348 SPORT IN EUROPE 



are loud in their lamentations over the scarcity of a bird once so 



plentiful that a good shot could kill his seventy or 

 Woodcock. 



eighty birds in the course of a season. The bird is 



found throughout the Jura from about the end of the first week 



in October, descending later on to the plains, where it may be shot 



as late as December. 



The swamps and lakes are visited yearly by large flocks of 



migratory birds, among which several are reckoned fair game for 



the sportsman. Mention may be made of the rails and 



The Swamps , , . . , -n • i • i 



, J , crakes, the coot and the water-hen. 1 he snipes, which 



and Lakes. ^ 



arrive last of all, towards the beginning of November, 

 are equally characteristic of the marshes and the neighbouring lands. 

 A score or so of species of duck frequent the lakes, and geese are 

 sometimes killed there as well. Formerly, before the connection of 

 the waters of the Jura, these fowl were found on the lakes, par- 

 ticularly in Neuchatel and Berne, in considerable numbers, but they 

 are nowadays far more scarce. Among the sportsman's duck are 

 the common wild duck, which breeds and winters as well all over 

 the country, the pintail, the shoveller, the wigeon, the teal, and 

 garganey. These water-fowl occur on all the Swiss lakes, and not 

 a few among them also affect the larger swamps, as for instance 

 those in Bas Valais. It would indeed be easy to add to the list, 

 for, thanks to the abundance of water in our country, the variety 

 is considerable. In the marshes shooting is usually done over dogs; 

 on the lakes it is customary to shoot from a boat, with either shoulder 

 gun or punt gun. In this last method a small screw-propelled boat 

 is often used, but rowing craft are also in favour. On some of the 



