184 WILD-FOWL SHOOTING. 



tions over your head. If there is a slight frost, 

 they are the more likely to behave in the latter 

 style. If a Jack is not beneath your notice, 

 you are sure to find a couple or so of the 

 family remaining after the departure of their 

 more cautious cousins. Your retriever should 

 have a nose, and be trained to point or set as 

 well as to fetch and carry. Make him search 

 the marsh thoroughly. That little brown bird 

 with the drooping legs that you have just 

 missed is a water-rail, familiarly believed by the 

 rustics to be the winter disguise of the corn- 

 craik, who performs odd music on July even- 

 ings in the meadows. Not far from the bog 

 is a miserable attempt at agriculture, which has 

 resulted in a thin eruption of dropsical turnips, 

 set in what looks like a carpet of green chick- 

 weed. Here is a sure find for a quail. Re- 

 member, when the quail springs, making a 

 wonderful hubbub for its size, that you take 

 your time and be sure to cover the bird accu- 

 rately. The quail is a very small mark, has a 

 rapid straight flight, and is constantly missed 

 through haste. 



Loading your gun, and adjusting your bag 



