214 WILD-FOWL AND SEA-FOWL OF GREAT BRITAIN 



lesson ; when the next hare gets up, you watch 

 me. 



The hares on the flats were large and rough- 

 coated, not like the sleek-coated creatures of southern 

 park-lands. If the weather were at all fair they 

 w^ould generally lie between the mole hillocks, almost 

 between the feet of the fowlers. 



One got up, going away at top speed. There was 

 not the least hurry. " About right distance," he 

 muttered. Then the report of his gun rattled over 

 the flats, and that hare turned a somersault and lay 

 dead as a stone. 



When in pursuit of water-fowl that feed, as a rule, 

 about the margins of rivers, lakes, and streams, no 

 happy-go-lucky system will answer. They frequent 

 certain places for food, and the first thing to do is to 

 try and find out what that food is, and at what times 

 they search for it, whether morning, evening, or 

 night. Another consideration is the locality. I 

 have put Teal and ducks up from pools close to 

 well-used footpaths, but all the traffic was over early 

 in the day, and of the fact the fowl were perfectly 

 aware. 



The same rule applies to fowling which applies 

 to fishing. Keep quiet and away from the banks ; 

 crawl as much as you like and as slow as you 

 like, but do not move any creatures from under 

 them If you can help it, whether furred or finned ; 

 indeed it is always best to act as if certain they 

 were there, and then you will not make blunders. 

 All fowl which feed in or on fresh waters are sure 



