132 THE JERSEY COAST. 



snipe at all. Refer to Giraud again and give us the 

 truth." 



This fell, of course, to my share, and I com- 

 menced as follows : 



" I read you yesterday about the plovers, and im- 

 mediately after them we find an account of the turn- 

 stone, strepsilas interpres, which is nothing else than 

 our beautiful brant-bird or horse-foot snipe, as it is 

 called farther south, because it feeds on the spawn 

 of the horse-foot. This pretty but unfortunate bird 

 belongs to no genus whatever, and has been to the 

 ornithologists a source of great tribulation. They 

 have sometimes considered it a sandpiper and 

 sometimes not, so you may probably call it what 

 you please ; and as brant-bird is a rhythmical name, 

 it will answer as well as strepsilas interpres / if you 

 have not a fluent tongue, perhaps somewhat better. 

 Of the snipes, or scolopacidce, the only true repre- 

 sentative is the dowitcher, scolopax novebora- 

 censis. 



" Hold on," shouted Bill ; " say that last word 

 over again." 



" Nbveboracensis" 



"That is only the half of it; let's have the 

 whole." 



" Scolopax noveboracensis" 



" Scoly packs never borrow a census ; that is a 

 good sized name for a little dowitch, and beats the 

 radish altogether. Go ahead, we'll learn something 

 before we get through." 



" Why, that is only Latin for New York snipe." 



