292 MANUAL FOR TOTING SPORTSMEN. 



any consequence, the birds lie in the wide open meadows 

 among rushes, bogs, waterflags, and the plant commonly 

 known as skunk-cabbage, where there is not a bush or 

 brake within miles, and are rarely found in the woods. In 

 some districts, especially in dry weather, one must look for 

 them in the thickest, deepest, and most tangled brakes of 

 alder and even briers, where there is a muddy bottom ; in 

 others, they will be found in moist grassy meadow sides, 

 where there are springs and rivulets, and patches of wil- 

 low, alder, and other water-loving shrubs, and this is the 

 prettiest ground in which to find them. Of this nature 

 was the finest portion of my favorite old shooting grounds 

 in Orange County, New York, and Sussex County, New 

 Jersey, although that magnificent range contained lying 

 of all sorts and feeding until late in winter. 



Again, in mountainous districts they love the swales 

 and little valleys, both at the base of the hills along the 

 water-courses, and those smaller hollows through which the 

 little upland rills percolate through stones and gravel, 

 leaving a rich alluvial deposit of black vegetable mould, 

 rich with ferns and water plants. 



Lastly in level countries, near large rivers, as on the 

 banks of the Wall Kyll in Orange County, and of the 

 Passaic in the Big Piece, and at Chatham, they haunt wide 

 open woodlands, where the great pin oak or maple trees 

 stand fifty feet apart, and all the rich alluvial soil is free 

 from underwood, but covered with succulent short grass. 



In very wet seasons, when all the low woodlands have 

 been submerged and drowned with water, woodcock will 

 be found on hill-sides among second growth and saplings, 



