WOODCOCK-SHOOTING. 85 



T think a little experience in hunting him at this 

 season will very soon induce such a sportsman to 

 consider him a wonderfully sagacious bird, rapid in 

 flight, and hard to kill. 



One rather peculiar trait about these birds, — and 

 the same thing is to some extent true of other species, 

 — is : that, late in the fall, at almost every flight, they 

 will go toward the south, and you cannot get them 

 back to the north again by any management. When 

 once started, away they will go to the southward, 

 over ploughed land and meadows, even though, at 

 the second flushing you may have gone around in 

 front of them to try and turn them back to a good 

 cover in the alders, where there is fine feeding-ground. 

 At such times it would seem as if they were drawn 

 toward the south by some special attraction. 



The general rules for shooting the woodcock will be 

 found laid down in the section " How to Shoot " ; but 

 experience is the best teacher after all, especially 

 when guided by a general knowledge of their habits 

 of living and manner of flying. Woodcock is a spe- 

 cies of game that good sportsmen delight to follow, 

 and the pleasure derived from bringing them to bag 

 is keenly held in remembrance when other sports 

 are forgotten. 



About the first or middle of August, when woodcock 

 cannot be found in the woods and swamps, it is well to 

 look for them in the contiguous cornfields. The corn at 

 this time is sufficiently well grown to shade the ground, 

 especially where the ground is low and damp. In 

 these places the corn is usually quite thick, affording 



