Wood-Pigeon.
Wood-Pigeon.
And as we are now writing about wild-duck shooting we will just advance a short time in our story, and take a glance at the boys shooting wild ducks when the fields are yellow with harvest.
Frank and Jimmy are perched in an oak-tree, which after many years of wrestling with the winds and storms, has assumed a very quaint and picturesque shape. Its mighty stem is riven and has great hollows in it, and its low, wide spreading branches shade more of the field than the Norfolk farmer likes. It stands in a hedge which separates the corn-field, where thestems are bowing with the weight of the ears and are ready for the scythe, from a meadow which slopes down to the marsh and the broad.
Frank and Jimmy both have their guns, and Dick has been sent to the other side of the field with an old pistol, which he has been charged to let off.
"Cock your gun, Dick is raising his pistol," said Frank.
A puff of smoke from out the shadow of the hedge, and a few seconds after, a report, show that Dick has fulfilled his mission; and as the report reaches them, first come a number of wild-pigeons, which fly past with whistling wings. Jimmy fires and brings one to the ground. Frank has reserved his fire, and wisely, for with slow and heavy flight come four wild ducks right towards the tree. Frank gets two of them in a line and fires his first barrel. Two of them fall, and with his second barrel he wings another, which Jimmy despatches.
Suspended Leaf-Tents.
Suspended Leaf-Tents.
"Come back to the tree, Dick," shouted Frank, and Dick came back. "Now if we wait here a little while, the wild-pigeons will come back, and some more ducks may come from the marsh." And so, having loaded their guns, they laid them in a hollow and made themselves comfortable, and began to chat.
"Did you ever notice how much insect-life there is in anoak-tree?" said Dick. "Just watch this branch while I tap it."
He struck the branch as he spoke, and immediately there fell from it scores of caterpillars, which let themselves fall by a silken thread, and descended, some nearly to the ground, others only a little distance.
"I was reading the other day," said Dick, "of the immense quantity of moths which lay their eggs on the oak. There are caterpillars which build little houses of bark to live in. Others roll up the leaves and so make tents for themselves. Others eat the surface of the leaves, and so leave white tracks on their march. Others, when they are frightened, will put themselves into such queer postures: they will stretch themselves out as stiff as a twig, holding on by one end only, and you would think they were twigs; and these, when they walk, loop themselves up. They don't crawl like other caterpillars, but have feet only at each end, and so they loop up their bodies in the middle till they form the letter Ω, and then stretch out their heads again and bring up their tails with another loop. And then there are cannibal caterpillars, which eat other caterpillars. Look at these little spots of bright green. See, if I make them fly, they are seen to be pretty little moths with green wings. They are called the green oak-moth."
"An oak-tree seems to be a regular city," said Frank.
"Look at this marvellously beautiful fly, with lace-like wings," said Jimmy. "What is that?"
"That is a lace-wing fly," answered Dick. "Just put your nose as close as you can to it and smell it."
Jimmy did so, and said,—
"Why it is nearly as bad as a stink-horn fungus."
No more ducks came back that day, but three more wood-pigeons fell victims to their love of corn, and the boys descended, by and by, and walked home.
As they were sitting on a stile, Dick pointed to the carcase of a mole which lay on the path, and to two little black beetles with yellow bands on their wing-cases, which were crawling over it.
"I think those are burying beetles. Let us watch them. They lay their eggs in dead bodies of beasts or birds and then bury them, and the grub of the beetle lives on the carcase in its babyhood."
They lay down on the ground by the beetles, watching them. The process of egg-laying by the female was just about being completed, and the two soon buried themselves in the earth beneath the carcase, and presently appeared at one side with a little mound of earth which they had excavated from under it. This process was repeated again and again, and very slowly the mole began to sink into the ground. The boys watched it for nearly an hour, and in that time the mole was about half-buried. One observer once kept four of these beetles in a place where he could observe them, and supplied them with carcases of small animals and birds, and in twelve days they had buried no less than fifty!
Lace-winged Fly.(Manner of depositing Eggs.)
Lace-winged Fly.(Manner of depositing Eggs.)
"Have you ever seen those huge stag-beetles with long horny mandibles like stag's horns?" said Frank.
"Yes," replied Dick, "I caught one yesterday, and lookedup all about it in my books. Its caterpillar takes four years to arrive at maturity, and it burrows in the wood of oak and willow trees. I showed the beetle I caught to our housekeeper, and she nearly went into hysterics over it. I tried to make her take it into her hand, and she said she would not have done so for 'worlds untold.'"
Stag-horned Prionus and Diamond Beetle.
Stag-horned Prionus and Diamond Beetle.
Frank stooped down to wash his hands in a small pool of water by the road-side, and he cried—
"I say, do look here. Here is a living horsehair. Look at it swimming about. It ties itself into ever so many knots in a minute, and unties them again. Is it a hair-worm?"
"Yes, I have no doubt it is," said Jimmy. "Do you know that I expect that the common notion of eels being bred from horsehairs has arisen from country people seeing these long worms, and thinking they were horsehairs just come to life."
