PREFACE. Xlll 



really extraordinary, and I have often followed with 

 the eye, by the aid of a pocket-glass, one of these 

 birds as he crossed the Hudson, and alighted a mile 

 and a quarter from the point where he was flushed, 

 in the midst of a tuft of rushes, on some sandhill 

 by the side of the bank. 



The North American grouse are divided into two 

 distinct families — the partridges, which are enormous 

 birds, as big as a fowl ; and the pinnated grouse (a 

 kind of rough-footed pheasant), something like our 

 European grouse family, whom they resemble 

 greatly in their habits. Like the French pheasant, 

 the American grouse lives in the midst of covers, 

 feeds on the grain of the neighbouring farms, and 

 is hunted by pointers. It is not uncommon, when 

 shooting these birds in the State of Connecticut, 

 and above all, in those of Missouri and Kentucky, to 

 be obliged to return home on account of the fullness 

 of the game-bag. Besides, a dozen of these grouse 

 are a load sufficient for a sportsman to carry, and you 

 may return in the afternoon to continue your sport 

 after these admirable birds, the flesh of which affords 

 the most delicate eating in the world. 



And now, since I have touched upon this delicate 

 question of Epicurean philosophy, it would be im- 

 possible to avoid mentioning the Canvas-back Duck, 

 a bird whose flavour is unparalleled. This bird of 

 passage frequents more particularly the waters of 



