Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/255

will not slip out. Fig. 146 shows another manner of setting the hen-coop trap, by fastening a piece of willow or any other similar wood by two strings or withes to one end of the coop, so as to allow considerable freedom of motion to the semi-circular arch formed by the willow, which should be small enough Image missingFig. 146.Hen-Coop Trap. and bent in such a manner that all parts of the arch will come inside the coop. Take two forked sticks and make the straight part of one of such a length that it might support one end of the coop. Cut one of the forks off the second stick and leave about two inches of the other fork on (see B, Fig. 146). Make B about an inch shorter than A (Fig. 146). Raise the side of the coop, thrusting the crook on the end of B through the fork on the end of A, slip the crook under the edge of the coop, and push the bottom of B back inside of the willow, lifting the latter high enough to bear on the stick B and hold it in position. A will rest outside the coop, as in the illustration. A bird hopping upon the willow wand will cause it to slip down; this will displace the stick A, loosen the catch, and down comes the coop, enclosing the bird. A rustic trap of this description can be made without the aid of any other tools than a hatchet or a knife for cutting the sticks.