The hair-worm in the first stage of its existence passes its life in the body of some tiny animal or insect. Although it lives afterwards in the water, yet it will, if put into a dry and hotplace, dry up to nothing as it were; and then after a long exposure to the heat, if it is put into water again, it will swell out and resume its old proportions, and, live seeming none the worse for being baked.
Purple Emperor.—His Taste for Carrion.—Wood-pecker.—Blue and Small Copper Butterflies.—Buff-tip Moth.—Moths at Ivy.—Strange-looking Caterpillars.
Onehot August day Frank and his faithful follower Jimmy were strolling arm-in-arm along the lanes to call for Dick. Presently they came upon him engaged in no very pleasant occupation. Holding his nose with one hand, with the other he was drawing along a dead dog by means of a long bramble twisted round it. The dog was highly odoriferous, and Frank and Jimmy kept at a distance while they asked him what he was doing that for.
"I saw a purple emperor butterfly flying round the top of one of the oaks in the park. It is impossible to catch it with a net, but I have read that these butterflies have a taste for carrion, and will come down to it; so I just fished about until I found this dead dog, which I mean to lay under the tree as a bait."
"Are you sure it was a purple emperor? They are very rare here," said Frank.
"Oh yes, I saw the purple of its wings shining in the sun, and it was so large, and it flew about the tops of the oaks, and then flew higher still out of sight."
The purple emperor is looked upon as the king of English butterflies. It is a large insect, with wings of dark purple bordered with white, which vary in colour like the material known as shot silk, and in the sunlight gleam most beautifully. The males only have this splendid purple gloss on theirwings. The females, though larger in size, have wings of a dull brown. The purple emperor takes its station at the top of the tallest oak and rarely descends to earth. The female is more stay-at-home than the male, and is very rarely caught. The insect would be far oftener seen than caught if it were not for its habit of alighting upon carrion, and collectors take advantage of this low taste, and lie in wait for it, and catch it in the act. The caterpillar is a plump creature, with a tail running to a point, and a pair of horns or tentacles on its head. It is bright green in colour, striped with yellow down each side, and it feeds upon the willow. In the south of England this butterfly is not uncommon, but as you go north it becomes rarer.
Frank and Jimmy accompanied Dick to the park where the oak-trees were, keeping at a respectable distance to windward of him. The carcase was deposited beneath the tree where Dick had seen the purple emperor, and they sat down behind another tree to wait the course of events. Two hours passed away without any sign of the butterfly, but time was no object with the boys, who found it pleasant enough to lie on the cool grass in the shadow of the oaks, and listen to the murmur of woodland sounds. Squirrels and rabbits played about them, and birds fluttered in the trees overhead. The cushat uttered her sleepy moan, and then woke up and flew away on lazy wing to the corn-fields, whence came the sound of the sharpening of scythes. The rattle of the woodpecker tapping the hollow trees was the loudest sound which disturbed the silent, broiling afternoon. The three friends were stretched on the ground talking quietly, and half disposed to doze, every now and then casting glances at the dead dog. Suddenly down a lane of sunlight there fluttered a shimmering purple thing which settled on the carcase, and stayed there, opening and shutting its wings, and sending scintillations of purple light through the green shadows.
"There it is!" said Dick excitedly, and he got hold of his net.
"Don't be in a hurry, Dick; wait until it feels secure and gorges itself a bit," said Frank.
Dick listened to his sound counsel, and waited as patiently as he could for a few minutes, and then he raised his net, and with a single leap reached the spot where the carcaselay, and brought the net down over dog and butterfly together.
Green Woodpecker.
Green Woodpecker.
"I have got it!" he exclaimed.
BlueButterfly.
BlueButterfly.
"That's right; and you have got a lot of maggots in your net as well, and stirred up the stench most tremendously. Make haste and kill the butterfly and come away, or you will catch a fever," said Jimmy.
The gorgeous insect having been secured in Dick's collecting box, they went off in search of other prey. On a common just beside the wood they found abundance of the beautiful blue butterflies, which shone like flakes of summer sky, and also the small copper butterfly, which rivals the most brightly burnished copper in its sheen. These were playing about in the greatest abundance, the small coppers settling on a blue flower, or a blue butterfly on a red flower, forming most artistic contrasts of colour.
The Haunt of the Purple Emperor.
The Haunt of the Purple Emperor.
From its throne on the top of a tall nettle, where it sat fanning the air with its black, crimson-barred wings, Dick captured a magnificent red admiral, and shortly after another of the same species. Gorgeous as the upper surface of the wings of this butterfly is, the under side is quite as beautiful in a quieter way, with its delicate tracery of brown and grey.
While Dick was setting the butterfly in his box, Frank leaned against the trunk of an oak-tree, and as he did so he caught sight of a moth which was resting upon it. It was a large thick-bodied moth, and Dick on being appealed to said it must be a buff-tip moth, from the large patches of pale buff colour at the ends of its wings. Frank said,—
"I should not have seen that moth if my face had not almost touched it. Its colour suits the tree-trunk so admirably that it looks just like a piece of the rough bark. I suppose it knows that, and rests on the oak-tree for safety."
