in the construction of traps of various kinds.  It is shown at (o) and consists merely of a piece of tempered hoop iron, so bent as to act with an upward pressure.  It should be about three inches long by half an inch wide.  About three-quarters of an inch should be allowed for the two screws by which it is to be attached to the board.  The rest should be bent upward and thus tempered by first heating almost to redness, and then cooling in cold water.

One of these springs should be fastened to the board on each side, directly under the wire and quite near the hinge, in the position shown in the main drawing.  Now draw back the net, lower the spindle and catch its extremity in the notch of the bait piece, and the trap is set as in our illustration.  Sprinkle the bait on the platform, and lay the machine on the ground where birds are known to frequent; and it is only a matter of a few hours or perhaps minutes, before it will prove its efficacy.  In order to prevent the bird from raising the wire and thereby escaping, it is well to fasten a little tin [Page 85] catch (f) at the end of the board.  This will spring over the wire and hold it in its place.

THE UPRIGHT NET TRAP.

The following is another novelty in the way of a bird-trap, somewhat similar to the one we have just described, in its manner of working.

Procure two pieces of board about a foot square.  Nail one to the edge of the other, as represented in our engraving.  A stout wire is the next requisite.  It should be about thirty inches long, and bent either into a curve or into two corners, making three equal sides.  Each end of the wire should then be bent into a very small loop for the hinge.  On to this wire the netting should then be secured as in the two previous examples, after which the ends of the wire may be tied with string or hinged on wire staples into the angle of the two boards, as seen in our illustration.  Allow the wire now to lie flat on the bottom board, and then proceed to tack the netting around the edges of the upright board.  Two elastics should next be fastened to the wire on each side, securing their loose ends to the bottom of the trap.  They should be tightly drawn so as to bring the wire down with a snap.  The spindle of this trap should be about eight or nine inches long, square and slender,—­the lower end being flattened, and the upper end secured to the top edge of the upright board by a hinge of leather or string.  An excellent hinge may be made with a piece of leather an inch and a half long, by half an inch in width, one half of the length being tied around the end of the spindle, and the other tacked on to the upper edge of the board.