WILD FOWL. 197 



early in September, the jacks scarcely till October; and 

 although you may flush a few jack up to the middle or even 

 the end of October, the cream of our snipe season ends in 

 the middle of October. 



Wild Fowl. The common ducks in our midland reeds 

 are the wild duck, the teal, and the widgeon ; but the 

 former is by far the commonest. All three breed with us 

 in Wermland, and no others, except the mergansers. One 

 part of the country is admirably adapted for flapper shoot- 

 ing immense reed beds, and long, marshy grass ; and 

 about the end of July, when the birds are pretty strong 

 flyers, a man may with ease kill ten to twelve couple in any 

 day, if it is a fair season. But much depends on the boat 

 and man you have to help you. A boat is indispensable for 

 duck-shooting here ; for although there are many places 

 where you can wade, most of the birds lie out by day in the 

 rushes and reeds, that fringe the lake or river. A flat-bot- 

 tomed boat, rather snipy at the end, which draws very little 

 water, but will still hold two comfortably, is the best sort ; 

 and if you have . a good man to help you, without making 

 too much noise, you may often have a rattling day's sport. 

 The narrower the boat, the better, of course, she goes 

 through the reeds ; a big heavy punt is always getting 

 stuck, and the man makes so much noise pushing her along 

 that the birds hear it, and rise up from all parts of the 

 reeds out of shot. A dog, unless he is a good retriever, 

 is of very little use for this work ; in fact, he often does more 

 harm than good. A man who does not mind wading will 

 always get most sport; but water-boots are not of the slightest 

 use here, for you must nearly always be half-way up your 

 thigh in the water, and every now and then you slip into a 

 hole up to your waist. A man must be very cautious 

 when wading in ground which he does not know well. 

 Towards the middle of September the ducks get very strong 

 and wild, and the water then becomes too cold for wading with- 

 out boots. The old mallards are assuming their full plumage 

 again, and when a shot is fired the ducks rise from all parts 

 of the reeds. About the end of September they begin to 