"Yes," said Dick; "I have read that many moths and butterflies are so like the substances on which they rest by day, that they can scarcely be distinguished from them, and of course there must be a meaning in it. The lappet-moth looks exactly like two or three oak-leaves stuck together, and its wings are folded in a peculiar manner, so as to keep up the delusion. There are caterpillars too which can stiffen themselves and stand out on end, so as to look like sticks."
"It is the same with birds'-eggs," said Frank. "Those which are laid on the ground without any attempt at concealment are of such a colour that you can hardly see them. For instance, take a partridge or pheasant. How like their eggs are in colour to the dead leaves of the ditch where they nest. The same with the lapwings, and all the plover tribe. Coots and water-hens' eggs are so like their nests, that at a little distance you cannot tell whether there are eggs in or not."
"I wonder," said Dick, "if birds take any pleasure in the prettiness of their eggs. If so (and I don't see why they shouldn't), there is a reason why birds which build in bushes and branches of trees should have pretty coloured eggs, as they have, and why birds which build in dark holes should have white or light-coloured eggs, otherwise they would not see them at all."
"That is a very ingenious theory, Dick, and it may have something of truth in it," answered Frank.
That night was a still, warm night, and the moths were out in abundance. As soon as it became dark they all went out with a dark lantern to hunt them, and they were very successful. As they were returning home they passed by an old wall covered with huge masses of ivy. Dick going close to it said,
"Do look here. There are hundreds of tiny sparkles. What can they be? Why, they are the eyes of moths. The ivy is covered with the moths, feeding on the flowers. Look how their eyes gleam." And truly it was a marvellous sight. When they turned the light of their lantern on them they saw that the moths were busy with a curious silent activity, flying from flower to flower, sipping their sweets.
"There are so many that I hardly know how to set about catching them," said Dick. "Many of these must be rare and many common."
"Sweep the face of the ivy all over with your net as rapidly as you can, and keep them in your net until we get home, and then we can kill and pick out all that you want," counselled Frank.
Dick followed his advice, and with a dozen rapid sweeps of his net he seemed to have filled it. Closing the net by turning the gauze over the ring, they walked quickly back to the boat-house, and carefully closing the door and window, they opened the net and let them all out into the room, and then caught them singly. In a couple of hours they found that they had secured about fifty specimens, comprising twenty different species.
During the summer a strange creature which fed on the potato plants had much frightened the country people, who thought it a sign of a coming plague. It was a large caterpillar, of a lemon-yellow colour, with seven slanting violet stripes on each side and a horn on its tail. The people in the neighbourhood of Hickling, knowing that Frank and his companions were fond of collecting such things, brought some to them, and by this means they became possessed of more than thirty specimens. They were the larvæ of the death's-head moth, the largest of all our British moths. It is remarkable not only for its size, but for two other things, each of which is very curious. On its thorax it has a perfect delineation in white of a skull, or death's head, with a pair of cross-bones below it. In addition to this singular mark, it—and it alone of all our moths and butterflies—has the power of making a squeaking noise,which it does when it is touched or annoyed. How it makes this noise no one seems to know. At least there are so many conflicting opinions that the matter may be said to be still in doubt.
The boys fed the larvæ on potato-leaves put in a box in which there was placed about six inches of earth. When the larvæ had finished their eating, they dived into this earth and turned into the pupæ state. In the autumn the perfect moths came out, but only about half of the number reached the final stage. The others died in the pupæ state. However, Dick had plenty of specimens for his cabinet and for exchange.
How to Attract Perch.—Perch-fishing.—Pike.—Good Sport.—Plaster Casts.—Model Eggs.
"I say," said Frank, "you remember when the minnows ran at the caddis-worms in their transparent cases, but could not eat them?"
"Yes."
"And you know what shoals of perch there are about the broad, and how difficult it is to drop upon them, because the water is so shallow and clear?"
"Yes."
"Then what would you say to putting a quantity of minnows in glass bottles, and sinking them in the broad, in a good place, for two or three days? I think a lot of perch would collect together and prowl about trying to get at them, and then we could go and catch any quantity of them, live baiting with minnows."
This project was agreed to unanimously, and after a day or two, the boys were busily engaged in collecting wide glass bottles, or wide-mouthed jars, and in fishing for minnows, ofwhich they got a considerable number by diverting the current of a brook, and baling the water out of a pool in it.
They had managed to obtain about a dozen large glass bottles or jars. They filled these with water and put a number of minnows in each, and then corked them up, making holes through the corks to admit fresh water and air to the prisoners. These bottles and jars were conveyed to a spot where perch were in the habit of congregating,—near an island of reeds, where the water was about five feet deep, with a fine gravelly bottom such as perch delight in. The large shoals of perch which roamed about the broad were very often to be met with here, and it was a favourite fishing place of the boys.
One Friday night they took the yacht to this spot and moored her there in a convenient position, sinking the bottles and jars from six to twelve feet distance from her, so as just to be within easy reach of their rods. Leaving the yacht there they rowed back in the punt. The yacht was pleasanter to fish from than a small boat, and they took her there overnight to avoid making a disturbance in the morning.
