238 EXTRACTS FROM NOTE-BOOKS. CH. XXXIV. 



against ptarmigan -shooting again upon snow- 

 covered mountains. 



No person who has not been out in a snow-storm 

 on lofty and exposed ground can form an idea of 

 its force, and the difficulty there is in ploughing 

 through the drifts and deep places ; I certainly had 

 no conception of what it was until that day. A 

 change of weather came on during the night, and 

 by noon the next day all was again bright and 

 clear, and we reached home with little difficulty. 

 The wind and drift had been much less severe 

 near the house, and the tops of the trees were still 

 covered with masses of snow, which the wind had 

 not been powerful enough to dislodge. 



Before the ice and snow break up on the higher 

 grounds of the river there is generally plenty of 

 wild-fowl shooting about the open pools near the 

 sea. At the commencement of snow the birds are 

 usually tame enough to make the sport good, and 

 with the assistance of my retriever I often bring 

 home a heavy bagful of ducks, etc. ; but without a 

 retriever, and a good one too, wild-duck shooting 

 is utterly useless anywhere. 



In wild-fowl shooting more than in any other 

 kind of sporting, a perfect knowledge of the ground 

 and of the different haunts of the birds is indis- 

 pensable. The sportsman must make himself 



