280 AMERICAN GAME. 



the fox, of the liare to the greyhound, of all the animals 

 devoured to all the devourers ; and that his frog diet is 

 as dear to Ardea Lentiginosa, as his flower dew to the 

 humming-bird, or his canvas-Vacks, in the tea-room, to 

 an alderman of Manhattan. 



As for the Bittern starving, eat a fat one in a pie, and 

 you'll be a better judge of that probability, than any 

 Buffon ever bred in France ; and as for all the rest it 

 is just French humbug. 



At another opportunity, I may speak of others of this 

 interesting tribe. Sportsmen rarely go out especially to 

 hunt them, except in boats, as described by Mr. Giraud, 

 but in snipe and duck-shooting in the marshes they are 

 constantly flushed and shot. 



Pointers and setters will both stand them steadily, and 

 cocking spaniels chase them with ardor. Their flight is 

 slow and heavy, and their tardy movements and large 

 size render them an easy mark even to a novice. They 

 are not a hardy bird, as to the bearing off shot ; for the 

 loose texture of their feathers is more than ordinarily 

 penetrable, and a light charge of No. 8, will usually 

 bring them down with certainty. 



When wing-tipped they fight fiercely, striking with 

 their long beaks at the eyes of the assailant, whether 

 dog or man, and laying aside resistance only with their 

 lives. 



Early in the autumn is the best time both for shooting 

 him and eating him, and for the latter purpose he is 



