The St. Johns herald., 1895-05-09
BIRD CATCHING.
How tho Trick Is Done in EnglanJ
 by Professionals.
4 Description of the Methods Employed in Sharing the ChaEinch il the Suburbs of London Before
 the Break of Day.

A bench was handy, and on these the materials for snaring were laid out and made ready, says a London core spondent of the St. Louis Globc-Dcmo- crat. They were few and simple. Each man had stuffed male chafinch in full plunagc mounted on short length of st;cl1, in one end of which was Q sharp spike. Besides this the only tools of thc craft were half a dozen pieces of whalebone of about the thickness of an umbrella rib and nine inches long, and these, like the stuffed birds mounting, were provided at ore end with a spike. A little stone iar containing bird lime com plcted the outfit.
 These preliminaries completed, we made 9 start for the forest, which was close at hand, Bob the Butcher (who had won the toss for first try) keeping we'll in advance of the rest of the party. It could not. however, be said that chafIinchcs were plentiful, though all round about us there was an abun- dance of bird music of almost every other kind. It was ret the fault Of the valiant peggcrs Their cages all the time enveloped in the handl1erchicfs, they seemed to know exactly what was required of them, and fired off their challenge loud and ringing, 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 chafiinch begging. Not that any actual pain is inflicted on the poor birds in the act of capture, though no doubt they are most terri bly frightened. The villainy cf 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 ones hand, he insists on haTing tree all to himself for accom- modation. No other pair of chaffinches may build there, nor must any male of the tribe come lcaing round. Sure as he does q fight cnspes and the inter loper is driven away. It is on the chaffinch's known objection to visitors of his own species that the rascally bird catcher founds his hopes of sue cess, as was speedily made manifest by Bob the Butchers mancuvering 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 whalebone the butcher smeared them plentifully with the bird lime, and by means of the spiked ends stuck them here and there in the tree trunk, and inmedi- ately beneath he fixed the stuffed bird. It was not till then that he placed the decoy 1nch-its cage still tied up in the handlSerchicf-at the foot of the tree, and covered it over with hand full or two of grass. This was the pitch" and on the instant 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- tinuing his challenge" the wild bird always answering, and each succeed ing time moro tiercely-was presently seen eagerly fiuttering this way in search of the intruder. At last, green eyed-and on that account purblind probably-it caught sight of the harm less dummy down below, and, with shriek of rage, was down on it, swift seemingly as a stone from a sling. But the treachcrous lined twigs inter cepted the savage bounce, and the next moment, with it's outstretched wings held by the detached srneared sticks, it fell helpless to the ground.