MOOR-HEN 363 



and the birds were shot in two pieces of clover ; while 

 our late head-keeper used often to say that as many 

 more escaped. Other good bags of Land-Kails that 

 season, all in the month of September, were, twenty-six, 

 twenty-one, and twenty, while thirty-seven were shot in 

 August. We grow a lot of clover in my part of East 

 Kent, and it used to be a practice of mine in those days 

 to search for these birds in the clover, not for the sake 

 of the sport, for there is none, but for the pleasure of 

 seeing the young dogs work. There cannot possibly be 

 better training for a young dog than to put him on the 

 line of a Land-Eail, for if he is to flush it, he must keep 

 his nose to the ground. I may add that 1880 must have 

 been an exceptionally prolific year for these birds, as in 

 no other year that I can remember has the total amounted 

 to 100. My experience has been that a wet summer is 

 the most favourable one for Land-Rails, but the reason of 

 this may be, of course, that in those seasons the clover, 

 into which the bird goes when driven from the corn, 

 grows more luxuriantly, and therefore gives better cover." 



Genus GALLINULA, Brisson. 



MOOE-HEN. 



Gallinula cJdorojyus (Linnaeus). S.N., i., p. 258 



(176G). 



Water-Hen. 



This bird being a permanent resident throughout the 

 year, may be seen at all times on every large pond, 

 lake, stream and sewer in Kent, where they breed freely 

 all over the county. 



