238 



GAME SIIOAL-WATER FOWL. 



proached from the leeward to guard against their 

 exquisite sense of smell. This the wild-fowler 

 never need to bother himself about. Their sense 

 of smell may be exceedingly acute, but I doubt 

 very much their ability to recognize danger by 

 such means. They possess, however, a remark- 

 able sense of hearing, and often take alarm at 

 the least unusual sound ; for this reason one can 

 approach with less caution from the leeward. 

 This raises the question, Why, if we need to use 

 more caution, do we approach from the wind- 

 ward in our sculling-float ? Simply because they 

 are obliged to rise against the wind. If we were 

 to approach from the leeward, they would na- 

 turally swim away from us, and would give us 

 little or no warning when they intended to rise, 

 besides seldom allowing us to get as near as 

 though we approached from the opposite side, 

 being loath to fly towards the object of their sus- 

 picions until they are obliged to. Another thing : 

 besides our poorer chances of a fiimily shot with 

 our first gun, our opportunity for using the 

 second is entirely lost. I would particularly im- 

 press on the mind of the novice the importance 

 of looking into the whys and wherefores and 

 studying the reasons of things pertaining to wild- 



