238 WOODCOCK. 



The wigeon, for coast night shooting, is like the fox 

 for hunting it shows the finest sport of any thing in 

 Great Britain. We shall, therefore, hereafter make the 

 pursuit of this fowl one of our leading subjects. 



WOODCOCK. Scolopax rusticola La becasse. 



Although many sportsmen consider, that there are 

 two distinct kinds of woodcocks, and Latham describes 

 three, yet they are more to be considered as mere 

 varieties of this bird, than any species that can be sepa- 

 rately distinguished from it. 



The feather of the woodcock, which is so acceptable 

 to miniature painters, is that very small one, under the 

 outside quill of each wing : to be sure of finding which, 

 draw out the extreme feather of the wing, and this 



therefore as liable to leave room for future improvement as are all 

 other students and authors. 



As the word pigeon was taken from the French, the d here should, 

 I presume, never have been introduced, though we see it in the 

 English translation of Anton Ernst Klausing's German dictionary, 

 taken, as he states, from Nathan Bailey's English dictionary : (but, 

 perhaps, from some very old edition). I have, however, seen it spelt 

 with a d in subsequent works. The other bird was formerly spelt 

 Widgen, as somewhat nearer to the Saxon, from which it was pro- 

 bably derived, [[See Scott's Bailey's Dictionary, in 1755, which says, 

 " prob. of pissenV (wiggend) " Sax. Fighting"] ; and then, I be- 

 lieve, changed to widgeon. We may, therefore, it is presumed, 

 follow up the improvement, and erase that consonant which is super- 

 fluous to the pronunciation ; since it has, of late, become the custom 

 to do so with other words. 



A thousand apologies for (if I may use a vulgarism) such a long- 

 winded note on one word, as this is quite unnecessary when a work 

 is in the hands of a reviewer, or any other liberal reader. But I 

 have inserted it merely for the amusement of the word-catcher; or, 

 in other words, the little gentleman who looks more at the leaves on 

 the tree than the design of the landscape. 



