162 WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES. 



former course, if sprung in the same direction. Should the 

 bush or tree be beaten on the opposite side to what it was 

 the day before, the woodcock has likewise a well-known 

 flight the reverse way. So certain is this propensity, that, 

 even in long narrow strips of plantation, every woodcock 

 flies to the side (unless prevented by bungling irregular 

 beating) a short time after being flushed the sharp fliers 

 a little farther on, and the tame proportionally nearer. 

 The flight of both can be easily calculated : and if there 

 are two pairs of experienced shots outside the wood, one 

 pair for the wild and the other for the tame birds, scarcely 

 any escape without being fired at. 



There are, however, many plantations, and these often 

 the most noted haunts of the woodcock, which it is impos- 

 sible to beat by the above methods. Few sportsmen would 

 even walk through some of our tangled coverts in the 

 Highlands, and shooting is out of the question, 



" Where, sunk in copse, your furthest glance 

 Gains not the length of horseman's lance ; 

 And oft so steep, the foot is fain 

 Assistance from the hand to gain." 



It is in such places that cockers and springers are of 

 real service. The woodcocks generally fly straight over 

 the tops of the trees, and drop down near the opposite 

 side of the covert. Sometimes they take the whole 

 round, and pitch close to where they were sprung. 



Should one of these large circular belts be placed on 

 the steep side of a hill, there is a capital opportunity for 

 taking a lesson in the tactics of this bird. By placing 



