218 lewis' AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



PLACES TO SHOOT RAILS. 



It is difficult to say wliere, upon the Delaware, Sportsmen 

 can find the most Kails, as every spot teeming with the Zizania 

 Aquatica is filled with these little Birds, and great numbers 

 are killed in the neighborhoods of Trenton, Bristol, Borden- 

 town, Burlington, Bridesburg, Gloucester Point, Penrose Ferry, 

 Marcus Hook, Lazaretto, Chester, &c. This latter place is, 

 perhaps, as good as any, being a convenient distance from the 

 city, and good pushers and boats are to be had without much 

 difficulty. 



EXPENSE ATTENDING RAIL-SHOOTING. 



This amusement is somewhat expensive to the Sportsman; at 

 all events much more so than Partridge-shooting. Good Pushers 

 command high prices for their arduous services, and few, if any 

 of them are contented with less than $2 50 or $3 a tide ; but 

 if they perform their duty well, we do not consider these 

 amounts too much, as their work is of the severest kind. If 

 the generality of them, however, drank less and pushed harder, 

 it would be a wholesome change for the better among this class 

 of men. 



Some of our friends who live upon the river in the vicinity 

 of the Eail-ground, take turns in pushing each other during the 

 shooting season, and thus enjoy in a quiet way this sport, with- 

 out the expense of employing " regular pushers." 



X 



MEMORANDA. 



Eails migrate regularly, as many other Birds, and pass 

 the breeding season in the North, and the winter in the far 

 South. 



2. These migrations are invariably performed under the cover 

 of night, and hence the mystery of their sudden appearance ; 

 they are capable of long flights, and have frequently been caught 

 far out at sea. 



3. Like the Eeed Birds, they are very partial to the seeds of 