On the Saturday morning they rowed to the spot in the punt, armed with their rods and bait-cans filled with minnows. Getting quietly on board the yacht, so as to avoid any concussion of the water, they peered into the clear depths. Two of the jars were easily to be seen, and round each of them was a circle of perch, or rather several circles, for next to the jar were some very large ones with their noses placed against the glass. Behind these large perch were others, in circles of gradually lessening size, until they came to the very small ones, which were there, not so much attracted by the minnows as hanging on of necessity to the tails of their elders.
The boys laughed quietly to each other at the success of their experiment. They had certainly succeeded in drawing the fish together.
Dick was the first ready. He had baited his hook with a live minnow, the hook being run through the skin of its back near the back-fin. As the minnow sank through the water, and before the float touched the surface, there was a general rush of the perch up towards it. Dick pulled his bait out of the way of some small ones which were rushing at it, and then the largest of the shoal, a patriarch of about four pounds in weight, came hurtling at it, dashing the others to right and left of him.The poor minnow made a futile attempt to escape the wide open jaws, but it was of no use, and they closed upon it and the hook together. Dick struck and hooked the perch, which immediately made a spirited rush straight away. On being hooked it had blown the minnow out of its mouth, and it was eagerly snapped up by another perch. Dick's perch fought very gamely, and Frank and Jimmy forbore to put their lines in until it was secured, for fear of fouling. After a very sharp struggle Dick drew the perch within reach of a landing-net, which Frank slipped under it and lifted it out. It was a beauty, in splendid condition, its black bars being strongly marked across its golden scales.
Perch and Gudgeon.
Perch and Gudgeon.
Frank and Jimmy now put their lines in, while Dick was rebaiting. In less time than you can say "Jack Robinson" they each had a fish on, both of them good ones. And now the sport was fast and furious. As fast as they put in they had a bite, the perch even following their struggling companions to the top of the water as they were being drawn out. The very large ones soon grew wary, but the smaller ones, fellows of about half to three-quarters of a pound, seemed not to have the slightest shyness, and rushed to their fate with the greatest eagerness. The floats lay for a very short time on the waterbefore they went under with that quick dash which characterizes a perch's bite.
"Here's a gudgeon in the bait-can," said Jimmy. "I will put it on my hook and try for a big one. It may be tempting."
He did so and threw it in. Immediately the float went under water with such swiftness that he knew he had hold of a big one and he struck, to find his rod bending double and his line running rapidly off the reel with the rush of a large fish.
"You have got a big one," said Frank. "Let him have line."
Jimmy did so, until the line was nearly off the reel, and then he was compelled to give him the butt. The line stood the strain, and the fish was turned and came back slowly and sullenly, while Jimmy wound in his line. The fish allowed himself to be drawn up close to the yacht, and they saw it was a large pike, and then it went off again. This time the rush was not so long or strong, and after two or three rushes of lessening power, the pike was drawn within reach. Frank unscrewed the net and fixed the gaff-head on the stick, hooked Mr. Pike through, and hauled him in. It weighed nine pounds. Jimmy was proud of having conquered it with a light rod and line not very well adapted for pike-fishing.
Pike.
Pike.
Towards noon the wind began to rise, and as the clearnessof the water was then destroyed by the ripple, the big perch lost their caution in consequence. The small ones now left off biting, possibly beginning to see that it was not a profitable occupation. Presently the sport altogether grew slack, and as it was then three o'clock, and the boys had been too busy to eat anything, they left off for lunch. After lunch Frank said,—
"I am sated with slaughter; and as there is such a nice breeze, let us sail about the broad."
"Frank would give up anything for sailing," said Dick laughing, as he put away his tackle.
I forget how many fish they really got that day, but I know that both number and weight were very great indeed.
They took up the jars and bottles the next morning when the water was clear and still, and released the prisoners which had done them such good service.
It was worth while preserving a memento of a four-pound perch, and as it was a pity to spoil it for eating by skinning, it was resolved to make a plaster-cast of it, and this was done in the following manner:—
They bought some plaster-of-paris and mixed it with water until it became a thin paste. This they poured into a box, and when it began to set they laid the fish on its side in it, so that exactly one half of it was covered by the plaster. The fish had first been well oiled, so that the scales should not adhere to the mould. When the plaster was set and hard the fish was taken carefully out. Several holes about an inch deep were then bored in the plaster round the imprint of the fish. The plaster-cast was then well oiled, the fish laid in it, and more plaster poured in, until the fish was covered. When this in its turn had become hard it was taken off, and both sides of the fish were now represented in the mould. The holes which had been bored in the first mould, now had corresponding projections in the second mould. This was to insure accuracy of fit when the pieces were put together for the final cast. A hole was then bored through one side of the mould. The interior of it was well oiled, the pieces fitted together, and liquid plaster poured in through the hole. In a couple of hours the moulds were separated, and a perfect cast of the fish was the result. This Mary painted in water-colour to imitate the natural fish, and the final result was very creditable to all concerned.
While upon the subject of plaster casts, I must mention an occupation which the boys resorted to in the winter-time. Their collection of birds' eggs was almost as perfect as they could hope to make it for many years to come, but at Frank's suggestion they added to it, for additional perfection, a representation of the egg of every British bird. They made these eggs of plaster and coloured them very carefully, and varnished them with white of egg. These artificial eggs could not have been distinguished from real ones as they lay in the cabinet, but each egg was marked with a label, signifying that it was only a model. I recommend this plan to all students of ornithology.
