THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 1865, 19 August 1887, Page 35

THE NATURALIST.

Bird Catching,

Larks are caught by laying a line 100 or 20q yards in length along the ground. To this line are attached horsehair nooses ; each noose about six inches apart. Along; the line, which is pegged down to the ground, a few oats are sprinkled ; these attract the' larks, whose feet, as they hop about picking the oats get caught in the horsehair nooses. Nightingales are more difficult "to catch than larks. A baited trap is placed at sunrise in a conspicuous place frequented by nightingales. You then withdraw some dis-' tance from the trap and imitate the note of the hen nightingale. This attracts the males to the neighbourhood of the trap, which, with the bait, does the- rest.

The method for sparrows, linnets, goldfinches, &c, is by bat-folding or bat-fowling. Here you have a net made of fine strong twine, and extended upon two poles. One' man spreads the net across a hedge, whileanother holds a lantern, for it is supposed to be night, behind the centre of the net. On the other side of the hedge are accomplices, who beat the hedge with sticks. This alarms the birds ; they fly in the direction of the light, and are straightway caught in the net. • • '

Snipes, woodcocks, quails, partridges, and grouse are the prey of poachers, who entrap them in the following manner. They have a net about forty yards long and six wide. This they draw lightly over a field of stubble

6r ground covered, with heath. As the net j moves it disturbs the erame, which, on rising, | is simply caught in the trap. • To avoid the trouble of dragging the net over a whole field, a setter is used with a small lantern fixed to his neck. Wherever there may be birds lying, the dog points, and the lantern (as poachers work in' the night-time, of course) shows the direction. The, poachers 'then draw the centre' of the net over the dog's back, and drop it a few yards in front |of him. To prevent this netting of fields small thorny branches are driven into the ground all over, the field. These branches play such havoc with the nets as to utterly spoil the poacher's game.

Birds as Weather Annunciators.

Quite a number of birds announce the coming of rain : for instance, bhe magpie, the owl, the yellow thrush, and the greenfinch. This is also done by means of peculiar notes which they never sound on other occasions. Nicolardot has essayed to reproduce these notes by letters. There are also storm-birds, so called procellavia, which in 1 a similar manner — that is to s ay> by the use of certain peculiar sounds — predict the coming of a storm, even a long time in advance. Birds thus can feel and announce the coming of rain and storm, and the ancients ascribed to them' the faculty of prediction. In their flight and in their voices indications of coming events were sought. Ihe augurs of old had established a whole science of the flight and the voices of birds Nor is it improbable that training was resorted to to aid in procuring such predictions— that is to say, to create favourable or unfavourable omens which might happen to best suit the plans of the priests at the time. Louis Napoleon, in our nineteenth century, intended to convince the French people, by the aid of a trained eagle which was to have alighted on his head at the right moment, that he was the pre-destined successor to his great-uncle.

Spidees and the Electric Light.— All inventions have their attendant evils. A species of spider has discovered that game is plentiful in the vicinity of electric lights, and that he can 'thus ply his craft both day and night. In consequence, his webs are thick on the ceiling of any room which is thus illuminated.

A Pet Bied's Gift— Here is a little story for the benefit of those who keep pet birds. lam told that there is not far from where I am writing a tame magpie, which is accustomed to receive dainty little bits from the rosy lips of its fair owner. One day last summer it perched on her shoulders as usual, and inserted its beak between her lips, not, as it happened, to receive, for, as one good turn deserves another, the gratefu bird dropped an immense green fat cater pillar into the lady's mouth.— Leeds Mer cury.

Every Insect has its Use. — Mary E. Tousey, on the study of insects in the American Teacher, concludes that every insect has its use in the world. Many live very romantic lives ; some are wanderers, and some are sooial in their habits— all are wonderful. It is possible for us to t discover the seorets of their lives and the mysteries of their homes if we oarefully study them. Wolves — Nothing will induce a wolf to enter an area which is enclosed by poles connected by cords, and even the telegragh wire has been <|pund to be a preservative against the wolf. In Norway, when the first telegraph line was established by the Storthing, one of the members showed himself to be a far-seeing man. He said that his constituents had no interest in the telegraph, but he strongly supported the grant on the ground that the wires and poles would frighten the wolves out of the district. He was perfectly right, and for more than 20 years not a wolf ,dared to venture within the lino of. posts and wires.