COOT. 185 



for nothing. After all, however, these birds are in no 

 way delicate, except when skinned, and, after being 

 soaked twenty-four hours in cold spring water, repeatedly 

 changed, made into a pudding, by which, as with all 

 such birds, when in puddings, pies, or soup, you can 

 get rid of their strong skins without losing the juice of 

 their flesh ; and their fishy taste is, in a great measure, 

 drawn off by steam. (Moorhens may be cleaned in 

 like manner ; and, if in good condition, they will then 

 be nearly equal to any wildfowl.) Coots, when on a 

 large pond, generally swim or flutter out of reach, on 

 being approached by a shooter; and as they are not 

 worth bestowing much trouble on, the best way to kill 

 them is to place yourself somewhat concealed under the 

 leeward bank, while another person goes round, and 

 fires a gun to windward, before they can swim into any 

 rushes. They will then fly up in great confusion, and, 

 most likely, for some minutes afford employment for a 

 dozen guns. Shoot well forward, as one shot before 

 and under the wings of a coot will stop him sooner than 

 ten in the hinder parts. This, by the way, should be 

 observed with most other birds. 



Coots, when on the coast, usually travel to windward, 

 so that a west wind brings them to the west, and an 

 easterly wind to the east, instead of vice versa, as with 

 other fowl. These birds take such a hard blow, and 

 are so tenacious of life, that you may often stop ten or 

 twenty at a shot, and by the time you have got on your 

 mud-boards, or made your dog go after them, not above 

 three or four may be left on the spot, and the others, if 

 they have a spark of life, will swim, or what the gunners 

 call " skitter'* away. The plan which I have found best 

 for slaughtering the coots by wholesale, is either to listen 



