272 ON SURREY HILLS. 



bloom comes up before me, and I see quiet pools 

 spangled over with weeds, and the blue-and-white- 

 flecked sky overhead. If I could be there once more 

 and hear that sound again, I would not be curious 

 as to how it was accomplished. Most of the vast 

 quantities of snipe that are captured for the game- 

 dealers are netted or springed ; and they come over 

 from the Continent, where their capture and that of 

 other wild-fowl for this country alone is an important 

 industry. Comparatively few of those sold are cap- 

 tured in the United Kingdom. I write this on the 

 strength of reliable information. The net system is 

 worked much like lark-netting in this country. 



Young sportsmen often make the mistake of 

 associating snipe with standing water ; he likes moist 

 splashy places where he can probe about and find 

 cover at the same time. He is like most other birds 

 that get their living from the water and its margin ; 

 no matter how much they may wade and paddle in it, 

 they like a dry place to nest in. The snipe, after he 

 has had a good feed and has washed the dirt off 

 his bill and feet, generally retires to some dry tuft 

 or tussock for rest. Like those of all waders, his 

 wings move him vast distances with apparently little 



