MODE OF TAKING.--The chase after tits, is, according to bird-catchers, one of the most agreeable, and is pursued in many ways; but I shall confine myself to two or three of the surest methods, specifying the best for taking those birds that are for the house. In autumn and spring, the bird-catcher should go into an orchard, or any other place much frequented by oxeyes, carrying one with him as a decoy; this must be placed on the ground in a small square cage, and some sticks, with lime-twigs fastened to them, fixed obliquely around it. The tits, attracted by curiosity, or the desire of approaching one of their own species that calls them, quickly descend, and are caught in the lime-twigs. A whistle made of the bone of a goose's leg succeeds still better; with this instrument all the tits in the neighbourhood are quickly assembled; for the tone being stronger than the natural call, it is heard farther; if there are but few of these birds near, they are sure to be all caught. They are easily attracted, in winter, to a trap, by the kernels of nuts, lard, and oats. This trap should be placed in a garden, with a little oat straw fastened under in such a way that it may be seen at a distance, as the tits are instantly attracted thereby. It is a small box a foot in length, and eighteen inches in height and width, the sides of which, when not made of small boards painted green, are formed of small elder sticks, tied or screwed to the four corner sticks; in this case only two small boards are required, one for the bottom, the other for the cover, which must be fastened on with packthread, and turn as with hinges; from the middle of the bottom rises a peg supporting a cross stick, with a nut kernel at one end, and a little lard at the other; this cross stick supports a small perpendicular one, which keeps the cover open three or four inches. When a tit hops on the cross stick and begins pecking the nut or lard, the cover falls, and the bird is caught. The oxeye, like the other tits, assembles in numbers at the water-trap, commonly from seven to nine in the morning, and from four to five in the evening. In autumn these birds are taken in nooses and common bird-traps, baited with berries, but the snare must be of horse hair, for if of thread, the bird, as soon as it feels itself caught, will try to bite through it, as mice do.