ON CONTINENTAL WATERS 231 



on what appears to be bare soft ooze ; but it must be 

 remembered that in the Netherlands the whole of the 

 surrounding country is below sea level, and of a 

 nature to provide food in abundance, excepting in 

 times of severe frost. 



Probably no English sportsman has had such a long 

 and varied experience in this country as Mr. T. M. 

 Pike. During the past fifteen years, from 1883 to 1901, 

 he has spent two months every season in pursuit 

 of wild-fowl, both with the shoulder and stanchion 

 guns, and since 1894 he has held a lease from the 

 Dutch Government of the Veere Gat, one of the 

 finest estuaries on the coast. In compliance with my 

 request, Mr. Pike has kindly supplied me with full 

 information regarding his sport in South Holland, 

 which I give in extenso below : 



In the Dutch waters (he says) it is not the great 

 numbers or the possibility of making enormous bags, but 

 the charming variety of the fowl one meets with, that 

 lends a fascination to the sport in South Holland. There 

 you may expect to frequently come to terms with grey 

 geese, which are rarely seen on most British waters, or, if 

 seen, not to be approached, as Mr. Chapman tells us in his 

 excellent work. Then the mallard is nearly as common 

 as the widgeon. For instance, in 1885-86, out of a bag 

 of 1,135 wild-fowl, no fewer than 325 were wild ducks, 

 widgeon numbering a little over 500. Pintail ducks are 

 common, so are teal, and shovellers are not rare. 



