BAY-SNIPE SHOOTING. Sl 
Small stools cannot be seen far enough to attract a 
yelper sailing amid the clouds, or a marlin sweeping 
along the distant horizon ; and although it is pretty 
and appropriate to have them of suitable colors, size 
is more necessary. A sickle-bill is a large bird, and 
I have seen one tethered among the stools towering 
above them, so that the imitations looked puny by 
comparison, although larger than they were usually 
made. The word stool is derived from the Danish 
stoel, and signifies something set up on less than 
four legs, but of the mode or reason of its adoption 
we have no record; it is in universal use, to the ex- 
clusion of the more elegant and appropriate term, 
decoy, which is confined to imitation of wild fowl. 
Stools are ordinarily made of wood, and occasionally 
painted with great artistic care and skill; and although 
a rough affair, coarsely daubed, seems often to an- 
swer nearly as well, there are times when the birds, 
rendered wild by many hair-breadth escapes, look 
sharply ere they draw near, and will not approach 
unsightly blocks of wood, no matter how sweetly 
they seem to whistle. 
As wooden stools take up much room and are 
troublesome to carry for any distance, tin ones have 
been made that will pack together in a small space. 
By heading these, different ways, they present a good 
view to the snipe, except when the latter are high 
in air, from which position they are invisible. To 
remedy this defect, it has been suggested that a strip 
of tin of the width of the body may be soldered 
along the upper edge; and thus, while they pack 
4* 
