WOODCOCK SHOOTING. 99 



suction. By some men of no erudition yet of 

 ordinary intelligence, this absurdity is still be- 

 lieved. 



However, without wishing to detract in the 

 least from the merits of Mr. Bowies' observa- 

 tions, we will no\v relate the course of our expe- 

 riments, leaving the reader to judge of the 

 result. 



We took our bird from its place of confine- 

 ment at its usual feeding time, and buried in 

 each corner of the box two large earth-worms, an 

 inch and a half deep in the soft, black loam ; he 

 was then immediately replaced, and at once be- 

 gan to bore eagerly in the middle of the box, 

 where, for the purpose of observation, his food 

 was usually placed ; it was not until he had ex- 

 plored that spot thoroughly that he changed his 

 ground, and at last discovered and drew out the 

 objects concealed. We continued the experi- 

 ment until he fell into the habit of first searching 

 the corners of the box ; we then hid a dozen 

 worms the same depth, in the same kind of soil, 

 but in the old spot; the result was the same. 

 He first went to one corner of the box, and being 

 disappointed there, bored in another, and finally 

 returned to his usual place. We intended to 

 have carried our experiments farther, but being 



