ire directly behind it.
The door is then complete, and, if properly made, will look neat
and work easily.
The "trap" at the top of the cage is next in order. To complete
this it is first necessary to interweave a _stiff_ wire loop, as
seen at (_d_). The loop should extend on the _inside_ of the lower
piece of the door and about two inches below it. The
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_spring_ power consists of a piece of stiff hoop-skirt wire, interwoven
between the wires of the top of the cage, and those of the door,
while the latter is shut. The force of this will be sufficient
to bring down the door with a snap; and for further security a
catch, such as is described in page (88), may be added if desired.
The spindle is next required. This is shown at (_g_), and consists
of a small perch of wood seven inches in length, and notched at
each end. In setting the trap, the door should be raised as seen
in the main illustration. One of the notches in the spindle should
now be caught beneath the loop and the other around one of the
central wires in the end of the cage. The bait, consisting of a
berry, bird-seed, or what-not, may be either fastened to the spindle
or placed beneath on the wires. The call-bird having been introduced,
the trap may now be left to itself. If the call-bird is well trained
it will not be many minutes before the birds of the neighborhood will
be attracted to the spot by its cries. Ere long one less cautious
than the rest will be seen to perch upon the top of the cage. He
soon discovers the bait, and alighting upon the perch, throws it
asunder, and in an instant the trap door closes over its captive.
The cage is sometimes constructed double, having two compartments
beneath for call-birds, and two traps above, in general resembling
two of the single traps placed side by side. The decoy bird is not
an absolute necessity to the success of the trap. Many birds are
caught simply by the bait alone. The trap cage, when constructed
on a larger scale, is often successfully employed in the capture
of the owl. In this case it is baited with a live mouse or bird,
and set during the evening in a conspicuous place. A trap working
on this principle, being especially adapted to the capture of the
owl, will be noticed hereafter.
THE SPRING NET TRAP.
Although slightly complicated in construction, our next illustration
presents one of the prettiest bird traps on record, and may be
made in the following manner, and by frequently
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