102 GAME BIRDS AXD SHOOTING-SKETCHES 



extended, and it only requires caution and adroitness on 

 the part of the poacher to be successful in pulling down 

 his unconscious victims within his hiding-place. A stuffed 

 Blackcock will also tend to attract the others to the spot. 

 This mode of capturing Blackgame is now becoming a 



HENS ASSUMING THE PLUMAGE OF THE MALE. 



lost art amongst the poaching fraternity, and is, I fancy, 

 but rarely practised now. It has too many discomforts, 

 and requires too much patience where birds are scarce, as 

 they are nearly everywhere nowadays. 



Another somewhat deadly method of capture is by 

 clearing a small space in the centre of a wood, where the 



