822 MANUAL OF MODERN FARRIERY. 



birds sat so close that they did not rise until approached 

 within the distance of a yard. They were all in dry, warm 

 situations, amongst dead grass and leaves, without any 

 attempt at concealment ; they were entirely composed of 

 dead leaves, chiefly of the common fern, loosely laid together, 

 without any lining. They have also been known to breed 

 at Braham-castle, Ross-shire, Castle Forbes, Aberdeenshire, 

 and Dunkeld, Perthshire ; and in England, in Sussex and 

 Hertfordshire. Woodcocks carry their young in their claws. 

 The eggs are pale yellowish- white, the larger end blotched 

 and spotted with ash-grey, and two shades of yellow-brown. 



SNIPE-SHOOTING. 



Snipe-shooting, when the birds are plentiful, is an excel- 

 lent diversion ; they puzzle the marksman by the irregular 

 twistings and turnings of their flight when first sprung ; but 

 this diflficulty is soon surmounted, if the birds are permitted 

 to reach a certain distance, when their flight becomes steady 

 and easy to traverse with the gun : there is no reason to be 

 apprehensive of their getting out of the range of the shot, as 

 the smallest pellet will kill, and they will fall to the ground 

 if struck but slightly. Snipes, like woodcocks and many 

 other birds, always fly against the Avind ; therefore by keep- 

 ing the wind at his back, the sportsman has this advantage 

 of the bird when it rises, that it presents a fairer mark. 

 These birds are scarcely good until November, when they get 

 very fat. In hard, frosty, and more particularly snowy wea- 

 ther, snipes resort in numbers to warm springs, where the 

 rills continue open and run with a gentle stream ; these, on 

 account of their long bills, are then the only places where 

 they can haunt for food. Snipes will generally lie well to a 

 steady pointer, and some of these dogs have a singular knack 

 lit lindimr them. 



