38 The Wild-Fowlers 



" At present we suffer more from im- 

 proper modes of pursuit than from abso- 

 lute scarcity of game. The habit of using 

 ' batteries ' in the South Bay of Long 

 Island, and locating them on the feeding- 

 or sanding-grounds, has resulted in fright- 

 ening away the birds. Where, a few 

 years ago, ten ducks stopped in the water 

 adjoining that famous sand-pit, there can 

 hardly be found one at present. After 

 being disturbed on their feeding-grounds 

 by murderous discharges from an unseen 

 foe in their midst, they become alarmed 

 and leave the locality altogether. To be 

 sure, for a year or so, the number killed 

 from that ingenious mode of ambush will 

 be enormous ; but it is at a terrible sacri- 

 fice of the supply, and will eventuate in 

 ruin to those engaged in it. At present 

 on Long Island it is hardly possible to 

 obtain a decent day's sport without using 

 a * battery* ; but in the South, along the 

 Chesapeake and Potomac, where the use 

 of these inventions has never been al- 



