88 SPORT IN EUROPE 



paired, besides being unfit for the table, at that season, I venture to 



condemn this method, against which the sportsman's conscience should 



protest. Woodcock are becoming rarer every year. In former years 



sportsmen could shoot their ten or fifteen birds on good days, but 



no such luck is now heard of. 



Snipe are shot much as in England. The best snipe swamps 



are those towards the Dutch frontier, but the birds are also found 



in a number of the wet lowlands in Flanders, districts 

 Snipe. 



intersected with ditches and trenches. The half snipe 



and jack snipe are common enough, but double snipe are rarely 



encountered. 



The hazel-hen, with every shade of red and brown in its plumage, 



is a handsome bird. The body is of an ash grey, clotted with brown ; 



on the back are crescent black markings with a white 

 Hazel-hen. 



edge, while a grey down covers the legs and feet of 



both sexes. The hazel-hen occurs along the course of the Semoy in 



Luxemburg, and in the forests on the French frontier, towards 



Montherme and Longwy. 



The capercailzie, which may be regarded as the feathered big 



game of the Haute- Ardennes, is said to have been 

 Capercailzie. 



shot there to the weight of over 12 lbs. It is pretty 



plentiful, and is shot by the same methods as in Scotland and 

 Germany. 



The true home of the wild fowl in these parts is Holland, but 

 Belgium derives considerable advantage from the proximity of that 

 country, and, as mentioned above, the Scheldt embraces some admir- 

 able fowling waters. 



