt they are most terri ply frightened. The villainy of the business lies in the unfortunate finch being made the victim of his jealous regard for the welfare Of his nest mate the wife of his bosom. So nice are his ideas of dom estic felicity that though his house is no larger than the hollow of one's hand, he insists on having tree all to himself for accom- modation. No other pair of chafinches may build there, nor must any male of the tribe come lcafng round. Sure a. he does fight ensues and the inter loper is driven away. It is on the 0hafinch's known objection to visitors of his own species that the rascally bird catcher founds his hopes of suc- cess, as was speedily made manifest by Bob the Butchcrs maneuvering at the trunk of the poplar tree, among the boughs of which wild finch was all the time angrily responding to the hidden caged birds challenge.
 Producing his slips of whalcbone the butcher sneared them plentifully with the bird lime, and by means of the spiked ends stuck them here and there in the tree trunk, and immedi- ately beneath he fixed the stuffed bird. 1t was not till then that he placed the decoy fnch--its cage still tied up in the handkerchief-at the foot of the tree, and covered it over with a hand ful or two of grass. This was the pitch" and on the instant a watch was produced and the exact time noted, and we all withdrew to the screening of hedge close at hand. peeping through the openings of which we could see what was taking place in the poplar tree. The hidden bird con- tiuuing his challenge" " the wild bird always answering, and each succeed 1 ing time more fercely-was presently 1 seen eagerly fluttcring this way in search of the intruder. At last, green eyed-and on that account purblind | caught sight of the harm less dummy down below, and, with a shriek of rage, was down on it, swift | seemingly as stone from a sling. | But the treacherous lined twigs inter cepted the savage bounce, and the 1 next moment, with it's outstretched | wings held by the detached smeared l sticks, it fell helpless to the ground.