From Fox's Earth 



groups. There are our resident wild-fowl, which 

 both nest and winter with us ; the fowl which 

 winter, and do not nest ; and those in an inter- 

 mediate state, which mainly leave in the spring, 

 but drop a certain proportion behind to nest here. 

 A fourth group nest with us, and leave for the 

 winter, but with these I have no present concern. 

 The wild-fowl are mainly a northerly tending 

 cult ; certainly all those affecting sport. 



The common snipe is a resident, the jacksnipe 

 a migrant. The woodcock is in the transition 

 stage ; they go north, but a sprinkling remain. 

 So it is with the ducks. With some forms mi- 

 gration is local. Birds may shift about within the 

 country ; wintering in one place, and nesting in 

 another. 



Why should there be any migration ? Where- 

 fore should we be dependent for our winter stock 

 on the autumn flight? Is it not possible to 

 chain the errant forms ? Why not breed them 

 here? In the case of birds in the transition 

 phase, this should be quite easy. Every place 

 might have woodcock galore. But why not 

 jacksnipe? To the ingenuity that is peopling 

 the duck-ponds, the difficulties should not be in- 

 superable. All that is wanted is a beginning. 

 If fertile eggs may not be had, why not have the 

 breeders netted and sent south ? Those reared 

 here would be not unlikely to remain ; that is if 

 their parents were taken from them. 



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