132 THE JERSEY COAST. 
snipe at all. Refer to Giraud again and give us the 
truth.” 
This fell, of course, to my share, and I com- 
menced as follows: ! 
“Tread you yesterday about the plovers, and im- 
mediately after them we find an account of the turn- 
stone, strepsilas interpres, which 1s nothing else than 
our beautiful brant-bird or horse-foot snipe, as it is 
called farther south, because it feeds on the spawn 
of the horse-foot. This pretty but unfortunate bird 
belongs to no genus whatever, and has been to the 
ornithologists a source of great tribulation. They 
have sometimes considered it a sandpiper and 
sometimes not, so you may probably call it what 
you please ; and as brant-bird is a rhythmical name, 
it will answer as well as strepsilas interpres ; if you 
have not a fluent tongue, perhaps somewhat better. 
Of the snipes, or scolopacida, the only true repre- 
sentative is the dowitcher, scolopax novebora- 
CENsis. 
“* Hold on,” shouted Bill; “say that last word 
over again.” 
“* Noveboracensis.” 
“That is only the half of it; let’s have the 
whole.” 
“ Scolopax noveboracensis.” 
“‘Scoly packs never borrow -a census; that is a 
good sized name for a little dowitch, and beats the 
radish altogether. Go ahead, we’ll learn something 
before we get through.” 
“ Why, that is only Latin for New York snipe.” 
