Small Game Shooting 301 



game which cannot be eaten, and I have seen the 

 day when a brace of mallard were hardly worth a 

 " thank you " to our neighbours, but the doves were 

 never refused. 



Speaking of game as food reminds me that all 

 over the Pacific Slope, ducks, snipe, and quail are 

 as a rule vilely cooked. I except the clubs, a few 

 restaurants, and of course many private houses. 

 The ducks are overdone and sometimes stuffed with 

 sage and onions ! The quail are split in two and 

 broiled. The snipe are robbed of their trail and 

 baked till they are dry and tasteless. Quail in 

 particular demand considerable care in the cook- 

 ing, and — if the weather permits — should be 

 well hung. Many housewives skin them ! They 

 should be carefully plucked, draped with bacon, 

 and roasted. The more you baste them, the better 

 they will be, and they should be served, like 

 English partridges, with gravy and breadcrumbs. 

 We always add bread-sauce (against which there 

 is a prejudice in the West), and enthrone them on 

 squares of crisp, well-buttered toast. There are 

 many other methods, but this preserves the deli- 

 cate flavour of the bird and prevents the flesh 

 from becoming dry and tough. In camp we cook 

 them with tomatoes and corn, allowing them to 

 simmer for hours, and so treated they may be 

 highly commended. The Indians covered them, 

 feathers and all with clay, and placed them in hot 

 embers ; then the clay was chipped off, the feathers 

 coming away with it, and the bird eaten. I have 

 tried this recipe, — only once. 



The wood-pigeons are plentiful in the fall of the 



