

SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



walking-up division beat the ground with dogs 

 towards the guns concealed in the stands, shoot- 

 ing the young birds that rose ; the old red- 

 shanks were spared as a rule, being at that period 

 of the year comparatively worthless. The guns 

 posted forward got the best of the sport, as the 

 birds flew over them at high speed. The flies 

 and midges which swarmed and the excessive heat 

 made redshank-shooting hard work ; falls into a 

 dyke or bog-hole were frequent ; and a swim in 

 the river without removing one's clothes often 

 concluded the day's proceedings. Large, bags 

 were seldom procured ; the attraction of the 

 business lay in the necessity for exercising 

 practical knowledge of the ground and habits of 

 the birds, and the hard work which was essential 

 to success. 



Some twenty years ago hundreds of pink- 

 footed geese were wont to visit daily the marshes 

 of the Waveney valley between Oulton Broad 

 and Beccles, but now they are never seen there, 

 and wild fowl are very scarce. Reclamation of 

 the waste lands is entirely responsible for this. 

 The picturesque old windmills are gradually 

 disappearing, and steam drainage has deprived 

 the marsh levels of those stagnant puddles and 

 quagmires in which snipe and wild fowl revelled. 

 In 1878 the writer saw a stilted plover (Himan- 

 topus candidus) in the Waveney valley, and shot a 

 pochard at flight on I August in the same year at 

 Barnby ;a few years later he observed nine barnacle 

 geese in the month of March on Oulton Broad. 

 In 1848 the Rev. F. O. Morris records that a 

 common scoter was shot at Beccles in February. 



Wild-fowling a hundred or fifty years ago was 

 really profitable, and there were many men who 

 practically earned their living as fowlers. These 

 made snaring a science. The wild-fowler's 

 mainstay, however, was his dog, and the clever- 

 ness of the mongrels used was remarkable. 

 They would hunt up the quarry, and, when it 

 was killed, retrieve it from the most impassable 

 bog or mere. These wild-fowlers' treasures are 

 seldom seen nowadays. They were specially 

 trained to act as decoys for the gun, and would 

 enter into the business with as much zest as 

 their owners. A small brownish dog is the one 

 most liked : the more nearly it resembles a fox 

 the more effective will it be. Its training; is 



simple ; it is required merely to gambol in an 

 eccentric fashion, implicitly obeying the gesture 

 of its master's hand. Black retrievers have been 

 used to decoy birds within range, but the antics 

 of these must be carefully superintended and the 

 dogs particularly intelligent. 



One method of decoying birds within range 

 of the gun is to take advantage of the habit, to 

 which ' wypes,' as lapwings are locally called, are 

 much addicted, of mobbing an intruding fox or 

 dog (they have been known to mob cats prowling 

 upon their domain). The dog is trained ac- 

 cordingly, and the shooter discovering a field or 

 suitable marsh frequented by the lapwings con- 

 ceals himself close by and sends the dog 

 round to the further side to rush through the 

 midst of the birds. These, recovering from their 

 first alarm, follow and mob him, until lured 

 within range of the ambushed sportsman. The 

 dog is trained to run straight into the ambush, 

 and instantly crouch motionless to the ground, 

 as lapwings, when one of their number is shot, 

 almost invariably follow it, and several couple can 

 thus be secured. If they see neither the shooter 

 nor the dog, and one or more be shot, they are 

 almost certain to swoop to them. Sometimes an 

 attendant leads the dog round to the point 

 whence he is to be released. 



Another plan confined almost exclusively to 

 decoying wild ducks is extremely simple and 

 generally effective, but it requires the aid of an 

 intelligent dog. Having marked down wild fowl 

 upon some small sheet of water, the shooter 

 conceals himself within reasonable distance, and 

 directs the dog to perform his part. This is to 

 jump suddenly into view upon the bank, and 

 madly chase his tail round and round for a few 

 seconds and disappear. Out again and back 

 instantly, with many variations of antic. The 

 ducks act almost precisely as they do at the 

 entrance to a decoy pipe. First they are a little 

 disturbed ; then, yielding to curiosity, they swim 

 shoreward, collecting closer and closer the nearer 

 they approach. Biding his opportunity, the 

 shooter waits until they arrive within range : 

 the dog then plays the part of retriever. 



As a breeding ground for wild fowl Suffolk 

 still retains her superiority owing to the number 

 of carefully preserved estates. 



ANGLING 



The principal angling rivers in Suffolk are the 

 Waveney and the Stour. The streams of north- 

 west Suffolk, though not large, contain enormous 

 quantities of coarse fish of nearly every kind. On 

 the Little Ouse, Santon Downham deep is a noted 

 place for anglers, and Croxton Staunch, Brandon, 

 also has some very good deeps full of fish. Lower 

 down is Lakenheath, famed for big pike and perch. 

 Close to the staunch are the famous cross waters, 



full of large perch. Another well-known spot is 

 Tinker's Hole, whence perch of nearly 5 Ib. weight 

 have been taken. There is good fishing all along 

 the river, and at Brand Creek, where it joins the 

 Cambridgeshire Ouse, there are some excellent 

 places for big chub and roach. 



In many parts of the Lark are excellent gravelly 

 bottoms, where trout, dace, and gudgeon are to be 

 caught. Near Hempton Mills, and still lower 



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