CAPEKCAILLIE. 191 



the middle of the country, they are never so grey. In 

 some districts there are a good many squirrels, but they 

 are, however, always scarce in those forests where the pine- 

 martens abound. Autumn and spring is the time to kill 

 them for the far. 



It will be seen by the above list that the fur-hunter will 

 find but little encouragement in Sweden, and there is no 

 large game to tempt the English sportsman, save the bear 

 and the elk, in these forests. 



The feathered game will, however, afford him more 

 amusement. 



The Capercaillie was, I suppose, common once over all 

 Scandinavia. Now, however, it is driven entirely out of the 

 south of the country, and but few are met with, till we come up 

 into the Wermland forests. From thence up to the North 

 Cape they are, however, tolerably numerous even now, 

 in those districts where the woods are not too much dis- 

 turbed. Most of the male capercaillies are shot here or, 

 properly speaking, poached in the spring, when they are 

 playing with the hens, at the first dawn of morning. This 

 play, or " lek," has been too often described to need repe- 

 tition. It is certainly a very poaching way of doing the 

 business, but still, if the old males are not shot till after 

 they have played for a fortnight, and mated with the hens, 

 (and the ' ' lek " lasts above a month) not so much harm is 

 done. It is very rarely that you find a brood of capercaillie 

 out in the open, generally in the deep forests, and perhaps 

 the only way to make sure of killing either them or 

 black cock is to use such a dog as is broken to these 

 forests, which springs them from their feeding-places on 

 the ground, and when they perch, which they will soon do, 

 especially if they are young, stands under the tree, and 

 barks at them till the shooter creeps up and knocks them 

 off their perch, such shooters are very properly called in 

 Sweden "kryp skuttare." This may seem a very un- 

 sportsmanlike way of killing them, but I really think it is 

 the only way to get birds in these deep forests. Some of 

 the old " kryp skuttare " are rare hands at calling. Such a 



