172 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. 



The only way to verify the facts satisfactorily, would be to mark 

 down, in the daily return of game killed, the number of old birds 

 in proportion to young, and to ascertain the sex of the former 

 by dissection. The female bird, it is true, is somewhat the lar- 

 ger ; but it is not safe to reckon on the eye, or even on the 

 scales, for the determination of the sex. By the way, I conceive 

 that there must be some error in the printing of Mr. Audubon's 

 statement concerning this relative disproportion. He states the 

 weight of the male bird at 6i oz., which appears to me, beyond 

 all question, inadequately low, — and that of the female, at 8^ oz. ; 

 while in length the female exceeds the male only by xV of an 

 inch. This difference is inconceivable, not to say impossible. 

 The understatement of the male Woodcock's weight struck me 

 at first sight ; and I endeavored to account for it to myself, by 

 supposing that Summer Cock had been assumed as the base of 

 calculation. I presume noio, that %\ oz. is a typographical er- 

 ror for 8 J ; which I should have stated, if asked suddenly, as 

 about the average weight of a full-grown Woodcock. The bird 

 fi-om which the accompanying wood-cut was taken, shot by my- 

 self on the 23d of October, 1843, weighed 9| oz., measured 13 

 .nches from bill to claw, and 18 from wing to wing extended ; 

 but this was an uncommonly large bird. I have, however, 

 heard of their being killed up to 11 oz. Once for all, it appears 

 to me that Mr. Audubon understates the weight of his game 

 birds generally. The coming season I will cany a small scale 

 in my jacket pocket, and would earnestly urge it on every 

 sportsman to do the same. They can be obtained at any tackle 

 shop, and will weigh up to 10 or 12 lbs., being as portable as a 

 common pencil-case. 



A few years since — I think it was in 1841 — there was a deep 

 fall of snow, covering the greater part of the State of New York, 

 near eighteen inches deep, so late as the 12th or 15th of May. 

 It thawed, of course, immediately, and produced a complete in- 

 undation, the early spring having been rather uncommonly dry. 

 From this I augured ill for the prospects of the shooting season. 

 But fine weather followed, and by most persons the Spring snow- 

 storm and freshet were forgotten. 



