UPLAND SHOOTING. 281 



not corameiisurate to tli(> labor. I have entered the marsh in a 

 batteau, at a common tide, and in a well-known haunt, have 

 beheld but a few l)irds. The next better tide, on our resorting 

 to the same spot, I jjerceived abundance of game. The 

 fact is, tlie Rail dive and conceal themselves beneath the fallen 

 reed, merely projecting their heads above the surface of the 

 water for air, and remain in that situation u-ntil the sportsman 

 has passed them, and it is well known that it is a common prac- 

 tice with wounded Rail to dive to ;he bottom, and holding on to 

 some vegetable substance, support themselves in that situation 

 until exhausted. 



" During such times, the bird, in escaping from one enemy has 

 often to encounter with another not less formidable. Eels and 

 cat-fish swim in every direction seeking for prey, and it is ten to 

 one if a wounded Rail esca;.e them. I myself have beheld a large 

 eel make off with a bird that I had shot, before I had time 

 to pick it up ; and one of my boys, in bobbing for eels, caught 

 one with a whole Rail in its belly. I have heard it observed 

 that on the increase of the moon the Rail improves in fatness, 

 and deczeases in a considerable degree with that planet. Some- 

 times I have conceited that the remark was just. If it be a 

 fact, I think it may be exp'ained on the supposition that the 

 bird is enabled to feed at night as well as by day, while it has 

 the benefit of the moon, and with less interruption than at other 

 periods. 



" I have had my doubts as to the propriety of classinf^ this 

 bird under the genus RaUus. Both Latham and Pennant call 

 it a Gallinula, and when one considers the length and formation 

 of its bill, the propriety of the nomenclature is obvious. 



" As the article was commenced by our printers before I could 

 make up my mind on the subject, the reader is requested to 

 consider this species the Gallinula Carolina of Dr. Latham." — 

 Wilson's American Ornithology. 



To set aside the possibility of continued doubt on the subject 

 of the migration of the Rail, which really seems to be so per- 



