318 MANUAL FOR YOUNG SPORTSMEN. 



on the move, it is high time to be after them, since, if they 

 fail to lie at first so as to afford a shot, they can probably 

 be marked down, if not exactly to the spot, at least so 

 nearly as to render it almost certain that they can be found 

 again. 



The first thing in beating ground for quail, is, if it be 

 by any means possible, to begin driving the whole range 

 of country, which you desire to shoot, from the leeward 

 extremity up wind, so as to give the dogs the advantage 

 of having the air in their noses, which at least triply 

 facilitates their finding and pointing the birds in good 

 style ; and also to increase the chance of getting a fair 

 shot, since quail usually prefer flying down wind to facing 

 it, especially if it be blowing a strong breeze. 



Where, from the direction of the wind, and the distance 

 of the extreme part of the intended beat, it is not prac- 

 ticable to drive the whole range from the leeward, it will 

 still be advisable to enter all such fields as seem likely to 

 hold game, and invariably all spots, whether high timber, 

 coppice, low brake, or bog meadow, into which game has 

 been marked down, in such a manner as to let the wind 

 face the dogs, even if it be necessary to make a circuit in 

 order to do so. 



The likeliest ground on which to find quail in the 

 morning, while on the feed, is wheat stubbles, buckwheat 

 stubbles, and cornfields, in which the maize has been 

 topped in order to admit the ripening of the grain, and 

 particularly such fields as lie adjacent to dry bog meadows, 

 beds of bulrushes or cat-tails, as they are commonly 

 called, from which the water has been drained or exhaled, 



