sue them in murky, rainy, or blustry weather, as they 

 will not allow man or dog very near them, for they are 

 both sharp of vision and hearing. The best days for 

 shooting them are those which are soft, hazy, and sunny, 

 when the air is fanned by a gentle, southerly breeze. 

 They lie well to dogs at such times, and, when flushed, 

 may not fly more than a few yards before settling again. 

 Any tyro can grass them then, if he will only permit them 

 to get some distance away before firing, in order to let 

 the shot spread, and cover them deliberately before the 

 trigger is pulled. If they are abundant, one can dispense 

 with a dog, as they lie well before a man, but if they are 

 not, a staunch, steady setter that will keep its point 

 under all circumstances, until the birds are flushed, and 

 obey the motions of the hand, is necessary to successful 

 shooting. The animal must be prompt in coming to heel 

 when ordered, and remain there until set to work again. 

 The advantage of this obedience is, that a flushed bird 

 will often lie to a man after alighting when it would not 

 to a dog, and will therefore afford an opportunity of bag- 

 ging it, as it rarely moves more than a few feet from 

 where it was marked down. 



Some sportsmen say that the best time to shoot at a 

 snipe is when it rises, and poises for a moment before 

 darting away, while others think it should not be fired at 

 until it reaches a distance of twenty or thirty yards from 

 the gun, when it starts off in a direct course. Side-shots 

 are the surest, but, as the bird flies quickly, the gun 

 sliould be pointed a foot ahead of it at twenty or twenty- 

 five yards, and from two to three feet at from forty to 

 fifty yards. Snipe are not near so wild and unsteady in 

 the autumn as m the spring, for the reason, perhaps, that 

 they are over their family troubles for the year, and have 

 few foes to fear except man, for tlieir haunts are usually 

 safe from the incursions of the small predaceous ani- 

 mals. 



