SNIPE: BREEDING SEASON. 239 



excrescence of the surface. The eggs, which are of a yel- 

 lowish-brown color, blotched with dark markings, taper 

 very much toward the small end ; they are always placed 

 in the nest with the larger end outward. As soon as the 

 young are hatched, they leave the nest, and in six weeks 

 afterward are almost full grown. At this age it is impos- 

 sible to tell the Wilson snipe from our home variety ; how- 

 ever, at any period the only difference that exists is that 

 one species has two more feathers in the wing than the 

 other. 



Last year but one I shot snipe day after day, till a sur- 

 feit might have been expected, and only desisted when the 

 advancement of the season proclaimed the approach of the 

 period for breeding ; and, though some might imagine such 

 a lengthened campaign would have sufficed for coming 

 years, before twelve months had slipped past I stretched 

 my arms, looked at the sky, observed the wind, all three 

 of which being favorable, anathematized, perhaps, the des- 

 tiny or fate that compelled me to accept more sedentary 

 town occupation. 



With that intuitive feeling tl&t tells the swallow when 

 to migrate, the fish a change of weather, or the cattle the 

 portended storm, we feel certain that all the southern prai- 

 ries of Illinois are now alive (March) with snipe, that they 

 are lying well to the gun, and that heavy bags are being 

 made. We can even shut our eyes and imagine that we 

 are just approaching some favorite spot either bordering 

 on a slough or stream, or rich-loamed dip between swelling 

 slopes, and that the game is flushing right and left, as we 

 cautiously pursue our course down wind, while our trusty 

 and well-tried gun rapidly responds to our aim. Again 

 and again we fill and empty our blood-stained pockets, till 

 the body from fatigue calls " Hold, enough !" or we re- 

 turn, with waning day, to our little bald-faced pony, ever 



