104 THE JERSEY COAST. 
shores of Florida and Texas, these snipe collect in 
crowds; and either this is the first step towards that 
purpose, or they are merely attracted by the feeding 
birds to a promising place for a plentiful repast. 
Although ordinarily they will come to the stools 
of themselves, if they happen to be at a distance fly- 
ing fast and high, the gunner must trust to the 
shrillness of his whistle and the perfection of his call, 
to attract their attention. If they turn towards the 
decoys and answer the whistle—which they will do at 
an immense distance—they are almost sure to come 
straight on, and their confidence once gained, rarely 
wavers. 
There is a common expression among the bay- 
men, that birds have a trade, or are trading up and 
down over a certain course, by which they mean 
that they fly backward and forward at regular hours, 
and to and from regular places. Snipe that are 
thus engaged trading are not only in the finest con- 
dition, but come to the decoys, or stool, as it is term- 
ed, the most readily. They are probably stopping 
on the meadows, and fly to their feeding-grounds in 
the morning and back at night. The great migra- 
tory bodies, which frequently stretch in broken lines 
almost across the horizon, and which are pursu- 
ing their steady course to their southern homes, 
rarely heed the whistle, or turn to the silly flock 
that is eating while it should be travelling. 
The best days are those with a cloudy sky, and a 
south-westerly wind. On such occasions the birds 
often come in myriads, delighting the sportsman’s 
