THE RUFFED GROUSE. 297 



ravine also, but will dive up or down, as the covert may 

 invite. 



When birds lie in narrow ravines, filled with good 

 covert, by throwing the guns forward on the brow of the 

 ridges a hundred yards ahead of the dogs, which must- 

 be left behind with a person to hunt and restrain them, 

 and letting the sportsmen carefully keep that distance in 

 advance, going very -gingerly and silently, sport may be 

 had ; and so I think only especially over slow, mute, 

 cocking spaniels, for as the birds, after running before 

 the dogs, will be likely to take wing abreast of, or per- 

 haps even behind the unexpected shooter, who has thus 

 stolen a march 011 them, and as they rarely, if ever, cross 

 the ridges, but fly straight along the gorge, they so 

 afford fair shots. 



For my own part, I do not consider it worth the while, 

 as the law now stands, to go out in pursuit of Ruffed 

 Grouse with dogs, where you expect to find no other 

 species of game ; for, in the first place, they ramble so 

 widely, that there is no certainty of finding them within 

 ten miles of the spot where you may have seen them 

 daily for a month ; and, secondly, if you do find them, 

 there is no certainty of having sport with them, but 

 rather a probability of reverse. As an adjunct to other 

 kinds of shooting they are excellent, but as sole objects 

 of pursuit, I think, worthless. I have often blundered 

 on them by chance while hunting for other game ; but 



