60 SHOOTING BY LACK. 



lamented Inglis, " when the trees unfold their virgin 

 blossoms — beautiful as it is in summer, when the wander- 

 ing sunbeams, falling through the foliage, chequer the 

 mossy carpet beneath — beautiful as it is in the autumn 

 wOieu the painted leaves hang frail — it is more beautiful 

 still when the tall pines and gnarled oaks stand in the 

 deep silence of a winter noon, their long arms and fan- 

 tastic branches heaped with the feathered burthen, ' that 

 has never caught one stain of earth.' Then, too, the 

 grey rocks, picturesque even in their nakedness, assume a 

 thousand forms more curious still when dashed with the 

 recent offering." 



To proceed. In the early part of August, when 

 the young Capercali are still small, say the size of the 

 Black-Cock, numbers are shot by Liick, that is by the 

 fowler imitating the call-note of the mother or chicks, as 

 the case may be, and thus enticing the birds within reach 

 of the murderous gun. 



For this kind of " Jagt " — for sport it can hardly be 

 called — the Fogel-Hund, as ranging wider and making 

 more disturbance in the forest, is preferred to the pointer. 

 When this dog has found and scattered the birds, he 

 is called " to heel," and coupled up, and unless thoroughly 

 under command, muzzled as well, to prevent his barking. 

 The fowler then conceals himself either amongst the 

 bushes or wdthin a small " screen" that he constructs out 

 of boughs. Ilere he remains in perfect silence for nearly 

 an hour, the time dejiending on the age of the j)oults, for 

 the older they are the longer he must w^ait before he com- 

 mences lucknlng. Many details might be given as to his 

 subsequent proceedings ; but as this barbarous system of 

 shooting is little likely to find favour with the reader, it is 

 sufficient to say that, if all goes well, both the old hen and 

 her progeny are, one after the other, attracted to the 

 ambush, and should the gunner be deadly inclined, the 



