ts end being bluntly pointed. Its attachment
should be about five inches above the bottom board, and in the
exact centre of the width of the back.

[Illustration]

Near the flat end of the other piece the bait consisting of a berry
or other fruit, should be secured, and the further extremity of
the stick should then be rounded to a blunt point. The trap is now
easily set. Raise the lid and lift the long stick to the position
given in the illustration. Adjust the flat end of the bait stick
against that of the former, and allow the pressure of the lid to
bear against the blunt point of the short stick at (_d_), as shown
in the illustration, a straight dent being made in the cover to
receive it, as also in the back of the box for the other piece.
If properly constructed, this pressure will be sufficient to hold
the sticks end to end, as our engraving represents, and the trap is
[Page 93]
thus set. The slightest weight on the false perch thus made will
throw the parts asunder, and the cover closes with a snap.

The greatest difficulties in constructing the trap will be found
in the bearings of the bait sticks (_b_), the ends of which must
be perfectly flat and join snugly, in order to hold themselves
together. The box may now be suspended in a tree by the aid of a
string at the top. The first bird that makes bold enough to alight
on the perch is a sure captive, and is secured without harm. If
desired, the elastic may be attached to the inside of the cover,
extending to the back of the box, as seen in the initial at the head
of this chapter. If the elastic in any event shows tendencies toward
relaxing, the tin catch described on page 88 should be adjusted
to the lower edge of the box to insure capture.

THE HAWK TRAP.

[Illustration]

Our illustration represents a hawk in a sad plight. The memory of
a recent feast has attracted it to the scene of many of
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its depredations: but the ingenious farmer has at last outwitted
his feathered foe and brought its sanguinary exploits to a timely
end. This trap is a "Yankee" invention and has been used with great
success in many instances where the hawk has become a scourge to the
poultry yard. The contrivance is clearly shown in an illustration,
consisting merely of a piece of plank two feet square, set with
stiff perpendicular pointed wires.

This affair was set on the ground in a conspicuous place, the board
covered with grass, and the nice fat Poland hen which