SNIPE. 51 



winds, that are cold, drive them to cover, when they may 

 be found in woodcock coverts and willow bottoms ; here 

 in a gale of wind I have found the most difficult shooting 

 possible. But in the autumn they are less uncertain in 

 their movements, lie better to the dog, do not fly so far 

 when flushed, and stick more to one feeding-ground. At 

 this season of the year they often take to the cornfields ; 

 here, on their first arrival, they are extremely difficult shoot- 

 ing ; for, at one time, they dodge and twist among the 

 stalks, hardly rising to the tops ; at another, just before 

 rising to the tops, they fall ofl" to one side or the other, 

 and, in many instances, dip a few feet and streak straight 

 away between the rows, out of sight ; but they fatten 

 rapidly on these grounds, and, in the course of a few days, 

 the very same birds that taxed your skill to the utmost 

 to secure a few couple will now allow you to approach 

 quite near, and, as they jump to the tops of the corn, will 

 dwell for an instant before getting away, so that fair 

 shots are oflfered. Snipe are often discovered, by accident, 

 in the most unlikely places, when hunting for other game. 

 In the autumn, I have on more than one occasion, 

 stumbled upon them in large numbers in fields covered 

 with a second crop of clover, ten to twelve inches in 

 height. 



