206 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



twenty feet, as the case may be, circle about for an instant, and 

 then make invariably towards you or by you, and thus present the 

 very best shot that could be desired. 



When raining, snipes are very uneasy, wild, and difficult of 

 approach. 



Snipes always lie better in the autumn than they do in the 

 spring, as they are far more restless, and even shy, at this latter 

 season than they are when they return from the North, accom- 

 panied by the young birds, which necessarily are far less cautious 

 and timid than the old ones, and require more quiet to recruit 

 themselves after long nights. 



DOGS FOR SNIPE-SHOOTING. 



There are few dogs which we have ever had the good fortune to 

 meet with that can be employed with much success in snipe-shoot- 

 ing ; and, when the birds are abundant, most of our shooters prefer 

 going to the field alone. However, when there is sufficient cover 

 on the marshes, and the dog is accustomed to his game, snipes will 

 frequently lie well, and suffer a cunning animal to approach within 

 a few feet of them. 



The dog, however, must be very careful, and not too fast ; other- 

 wise he will overrun his game, and do much more harm than good. 

 The English, or rather Wilson's snipe, as every one should call it, 

 gives forth a strong game effluvium ; and it is no uncommon circum- 

 stance for a careful dog to draw upon one at a distance of twenty, 

 thirty, or even sixty feet. When the birds are very numerous and 

 somewhat confined, owing to the locality and small extent of their 

 feeding-grounds, we would advise a persevering shooter to leave 

 his four-footed companion at home, provided he is willing to travel 

 backward and forward over the cover and get all the birds up him- 

 self; for by so doing he will have a fairer chance to bag them than 

 if he had the best dog in the world; such, at all events, has been 

 our experience. 



A snipe dog should be stanch, and had better be too old than 

 too young, as hunting young dogs on these birds is very likely to 