Eel-fishing.—Setting the Nets.—Elvers.—The Merivale Float.
Oneautumn day, when the ground was red with fallen leaves and the landscape was sodden with wet, the boys were busy in the boat-house with some of their numerous occupations, when the conversation turned upon eels and eel-fishing,—how that eels bred in the sea, and in the spring myriads of tiny eels came up the rivers; when the river was wide, ascending it in two columns, one by each bank, so thick together that you might scoop them out in bucketfuls,—and how, when they met with any obstruction, such as a weir or flood-gate, they will wriggle themselves over it; and it often happens that where it is dry they stick fast to it, and their companions make their way over them, and leave them to perish. In the autumn, too, the eels migrate to the sea in vast numbers, and are caught by means of nets placed across the river. Jimmy said,—
"I say, Frank, do you remember all those eel-nets we saw by Horning? They will be in full work now. I vote we sail down next Friday night and see them in operation."
"Very well," said Frank, "I don't think we could do better. We will get a half-holiday on Friday, so as to be there in good time."
Friday was wet and stormy, and the boys consulted as to the advisability of going. Frank said,—
"Let us go, as we have fixed to go. It may clear up, and if it does not, it doesn't much matter. We are used to getting wet, and it won't hurt us."
The others agreed; so taking in all the reefs in their sails, they started across the broad, while the wind howled, and the rain beat with blinding force against their faces. The sky was murky with driving masses of black cloud, and the lake was lashed into angry waves.
"This is a nice sort of day for a pleasure excursion," said Dick, as he placed his hat more firmly upon his head and turned his back to the wind.
"Yes," said Frank. "Do you go into the cabin. I can manage the tiller and mizen, and Jimmy will take his turn at the main-sheet, and then you can have a spell by and by."
"Oh no, I am not going to shirk it," replied Dick.
They struggled across the broad, and into the Hundred Stream, and before very long they reached its junction with the Bure, and brought up under the lee of a sort of rough cabin which was built there. There was a bare spot among the reeds and there, upon a wooden framework, hung the eel-nets, which two or three men were busy putting in order. When the yacht was made snug, Frank went up to them and said,—
"We have come, hoping you will let us see how the eel-nets are worked; but I am afraid we have chosen a very bad night."
"No, you have come the very best night you could have picked, sir," answered one of the men. "There is no moon, and the water is rising. The eels always run more freely when the night is dark and stormy."
"Oh, then we are in luck's way after all," said Frank to his companions.
"We shall be setting the nets directly, sir, and you had better come with us in your punt."
"All right, we will."
The eel-nets were like huge bags, large at one end, and narrowing rapidly. The mesh at the large end was about two inches in diameter, but it quickly lessened until it was so small that a minnow could not have got through it. The mouth of the net was made sufficiently wide to stretch across the river, and, in order to keep the body of it distended, wooden hoops were placed at intervals down it. To each hoop inside the net was attached an inner circle of net, which narrowed to a small opening, like the principle on which some mouse-traps are constructed, so that the eels having passed through the narrow inlet could not find the way back again. The end portion of the net, comprising the last four hoops, is made in a separate piece or pocket, and is only fastened to the net when it is fishing. The juncture is marked with a rope and buoy.
The men now fastened a heavy chain along one half of the lower side of the mouth of the net. This was the side which was to lie along the bottom of the river, and the chain was to keep it down. The net was now taken on board the boat, and the men rowed a little way down the river, followed by the crew of theSwan. The net was put out so that the base rested on the bottom. Heavy weights were fixed at the two bottom corners of the net, and the two top corners were tied to posts fixed by the side of the river. The men now sounded with a pole, to see that the chain lay across along the bottom. While they did so the boat heeled over so much that Dick said,—
"Another inch and the stream would be over the gunwale, and those fellows would be pitched into the net and drowned."
The net was now pulled out far down the river, and the pocket tied on, and then it was left to itself.
"Don't the wherries ever do any damage to the nets?" asked Jimmy.
"Sometimes, sir; but they know where they are set, and they takes care where they put their quants if they be quanting; and if they be sailing they pass over the nets without doing them any harm."
After this they set another net lower down, and then they returned to the hut, and, sitting by the peat fire, they had some hot tea, and waited for an hour, knowing that the eels were rushing down stream, and into the nets.
The wind howled dismally over the marshes, and the rain hissed on the water.
"It's lonesome work, sir," said one of the men to Frank, who had drawn nearer the fire with a shudder.
"Yes; does it pay?"
"Pretty well at times, sir. This is what we should call a very fine night for our work, as the eels run so much better than they do on a calm night. It will make some pounds difference to us."
"What do you do with the eels?"
"Some we sells at Norwich and Yarmouth, but the most part goes to London or Birmingham. The Black Country men are very fond of a nice rich eel; but come, sir, it is time to take up the first net now."
They went down the black river again, until they came to the buoy which marked the pocket, or "cod," as it is technically termed, of the net. This was hauled up and detached from the rest of the net. It was very heavy and full of eels, which were wriggling about in a black slimy mass. They put the mouth of the cod over a basket which was smaller at the top than at the bottom, so that the eels could not crawl out, and poured them into it.
