11 



resident waders which has greatly decreased of late years is the 

 common Snipe, which mostly at all seasons was to be found on the 

 sedgy banks, and though, from the rise and fall of the tide not always 

 actually breeding there, l)ut doing so on many spots in the 

 vicinity and on the hills around. The yoiuig birds, therefore, as also 

 those of the wild duck and teal, were always to be seen pretty 

 plentifully in the months of July and August, all of them receiving 

 large accessions in September and October, when at times the former 

 were often very numerous, but then -were seldom disturbed, except 

 occasionally by some legitimate sportsman, snipe not being thought 

 worthy of wasting powder or shot upon by the \ i uf essional punt-gunner. 

 Within the last four or five years, however, their numbers have been 

 getting less and less, and they seem now to be gradually disappearing 

 altogether. One, and perhaps the chief cause of this, is that the birds 

 get no rest. What with cheap guns and breech-loaders, amateur 

 shooters, to use a mild term, from the various towns and villages, have 

 enormously increased within the last few years, claiming as they do 

 the right of shooting all the foreshores without let or hindrance. They 

 come from up or down, as it may be, with boats in large parties of six or 

 eight guns, scouring the river from shore to shore, and especially so on 

 Saturdays, and not always very particular as to whether it be in season 

 or out of season. On the other hand, the professional, to his own 

 interest, I believe, rigidly keeps the close time. I only wish I could 

 say the same for the other, of whose utter disregard of all laM' of 

 protection I will just give one instance out of many, and this though to 

 my knowledge notices of the existence of the Act had been posted up 

 within the three counties adjoining the river, so that ignorance could 

 scarcely be pleaded. On the 7th of April last year (1880) I observed a 

 considerable number of duck swimming and diving quite unsuspiciously 

 close up to the salmon fishers while at work, and a beautifid sight it 

 was, showing what a little rest and quiet will effect. Next day, the 8th, 

 was the Perth Fast-day, when, I am grieved to say, though upwards of 

 seven weeks after the close time (the 1 5tli of February being then the 

 day fixed), the river was covered with amateur shooters from early 

 morning till long after sunset, ransacking all the marshes, and driving 

 every bird off the water, and this at a time when many had nests. The 

 great sufferers on these occasions are the Snipe, Redshank, Peewit, 

 Water Hen, Duck, Teal and Black-headed GuU, all birds mentioned 

 under the Act. To give some idea of the number of shooters on the 

 loAver Tay, in two parishes alone, Perth (not including Kinnoul) and 

 Errol, there were 127 who took out gun licenses last year, and were we 

 to count Abernethy, Newburgh, Dundee, and all other places contiguous 



