THE FOGEL-NAT. 



363 



weather be genial, a sportsman, whilst lying on the watch, 

 suffers somewhat from cold ; and if birds be scarce, or 

 the wind high, he may often have to wait long before 

 opportunity offers of discharging his gun. The great 

 drawback, however, to shooting sea fowl, whether it be 

 with " Wettar," or from a sailing boat in the way recently 

 spoken of, is, that unless they be killed outright, one 

 loses, on the average, fully a third of those that fall to 

 the gun. Times out of number have I pursued wounded 

 Eider for long distances, but in most instances without 

 success ; for, on coming to the surface to respire, they 

 seldom permitted more than the bill to appear above 

 water ; and in blowing weather so small an object is 

 not discernible at any considerable distance. 



THE FOGEL-NAT. 



The gun, as shown, performs its part on the Scandi- 

 navian coasts in the destruction of aquatic birds ; but 

 other contrivances are also resorted to during spring and 

 autumn to effect that object. One, called the " Eogel- 

 Isat," or bird-net, was formerly in very general use in 

 the Baltic " Skargiirdar " ; but at the present day, owing 

 to the comparative scarcity of fowl, it is in great measure, 

 I believe, laid aside that- is, as regards the Swedish 