There were about thirty pounds weight of eels, the major part being about a pound weight each, but some were two or three pounds in weight. The cod was then tied on to the net again and lowered, and the next net was visited in the same way, and found to contain about the same quantity of eels.
The nets were first laid about seven o'clock, and first taken up about eight, and at intervals of an hour through the night the nets were visited, and about the same quantity of eels taken from them each time. This lasted up to half-past one o'clock, and then there was a great falling off.
"They have pretty well stopped coming down now, sir. We can leave the nets and go and have some sleep. The nets will hold all the eels which will get into them by the morning."
"Did you ever meet with any accident while eel-fishing?" asked Dick.
"I have only seen one, sir; but that was a bad one. It was the year before last, and my mate had had a drop too much, and he overbalanced himself and fell overboard into the net, and the stream carried him down it before I could catch hold of him. There was no one to help me, and before I could get the heavy net ashore he was dead. It was a fearful thing, andI have thought of it many a time since. I used to be fond of a glass myself at that time, but I have never touched a drop since."
"Did you ever see the little eels coming up the river in the spring?" asked Jimmy, to change the subject.
"Oh, you mean the elvers. Ay, and more's the pity! the people catch tons of them to feed the pigs with. If they would let them alone, they would be worth a good many pounds to some one in the autumn," answered the man.
Eels.
Eels.
"If the eels breed in the sea, Frank," said Dick, "what do the eels do which cannot get to the sea,—those which live in ponds?"
"Make the best of it, I suppose, like sensible beings," answered Frank.
"Do you often have such a good night as this?" asked Jimmy.
"No, not very often. You see, we want so many things together—wind, rain, rising water, and no moon."
After the morning dawned the nets were taken up for theday. Besides eels they contained a quantity of miscellaneous matter, such as a dead dog, sticks, weeds, old boots, a bottle or two, and various other refuse which the stream had brought down.
The eels had been put overnight in the well of the boat, and now the men proceeded to sort them, separating the big ones (for which they received a larger price) from the small ones.
In order to do this they constantly dipped their hands in sand, for the eels were slippery customers.
The rain had ceased, but the day was dull and dreary, and theSwansailed home early, her crew satisfied with the glimpse they had had of how eels were caught for profit.
In the afternoon they sailed about the broad in order to try a new float which Frank had invented for pike-fishing. They had been accustomed to trail their spinning baits after the yacht as they sailed about, but the wake left by the yacht generally disturbed the fish, so that they had to let out a very long line before they could catch anything, and the line then became fouled in the weeds. Now Frank had invented a float which did away with this drawback. You may have noticed how, when towing a boat with the tow-rope fastened a few feet from the bows, she will sheer out from you. It occurred to Frank to adapt the same principle to a float, so he cut a piece of deal a quarter of an inch thick, eight inches long, and four wide, pointed at both ends. To one side of this he attached a keel four inches deep, leaded along the bottom. This side was painted green, and the other white. To a point about one-third of the way from one end of this float was attached a rough line. To the other was fastened a shorter length of line with a spinning trace attached. When this float was laid in the water with the keel side undermost, and set in motion, it sheered out, and as the yacht sailed along and the reel line was payed out, the float swam along in a parallel course with the yacht, and as far out as they chose to let out line. It then passed over undisturbed water, and a great change was soon observed in the increased number of pike taken by the help of this float. They christened it the "Merivale float," and they were so pleased with its success as to have a dim idea of taking out a patent for it.
Hawking.
Thetraining of the hawks was a source of great amusement to the boys. They obtained Stonehenge'sBritish Rural Sportsfrom Sir Richard Carleton's library, and studied the article on hawking. They found a sparrow-hawk was called a short-winged hawk, because its wings do not reach so far as the end of its tail, while a kestrel is a long-winged hawk, its wings reaching as far as the end of its tail. As a general rule, long-winged hawks are much better than short-winged ones for hawking purposes, but the sparrow-hawk is braver and better than the kestrel. Their hawks being from the nest, and not caught by a trap, wereeyasses. Before they could fly they werebranchers, and being reared at liberty they werehack-hawks. The training of a hawk is called itsreclaiming, Fig. 3aandb, when it sleeps itjouks, its prey is itsquarry, when it strikes it is said tobind. When it soars and then descends upon its quarry itswoops, when it flies straight after it itrakes. It is sent off by awhistle, and brought back by alure.
These are only a few of the technical terms peculiar to hawking.
