WOODCOCK SHOOTING 309 



you step up to him he moves again, very slowly and 

 cautiously, and then suddenly stops and remains mo- 

 tionless. It is a pretty picture, and one that the sports- 

 man never tires of watching and admiring. The dog's 

 fore foot is raised in the act of stepping, his tail is 

 straight and rigid, head a little above the line of the 

 back and slightly turned to one side, ears a little 

 pricked. Walk up beside him and look at his face, and 

 you will see, what his attitude already indicates, that 

 he is laboring under strong excitement. His nose is 

 perhaps within a few inches of the bird and the scent 

 is strong. You will see his eyes roll as he looks over 

 the ground before him. His forehead is knotted into 

 a frown, which shows how thoroughly in earnest he 

 is. . . . 



The bird is likely to fly up from beneath the dog's 

 nose, so close to you that you cannot shoot without run- 

 ning the risk of either missing altogether or else blow- 

 ing him to fragments, and will then, perhaps, dart be- 

 hind a thick cedar or twist into some alders through 

 which you can hardly see to shoot. 



The alder runs, so numerous through the New Eng- 

 land States, are most satisfactory places to work for 

 woodcock. These are usually the channels of little 

 brooks a few feet below the general level of the open 

 meadows through which they pass. The ground is 

 too damp to be successfully cultivated and the farmer 

 gives it up to the black alder, which attains a height 

 of from fifteen to twenty feet. Beneath these in the 

 wet, springy soil, the skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus) , 



