[Cum.. IX 3g 



i'AU.v. 25.1 



may be added 1'» lliat allainod by \\\o bird, ^'ery higli 

 rates of speed will not liowever be observed universally 

 as, if the birds are not too wild, some of them will slow 

 down occasionally in the neiorhbourhood of one or other 

 of the butts in search of cover or when not unduly liustled. 

 One thing is certain and tliat is tliat every rate of speed 

 and every kind of behaviour will be exhibited. The hard 

 thinker who reduces every shot to a delicate mathematical 

 problem will have his work cut out to adjust his scientific 

 notions of sliot-gun ballistics to each particular case. 

 Best of all will be the man who, having laid up in his 

 inner subconsciousness certain simple lessons on the 

 subject, adds them to a sound practical knowledge of the 

 habits of even the individual species he has to deal with, 

 and has them at his command so that brain, eye and 

 muscles all co-ordinate to produce the required effect. 

 Good shooting is largely a matter of instinct. The 

 instinct is of course a trained one, but a happy result 

 seldom admits of analysis. You knew you had done the 

 right thing, even before the bird fell, and yet you cannot 

 explain it. The old Scotch keeper in Punch who had 

 been holding a butt with great credit in a Grouse drive, 

 asked by a novice to expound how he did it, was only 

 able to say that he " put it al)Out their heads as they 

 came in and about their tails as they went away " — sound 

 enough as a statement of fact, but defective as an expla- 

 nation of causation. 



In the Key .(No. 11) an attempt is made to fix an 

 order of merit for the Ducks in the matter of speed. 

 As said above, the Pintail is probably in a class by 

 liimself; the next fastest probably are the Common Teal, 

 Gadwall and Tufted Duck. All the remainder may be 

 lumped together ; there is not much to choose in speed 

 between them and the order, witliin this class, does not 

 profess to be strictly one of merit. 



NOTES ON INDIVIDUAL SPECIES. 



Spotbill. — Fly swiftly when fairly off {Gates). In 

 every sense one of the finest and most sporting of our 

 Duck. (Sliiart- Baker). 



. Mallard. — Flight very rapid and powerful (Scbohm). 

 W.hen in full flight, their velocity is great, being probably 

 quite^ hundred mile an liour. (MacjiUivray), 



GadmiL — When you have got within shot, says 

 Stuart-Buker, the Gadwall proves a thoroughly sporting 

 bird ; in full flight he is even faster than the Mallard. 



Common Teal.- — On the wing they are very swift. 

 I doubt, says_ Hume, if they are swifter than the Pintail, 

 but they are more nimble and will often escape a 

 Peregrine when the Pintail would assuredly have been 



