THE PARTRIDGE. 103 



very deep, in the interior of the Atlantic States, Partridges be- 

 take themselves to the neighborhood of the sea-shore, where it 

 is usually milder, and the snow but seldom lays over a day or 

 two. There is also generally a great abundance of thick sedge 

 in such localities, in the depths of which they find shelter and 

 plenty of food. In the autumn of 1845, we met with great 

 numbers of Partridges in the sedge on the sea-shore, and wit- 

 nessed some excellent shooting by a companion, a memorandum 

 of which we took and published at the time in the Spirit^ and 

 now avail of this opportunity to transfer it to these pages. 



PARTRIDGE SHOOTING IN DELAWARE. 



BIRDS. 



Friday, Nov. 28 — Fair, but blowing a gale, bagged 42 



Saturday, Nov. 29 — Good day, but over the same ground 33 

 Tuesday, Dec. 2 — Blowing a stiff breeze, and over the 



same ground, with little variation 35 



Total 110 



Or within a fraction of 37 Birds per diem. 



Nearly, if not every Bird was shot singly, as we were par- 

 ticularly unfortunate in shooting into coveys, never having 

 killed over two at any one time, but most generally we tipped 

 the first two that rose when flushed. 



Since writing the above account for the Spirit^ we have heard 

 of some shooting that far exceeded this county in the number of 

 the slain; but I doubt very much whether the shooting in itself 

 was beaten, for, taking the state of the weather, the quantity of 

 Birds, and all other attendant circumstances into consideration, 

 we think there are very few of our crack shots that could have 

 done as well, and many we are sure would not have accom- 

 plished as much. The best shooting, however, or rather the 

 biggest shooting on Partridges that we have yet heard of, is that 

 of three gentlemen living in the neighborhood of Lynchburg, 

 Virginia, who bagged over one hundred Partridges each during 

 one day's shooting. This season of 1851 and 1852, Partridges 

 have been unusually plenty, more particularly along all the 



