140 NOVA SCOTIA. 



tion to this rule. Cultivated land in the vicinity of their 

 covers seems to be a necessity, for their food consists 

 mainly of worms, which they find in the tilled land in 

 the old pastures and in the roadside ditches. The Ame- 

 rican cock is quite different from the European bird. In 

 size he is a third smaller, and in colour there is a complete 

 difference, the breast and thighs being of a reddish colour, 

 very similar to the breast of a robin. In Canada West 

 they are shot in July, but in Nova Scotia they are not fit 

 for the gun till the 1st September. The cock is an essen- 

 tially sporting bird, and from its small size and nocturnal 

 habits, is comparatively safe from the pot-hunter, who can 

 only get a chance at him on moonlight nights, or in the 

 dusk of the evening when on the feeding ground. 



There are men whose idea of sport is a maximum of 

 slaughter with a minimum of exertion. To such I would 

 say go in for pigeon shooting, or any other shooting you 

 like, but avoid cock shooting in Nova Scotia, and indeed 

 I may say all Canadian shooting. The sportsman here 

 must not only be able to hold straight but to work hard ; 

 he must not only have good dogs, but he must know how 

 to handle them, and in five cases out of six to break them 

 himself ; finally, he must know something of the habits of 

 the birds he seeks and of the places they frequent in dif- 

 ferent seasons and in different weathers, for in Canada he 

 will have no gamekeeper to post him at a certain corner of 

 a cover, nor will he always find a sporting mentor to guide 

 his wandering steps. It is frequently impossible to get trust- 

 worthy information as to cock covers and snipe bogs. The 

 men who know them have acquired their information at 

 the cost of many a hard tramp, and are not very eager to 



