80 . OF SHOOTING, 



ber, till about the first of February : when 

 they begin to pair, to the time of their de- 

 parture, they are much leaner. It is said 

 the female may be distinguished from the 

 male, by a narrow stripe of white along the 

 lower part of the exterior web of the outer- 

 most feather of the wing: the same part in 

 the outermost feather of the male, is elegantly 

 and regularly spotted with black and reddish 

 white ; in the bastard wing of each sex is a 

 small pointed narrow feather, very elastic, 

 and much sought after by painters as a 

 pencil. 



SNIPES, 



"Make their appearance here in autumn, 

 and remain until the spring. It is generally 

 supposed that they return into Germany and 

 Switzerland to breed ; nevertheless a great 

 number remain with us during the summer, 

 and breed in marshes, where they lay their 

 eggs, in the month of June, to the number 

 of four or five. Snipes are scarcely worth 



