2()2 BRITISH BIRDS. 



directions through the swampy ground, into par- 

 ticular large pools, which are sheltered by sur- 

 rounding trees or bushes, and situated commonly 



and about six feet high, and are ten in number. They are placed in 

 the following manner: 



From the end of the last shooting, a person cannot see the lake, 

 owing to the bend of the pipe; there is then no further occasion for 

 shelter. Were it not for these shootings, the fowl that remain about 

 the mouth of the pipe would be alarmed, (if the person driving the 

 fowl already under the net should be exposed) and would become so 

 shy as to forsake the place entirely. The first thing the decoy-man 

 does when he approaches the pipe, is to take a piece of lighted turf 

 or peat, and hold near his mouth, to prevent the fowl smelling him. 

 He is attended by a dog taught for the purpose of assisting him: he 

 walks very silently about half way up the shootings, where a small 

 piece of wood is thrust through the reed fence, which makes an aper- 

 ture just sufficient to see if any fowl are in : if not, he walks forward 

 to see if any are about the mouth of the pipe. If there are, he stops 

 and makes a motion to his dog, and gives him a piece of cheese or 

 something to eat; upon receiving it he goes directly to a hole 

 through the reed fence, (No. i.) and the fowl immediately fly off the 

 bank into the water; the dog returns along the bank between the 

 reed fences and the pipe, and comes out to his master at the hole 

 (No. 2). The man now gives him another reward, and he repeats his 

 round again, till the fowl are attracted by the motions of the dog, and 

 follow him into the mouth of the pipe. This operation is called 

 working them. The man now retreats further back, working the dog 

 at different holes, till the fowl are sufficiently under the net : he now 

 commands his dog to lie down still behind the fence, and goes for- 

 ward to the end of the pipe next the lake, where he takes off his hat 

 and gives it a wave between the shootings; all the fowl under the net 

 can see him, but none that are in the lake can. The fowl that are in 

 sight fly forward ; and the man runs forward to the next shooting and 

 waves his hat, and so on, driving them along till they come to the 

 tunnel net, where they creep in : when they are all in, he gives the 

 net a twist so as to prevent their getting back: he then takes the net 

 off from the end of the pipe with what fowl he may have caught, and 



