296 UPLAND SHOOTING. 



the speckled beauties lie there, with heads drawn down 

 onto their bodies, only to be perceived by the glitter of 

 their eyes, and have shoved my foot under them, lifting 

 them from the ground, and it has oftener happened that, 

 urged by my voice, the dog has sprung on them and 

 caught them, in the tangled grass or weeds, before they 

 could take flight. In the early morning, the birds should 

 always be sought for in the stubble-fields, for there they 

 go to roost at night, and begin their feeding at break of 

 day. If undisturbed, they feed in the stubble until 8 or 

 9 o'clock in the morning, then go to the corn-fields, tall 

 grass, or heavy weeds, and remain until late in the after- 

 noon, say about 5 o'clock, when they return again to the 

 stubble. In the stubble-field, where the soil is light and 

 flaky, the birds often scratch and make a spot jus-t large 

 enough for them to wallow in, and here they dust and 

 shake themselves in the same manner as tame chickens; 

 they frequently dust in the middle of the road, and at 

 times are seen crossing in advance of an approaching team, 

 when they run into the rank weeds or grass. On cool, 

 cloudy days, they often remain in the stubble-fields 

 through the entire day. In their going to and fro, they 

 do not resort to flight, as a general thing; indeed, seldom 

 do, but feed their way along, enjoying the fallen grain, 

 and catching insects, especially grasshoppers. The experi- 

 enced hunter knows these peculiarities, and profits by 

 them, and an old chicken-dog has learned the same things, 

 and when a stubble-field is reached, if late in the morning 

 or late in the afternoon, the dog will work its edges, if lead- 

 ing to a slough or corn-field, for he knows the birds have 

 wandered to those retreats, and he can quickest find them 

 by striking their trail, which he is apt to do at the places 

 bordering the field. As the birds are in the tall slough 

 grass or the rank corn-fields in the middle of the day, 

 and the dog will soon tire himself out in the grass, while 