The hood, Fig. 1 and 2, which one sees so conspicuously on the heads of hawks in pictures of the sport in the olden time is not necessary in the case of the short-winged hawks, and the great object was to make the hawks as tame as possible. This the boys accomplished by continually handling them and being with them, especially at feeding-time. Around each foot of the bird they tied a soft strap of leather to correspond to ajesse, Fig. 4a b. To these were attached some little bellse e, which they took off some children's toys. The jesses had also a loopb, to which was fastened when required aleash, Fig. 5, or long cord, which prevented the birds from flyingaway while training. They had perches with cross-bars made for the hawks, and set up at one end of the boat-house, and underneath it a tray containing a quantity of sand and a bowl of water. In a couple of months the hawks were quite tame, and then the boys proceeded to train them for sport. Every time they were fed the meat was attached to a lure, Fig. 6, which was a lump of cork with a bunch of cock's feathers attached to it. This was thrown up into the air at gradually increasing distances, and at the same time one of the boys, having the hawk ready perched on his wrist (which was protected by strong gloves such as hedgers and ditchers use), let her loose with a shrill whistle, and she was allowed to fly the length of her leash and seize the lure and the food. In a remarkably short time the birds would not only fly to the lure with alacrity, but wait until the boys came up and took them away again. When they had attained this pitch of perfection the rest was easy, and the leash was dispensed with. Then a dead bird or rabbit was fixed to the lure, and at last, one fine October day, it was resolved to try the hawks at real game.
Apparatus used in Hawking.
Apparatus used in Hawking.
"What shall we try them at first?" said Dick.
"I was thinking that the best way would be to take the yacht and coast about the reeds, and try them first at the water-hens and coots. I am so afraid of someone shooting them if we take them into the meadows. If we cannot manage them with the yacht on the water, we will take them on the drained marshes," answered Frank.
"I hope they will not disappoint us," said Jimmy, "for they have given us a great deal of trouble to train."
"They have had very little to eat this morning, so I think they will fly at anything we show them, but it will be a sell if we lose them the very first try."
There was just a light breeze on the broad, which enabled them to sail quietly about. Frank took the helm, for sailing was to him the greatest of all enjoyments, and Dick and Jimmy stood in the bows, Dick with a hawk on his wrist, ready to be flown as soon as they caught sight of anything worth flying at. Frank steered theSwanso that she just brushed along the reeds, which were brown and dry, and had thinned fast under the keen October breezes.
"There is a water-hen in the reeds, just before us," said Jimmy. "Drive the yacht a little further in."
Frank did so, and the water-hen flew out over the broad, her legs dipping in the water.
"Let her have a little law," cried Frank. "Now then!"
With a loud whistle Dick let the hawk slip. She rose rapidly in the air, over the water-hen, and then swooped. The water-hen instantly dived. The disappointed hawk curved up again, just touching the surface of the water with her breast. She rose about twenty feet in the air and swooped around in small circles, her head turning this side and that, watching for her quarry. The course of the water-hen under water was marked by a line of bubbles, and Frank kept close behind her, letting the wind out of his sails in order not to overtake her and so cause her to double back. Soon she rose again to the surface, but ere the hawk, quick as she was, could reach her, she had dived again. In this manner, the water-hen rising to the surface to breathe and the hawk swooping unsuccessfully, they ran across the broad to a reed-bed, where the pursued bird remained under water so long that they knew she was holding on to the weed by her claws, with only her beak above water, as is the habit of these birds. After a little searching about they saw her yellow beak protruding above a mass of weeds. Seeing that she was discovered, she flew up uttering a despairing croak. Down came the sparrow-hawk with lightning swiftness, and struck her in the air, and they both fell into the reeds. The boys forced their way to them and the hawk allowed Dick to approach and take her in his hand. He cut off the head of the water-hen, and gave it to her to eat in the cabin, while they brought the other hawk for the next flight.
"Well," said Frank, "that was as successful a flight as we could desire. There goes a water-rail. Let the hawk go."
With a sharp scream the hawk dashed off in pursuit of it, and without troubling itself to soar, it struck the water-rail, and, bearing it away in its talons, it flew off to a dyke where a wherry was moored, her crew having gone ashore, and perched on the top of the mast, where it began to pick at and tear the bird.
"What's to be done now?" said Jimmy.
"We must try the lure," answered Frank, and taking it up he whistled and threw it in the air. The hawk dropped the water-rail and flew down to the lure and suffered herself to be taken. As a reward, she was allowed to have its head, and the other hawk was again taken out.
"There is a coot swimming along yonder. Let her fly at it," cried Jimmy.
As the hawk launched into the air, however, a sandpiper flew out from among the reeds, and the hawk instantly followed it. It was a very pretty sight to see the twistings and turnings of the two birds as they dashed across the broad with equal speed. Frank took a pull at the sheet so as to catch the wind, and followed them as fast as he could. The hawk had risen above the sandpiper, and was about to swoop down upon it, when the latter, to the surprise of the boys, dashed into the water and dived.
"Only fancy a bird with no webs to its feet diving," said Frank.
The sandpiper remained under water some time, and when it arose, which it did with great apparent ease, the sail of the yacht hid it from the hawk's sight, and it flew away unmolested. As they sailed along on the look-out for other prey, the hawk hung in the air above them, and followed, or, as it is technically called, "waited on," them in the most beautiful manner.
The birds on the broad now seemed to be aware that a hawk was about, and kept close to the shelter of the reeds, so that the broad seemed quite deserted. At last, however, a coot swam out, and the hawk made a feint at it but did not strike it, and the coot swam coolly away.
"Why the hawk is a coward," said Jimmy.
"No, she is only cautious. You see, if she were to strike it on the water it would dive, and as it is a strong bird it would carry her under. That is the difficulty we shall meet with if we hawk on the water," said Frank, "and if we go on the land someone is sure to shoot the hawks."
