232 WILD -FOWL SHOOTING 



during harvest, to feed upon the corn-fields on the banks 

 of some of the larger lochs, and, when the stubble becomes 

 bare, return to the moor-lochs until these are frozen over, 

 which again drives them back. This is the only founda- 

 tion for the vulgar error. A day or two is generally 

 sufficient to freeze over these little lochs, and their occu- 

 pants then come down to the larger ones, the greater 

 parts of which remain open long after the storm has set in. 

 Now is the time for the wild-fowl shooter : if the ground 

 is covered with snow, so much the better. The fowl are 

 then in groups close to the shore, pinched with cold and 

 hunger, seeking shelter and a scanty morsel. If at the 

 same time it is windy, with drifts of snow, no weather 

 can be more propitious for ducks, widgeon, teal, and all 

 wild-fowl that feed at the margin. When the snow is 

 falling thick and fast, a capital sitting shot may sometimes 

 be obtained, though the ground be so bare as to offer no 

 concealment. In most cases, however, it is best not to 

 take the cover off your gun till the shower moderates a 

 little, as snow is so apt to penetrate, and make it miss 

 fire. 



If the weather be open, the higher the wind the better, 

 as it drives to the shore whatever fowl are upon the 

 loch, although until the frost sets in they will be com- 

 paratively few. 



The most auspicious weather for divers is one of those 

 frosty days, accompanied by mist, when the loch is per- 

 fectly calm, and looks like a mirror dimmed by one's 

 breath. You may then hear their plash in the water 



