AMERICAN WOODCOCK. 15/ 



gled cat-brier and blackberry thickets, in the midst of which the 

 summer birds are often found, lacerate the ill protected body of 

 the pointer, and the dog, after one day in such cover, will return 

 home entirely used up, and may refuse thereafter to enter the 

 brush. The thick coat of the setter can easily withstand this in- 

 convenience. 



Nineteen out of twenty sportsmen shoot Woodcock over set- 

 ters and pointers, and although (with dogs that are under perfect 

 command) they show great sport, we cannot think them fully cal- 

 culated for this work, and we are glad to see that the sporting 

 papers are now speaking favorably of the spaniel not only for cock 

 shooting, but for covert work. The little cockers, almost unknown 

 to this country, are the best dogs for this covert shooting, as they 

 are trained to hunt close, and being so small can force themselves 

 almost anywhere. 



To insure success in autumn cock shooting, the sportsman 

 should select a dog that will work carefully and slowly in cover, 

 and be not too anxious to be close to the bird he is pointing, for 

 although Woodcock lie well, they differ from the quail in not being 

 quite so stubborn in their hiding. 



In beating for quail in November, we should never neglect 

 working out the hill sides of second growth timber, or saplings 

 adjacent to swampy bottoms, which come in our path for Wood- 

 cock. Black alder margins of streams running through woodlands 

 should be visited, for if any flights of birds have come on we will 

 certainly find them in such places. Were all sportsmen million- 

 aires, a special gun for this particular shooting would be conve- 

 nient ; one with short twenty-six to twenty-eight inch barrels to be 

 easily and rapidly moved in the thick cover. One ounce No. 12 

 shot or possibly No. 10 for the late shooting, two and one half to 

 three drachms of C. and H. or Dupont's powder, A Woodcock is 

 easily dropped when touched with the shot, and it is rare for one 

 to carry away a load. 



When the golden days of October are upon us with their ac- 

 companying delights of dog and gun, then is the ?,&^sor\ par excel- 

 lence for cocking. Ah ! Sportsmen, think of the increased satisfac- 

 tion to be derived from woodcock-shooting if you would but forego 

 the summer pursuit of this bird. Let them grow strong and 



