232 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN. 



of May, and sit nearly a month. Fowlers are said to 

 avoid taking the reeves, not only because of their being 

 so much smaller than the ruff, but that the breed may 

 be increased. Soon after their arrival the ruffs begin to 

 hill — that is, to collect on some dry bank, near a splash 

 of water, in expectation of the reeves, which resort to 

 them. Each male possesses himself of a small piece of 

 ground, which it runs round till the grass is worn away 

 and nothing but a circle is left. 



When a reeve alights the ruffs immediately fall to 

 fighting; they use the same action in fighting as a 

 game-cock, place their bills on the ground, and spread 

 their ruffs. When a fowler discovers one of these hills, 

 he places his net overnight, which is of the same kind 

 as those they call clap or day-nets, only it is generally 

 single, and is about fourteen yards long and four broad. 

 At daybreak he resorts to his stand, at the distance of 

 one, two, three, or four hundred yards from the nets ; 

 the later the season the shyer the birds, and he must 

 keep the further off; he then makes his pull, taking 

 such birds as are within reach ; after that he places his 

 stuffed birds or stales to entice those that are continually 

 traversing the fens. A fowler has been known to catch 

 forty-four birds at the first haul and the whole taken in 

 one morning were six dozen. Wlien the stales are set, 

 seldom more than two or three are taken at a time. An 

 experienced fowler will take forty or fifty dozen in a 

 season ; they are fattened for the table with bread and 

 milk, hempseed, and sometimes boiled wheat; but if 

 they are required to be fattened quickly, sugar is added, 

 which in a fortnight makes them a lump of fat; they 

 then sell for half-a-crown a-piece. Great nicety is re- 

 quisite to kill them at the highest pitch of fatness ; if 



