DECOYS FOR WILD FOWL. *211 



for investigation and experiment. This new- 

 fangled AvilloWj as I expected, proved to be 

 nothing more than the common copse willow, 

 Avliich game will very seldom interfere with. On 

 this slight contingency there was attempted to 

 be built up a W'ide, and, perhaps, to one a 

 lucrative, Ijut to the public a most mischievous, 

 conclusion. I thought that in my long experi- 

 ence I had come to the end of hearing ignorant 

 assertions in regard to wild fowl and game; but 

 such is not the case. I was told by one gentleman 

 that he had lately been instructed by another 

 gentleman that if he wished to have some snipe 

 shooting he need but flood a coarse and almost 

 useless piece of ^^ grass land," called a Avater 

 meadow. All he had to do was to plough it up 

 and sow it wath barley. Snipes w^ere so fond of 

 the grain. ^' it Avould attract them in any number." 

 My dear reader, fancy a snipe hored with 

 grains of barley which he could not eat if he 

 tried, and essaying to swallow them instead of 

 horimj the moist sands after worms and the larvse 

 of the insect tribes, that sort of soft diet being 

 readily sworn to by the nature of his bill. Soft 

 heads in the human race can often be detected. 



