SNIPE SHOOTING. 299 



capable of bearing, without inconvenience, fatigue and 

 exposure, and are, at the same time, desirous of making 

 as heavy a bag as possible, while shooting over your 

 snipe beat, pay particular attention to the water- 

 courses and sloughs, and when you become satisfied 

 that you have found a spot where the ducks are in the 

 habit of spending their evenings, which may be ascer- 

 tained by the down-trodden weeds and muddy appear- 

 ance of the water, mark the place, for when it becomes 

 too late to continue peppering the snipe, you can 

 return and lie in ambush for the web-footed gentry. 

 Duck, from flying high when on the move, can be 

 seen much later than small game (which, being flushed 

 on the ground, head away from you, parallel to it), 

 more particularly if watching for them, as you can fre- 

 quently get them against some clear spot in the sky. 

 Frequently, I have killed in half an hour half-a-dozen 

 of that prince of birds and epicurean dainties, the 

 mallard, in this manner, when it was so dark that, 

 after they had dropped, but for the sagacity of my 

 retriever I was scarcely aware whether I had correctly 

 aimed. If the evening should be dark and loomy, 

 with indications of change to cold weather, and a high 

 wind blowing, it will be unnecessary to wait as late as 

 sunset before visiting the feeding ground of the duck ; 

 for, under such circumstances, we have known them 



