124 ^ Book of the Snipe, 



of a bird In the most Inexplicable manner. 

 Probably, however, there Is no such thing as 

 a totally dead calm, though I have seen dogs 

 do useful work on days on which a candle 

 would burn without a flicker In the open air. 

 Frost, too, especially a white frost. Is usually 

 injurious to scent, though not to anything like 

 the extent that is commonly Imagined. Long 

 rank grass, a favourite resort of snipe in a 

 frost, very often affords excellent scenting in 

 the hardest of weather. So does heather in 

 any but a white frost. I do not know If it 

 be a scientific fact, but I have always noticed 

 that scent Is totally destroyed by frost In the 

 vicinity of running water. On the whole, 

 therefore, it is better to go out dogless so 

 long as a frost continues, unless your kennel 

 is a large one and is in want of exercise. 

 Even then the dogs will not enjoy themselves 

 overmuch on the knobby frozen ground. 

 They will also make a prodigious noise crack- 

 ling through the Ice-coated puddles ; but this 

 is of small consequence, as snipe never lie 

 about open puddly ground after it has been 