They called the hawk in by means of the lure, and sailed up a dyke, meaning to land and try the marshes and the low drained ground in their vicinity. They landed, and, Dick taking one hawk and Frank the other, they proceeded along a narrow drain in the hope of flushing some more water-hens.
"Quick," cried Frank, "and crouch down behind these reeds. I can see a couple of wild-ducks coming towards us."
They threw themselves on the ground, and soon the whirring of wings in the air told them that the ducks were coming straight towards them. On they came, within ten feet of theground, and when they perceived the boys they turned off at a tangent with a loud quack. Both hawks were let go, and rising well in the air, one of them made a swoop on the hindmost duck and struck it, but did not lay hold. The duck swerved under the blow, but held on its course. Then while the one hawk mounted, the other, in its turn, swooped and struck the duck, so that it fell nearly to the ground. The boys ran along after the hawks and their quarry, and shouted to encourage the former. Then both hawks made a simultaneous swoop, and struck the duck to the ground.
As the hawks were taken from the duck, they showed some impatience and signs of anger, so Frank said,—
"I say, they have done enough for to-day. We had better feed them, and tie them up."
They accordingly gave them the head of the duck and the entrails of all the birds they had killed, and put them in the cabin, and then commenced to fish for pike. In the course of the day they caught seven, none of them over six pounds in weight; and then, when the western sky was agleam with the pink and green of sunset, they ran the yacht into the reeds while they put up their tackle. The wind had fallen to the faintest of zephyrs, which was only indicated by sudden shoots of light across the broad. The air was still, with a mellow October stillness, and flocks of starlings were wheeling in the air with unbroken regularity of rank and file, now on edge and nearly invisible; and then broadside on, and seeming as if suddenly nearer; and then settling in the reeds, where during the night they roost in vast numbers.
The boys stood there talking until the gloaming was spreading rapidly over the broad, and then they made preparations for going.
They had not secured the hawks, and the cabin-door had swung open.
"There goes one of our hawks," cried Jimmy, as it floated out with a triumphant scream over the marsh.
"Quick! get out the lure!" said Frank.
But the lure was not needed. A twittering commenced among the reeds, and grew louder and more clamorous; and soon, with a noise like thunder, a crowd of starlings rose from their resting-places, and after a preliminary circle in the air they closed upon the hawk and began to mob her, screamingthe while most vociferously. The hawk struck three of them down in succession, but her assailants were too many for her, and she turned tail and flew back to the yacht, where she allowed Frank to capture her, while the starlings whirled away and settled in the reeds once more.
As they sailed back, Frank said,—
"Now that our hawks are trained so beautifully we shall have good sport with them."
But he was doomed to be disappointed. Two days after they took them into the open country, and a rabbit darting out of a tuft of grass, they flew one of the hawks at it. It struck the rabbit, and clung to it while it ran into its burrow, and the noble bird was killed by the shock. The boys were very much grieved at this, and resolved not to fly the other hawk at four-footed game. While they were crossing Sir Richard Carleton's land they flushed a solitary partridge, which appeared to have been wounded, and flew slowly. It had doubtless been left behind by its more active companions. They let the hawk fly, and it followed the partridge around the corner of a plantation. The report of a gun followed, and, running up, they found their worst apprehensions realized. The hawk had been shot dead by one of two gentlemen, who, with a couple of dogs, were out shooting. They were guests of Sir Richard's, and when they found the hawk was a tame one they were very profuse in their apologies. The boys did not care to make very civil replies, but walked quietly and sadly away.
Their cup of bitterness was for the time full.
"So ends our hawking," said Frank as they separated.
"Yes; this is the unluckiest day we have had yet," answered Jimmy.
Heron.—Hawking.—Great Bustard.—Stock-dove in Rabbit-hole.—"Dowe" Dogs.—Search for Bustards' Eggs.
Theboys were to see a little more hawking. One of the gentlemen who shot their hawk was kind enough to give them an invitation to spend a few days at his house near Thetford, with the promise that he would show them some hawking carried on in the good old fashion, and with splendid hawks brought from Iceland. A neighbour of his cultivated hawking, and spared no expense in the noble pastime.
The boys debated some time whether they should accept this invitation or not. Frank was still sore about the loss of his hawks, and hardly cared to see others more successful than himself, but Dick said,—
"Don't be selfish, Frank. When you see the sport you will forget all about our loss; and besides, the invitation is meant kindly, and we ought not to refuse it out of pique."
Frank saw the wisdom of this, and so one fine November day they found themselves in company with their host, walking across the immense tract of common, or warren, which lies between Thetford and Brandon. They were on their way to "the meet." On a knoll where a single fir-tree raised its red stem in the wintry sunlight were assembled a number of ladies and gentlemen, some on horseback, and some on foot. Two men came up bearing square frames, on which were the hawks, large falcons, which had been brought at great expense from Holland and Iceland. They were hooded, and the hoods were gaily decorated with tassels and feathers.
"What are they going to fly the hawks at?" asked Dick. "They won't waste the energy of such magnificent birds as those on rabbits and plovers, and I see nothing else about."
"They expect some herons will pass over on their way from their feeding-grounds to the heronry," said Frank.