WOODCOCK SHOOTING. 407 



himself more than repaid for his toil, if he bag a 

 a couple or two. Combined with pheasant and 

 blackcock shooting, it is glorious sport. 



As cocks are birds of passage, and their tarriance 

 in our covers is of uncertain duration, permission to 

 shoot them is often given to persons whose honour 

 can be depended upon not to kill pheasants. To 

 any but a real sportsman this is a tantalizing em- 

 ployment ; the pheasants rise before him every 

 fifty yards, and he may perhaps not meet with 

 more than a couple of cocks in a day. 



Spaniels are the best dogs for this sport : they 

 give tongue when close upon game, and so allow 

 the shooter notice, in a situation where he could 

 not see a pointer or setter. 



Formerly any one who was an adept at bringing 

 down a woodcock, was certain of the enjoyment of a 

 considerable local reputation as a shot, and he de- 

 served it. Place one of their long, heavy, single- 

 barrelled pieces, furnished with an ancient lock, 

 flint of course, in the hands of a modern shooter, 

 let him charge with powder similar to that used in 

 the early days of George the Third, and take his 

 chance in a tangled brake, where the cock can 

 make play among the branches for its life, and he 

 will readily believe that killing a cock in those 

 days was a real trial of skill. A short light de- 

 tonator is thrown upon the bird, the trigger is 

 drawn, and the shot reaches the mark in an instant ; 

 so speedy is the whole process, that it is scarcely 

 necessary to make any allowance for the motion 

 of the object, when attempting snap shots at short 



