26 SPORT IN EUROPE 



fired in close proximity without disturbing- the bird that utters it. 

 The instant this note, called the schleifer (or " whetter," as one 

 might call it from its resemblance to the sound made by the use 

 of a whetstone), has been uttered, the extremely keen sight and 

 hearing of the bird come again into full play, and the sportsman 

 must, for this reason, make his final approach to the point near 

 the tree from which he can see the bird darkly outlined against the 

 sky, during the very brief intervals marked by this note. The 

 shooting itself is, of course, nothing, though, as a matter of fact, 

 I have known of some first-class Enolish shots missine not one cock, 

 but several, under precisely such easy-looking circumstances. The 

 sport consists, of course, in successfully effecting the approach to 

 within gun-range. In the dark forest objects are but dimly outlined ; 

 dead branches litter the ground ; fallen trees have to be climbed 

 over ; and though the distance may be only a couple of hundred yards 

 or so (for it is best to await the break of day as close to the 

 balzplatz or mating-place as the lay of the ground will allow you 

 to get without disturbing your quarry), yet these and other obstacles 

 increase the difficulty of effecting a perfectly silent approach. The 

 breaking of a twig underneath your feet, the cracking of a branch, 

 upon which in the semi-darkness you have rested your hand, 

 or the disturbing of one of the hen-birds — members of the cock's 

 harem — are sufficient to alarm the bird, keenly listening not only 

 for noises that betray the presence of danger, but also for the call 

 of other love-sick males, with whom he is ever ready to enter into 

 mortal combat. 



Anspringen, as the Austrians call the final approach, is, as can 



