234 WIGEON. 



by about Valentine's day ; and therefore killing many 

 at a shot, after this time, is generally only to be 

 done when they are fighting together, or in the event 



among those who have any thing to do with wildfowl, to leave 

 out the s here, that the introduction of it feels to me like hearing 

 a "flock of partridges," or a " fox's tail." Let me, therefore, 

 see if I can scrape up any authority for having thus deviated from 

 the rules of our language. Yes ! by the way ; the plural of sub- 

 stantives ending in out should have an s ; and yet, by habit, all 

 modern sportsmen say, for the plural, " trout" and not " trouts." 

 Well then, let the shooter, as well as the fisherman, appeal for a 

 licence to kill languages. 



Now therefore to the comparison : It may be argued, that 

 although in old works we read of" fish as/ 1 yet in modern language, 

 or rather by habit, which gives a sort of licence, the word Jish, 

 speaking collectively, is generally used without a plural. Most 

 people, for instance, would say " a basket of Jish," or " the river 

 is full ofjish" notwithstanding the plural of other nouns ending 

 in sh should have the addition of es to distinguish it from the 

 singular number. For instance, "dishes," " wishes/' and so on. 

 Again, speaking of them separately, some fish have, and some 

 have not, an s for their plural ; as, for instance, " herring*," 

 " pilchards," te sprat*;" on the other hand, " carp," " tench," 

 " mackerel." 



In comparison, too, I observe, that the word " wildfowl" is used 

 without a plural (and yet translated in Latin, vohicrEs palustrEs), 

 notwithstanding we put a plural when the first syllable, or rather 

 the adjective, is not used. For example, in speaking of poultry, 

 we should say " a couple of fowls." We have, it is presumed, 

 therefore an equal right to say " wigeon" " teal" " plover," 

 though, on the other hand, we should say " wild-duck*," " dun- 

 bird*," " curlew*." 



Our lexicographers it appears still spell Wiogeon with a d; I 

 suppose, because birds of this kind are not so much in the fashion- 



