170 A Book of the Snipe, 



harassing them at their hours of feeding. 

 By day snipe will feed in the roughest of 

 weather ; by night I believe they seldom do 

 unless it is fairly calm. I have several times 

 seen them at it in a wild gale, and a very 

 uncomfortable occupation it appears. 



Perhaps the ideal day for snipe-shooting is 

 one on which a moderate, warm, south-west 

 wind is blowing, the previous night having 

 been calm and moonlit, or, better still, illu- 

 mined by bright starlight. Such days after 

 such nights are of course rare ; so, conse- 

 quently, are these ideal times for making a 

 bag. Another sort of day which I have 

 usually found conducive to sport is a sunny, 

 cheerful one, with a strongish north-east wind, 

 — exactly the opposite, you will observe, of the 

 former kind mentioned. However, in snipe- 

 shooting it never does to despair because of 

 apparently unsuitable weather. Any weather 

 may be ideal for all you know ; heavy bags 

 have been made on the most discouraging- 

 looking days. 



During every kind of weather between 



