QUAIL SHOOTING. 187 
And points with his instinctive nose upon 
The trembling prey; on wings of wind upborne 
The floating net unfolded flies; then drops, 
And the poor fluttering captives rise in vain. ”’ 
Seek the birds in the stubble, in the low underbrush, 
in the thick tufts of grass, in the lowlands, where small 
and scraggy trees abound, in the corn-fields, and, if you 
have a good dogand hunt faithfully, your industry will 
not go unrewarded. Mark well the divided flock, and 
if unable to find them, leave quietly, and return in an 
hour or so, and you will have them sure. They fly 
rapidly.. Use alight 12 ga. gun, 3 1-2 dms. powder, well 
wadded, and 1 1-8 oz. No. 8 shot. On straight-away 
birds hold a little over, they are rising ; on cross shots, 
beware, they are going very fast, hold well ahead. 
Shoot from one to six feet in advance of them, depend- 
ing on their distance from you. Don’t be afraid of 
shooting too far ahead, for when you do this once you 
will shoot behind twenty times. Risk any shot in rea- 
son, better shoot and miss than not to shoot at all; 
bang away atany bird you think is inside of sixty 
yards. Don’t shoot too quick. You can killa bird at 
forty yards, if you hold right; and you ean’t do it at 
twenty if you do not. Have a good dog; be patient 
with him. Always have plenty of shells along; and if 
you don’t kill many birds at first, you will have a heap 
of fun, a good appetite, and will eventually feel well 
repaid. The best quail shooting I ever found was in 
Western Iowa, where Mr. Chas. Tate and myself 
bagged seventy-six birds in one day, both shooting over 
the same dog. 
Ihave before me at this time a covey, seven in num- 
ber. Life with these little beauties has been extinct 
these many years. Still, they stand before me as if liv- 
