82 A Book of the Snipe, 



the time, around birds marked down in the 

 open, is partial evidence of this. Even duck 

 can be circumvented in this manner occasion- 

 ally, though they usually take alarm before 

 the circle has diminished to gun-range. It 

 is absurd to suppose that the keen-sighted 

 birds, whose very sleep is of the one-eye-open 

 order, cannot perceive you, to say nothing of 

 the warning that the shooting-boot of even 

 the most fairy-footed individual must give. 



However, though there can be no two 

 opinions as to the advantages of down-wind 

 shooting, it will be very seldom that it can 

 be managed for any length of time during 

 a day's sport without much counter-marching 

 and waste of time. Snipe -ground usually 

 abounds in odd patches of marsh and bog 

 projecting at all angles from the main 

 shooting ; attempts to start invariably from 

 the windward side of each of these would 

 mean an immense number of fatiguing 

 detours. 



So that the young shooter is advised not 

 to think overmuch about getting the wind 



