244 



LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



The great mistake that city shooters make in pursuing coast- 

 birds is in the size of the guns which they make use of. Partridge- 

 guns are not suitable for this kind of sport ; neither are the full 

 duck-guns the proper weapon. A medium-sized gun is the proper 

 instrument: it should not be too light, or the bore too small, and 

 above all it should be forged to throw the shot with great force at 

 long distances. When going along the inlets in a boat, keep a 

 bright look-out on the marshes adjoining the stream, and you will 

 often discover two or three suspicious-looking heads peering up 

 from among the high grass, within a short distance of the banks, 

 offering an easy shot to the marksman. We have obtained many a 

 good shot in this way which otherwise would have been passed by. 

 This bird is not the same with the Scolopax phaepus, or whimbrel 

 of England, as originally supposed, but proves to be an entirely 

 distinct species. 



