and the Maritime Provinces. 409 



Probably forty coots to one hundred shells will be more than the average 

 shot will secure. As a matter of curiosity, the following list of birds other 

 than coots is given, which have been killed at Cohasset, twenty miles from 

 Boston. Old squaws, sheldrakes, shovellers, black ducks, redheads, black- 

 heads, baldpates, gadwalls, pintails, green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, 

 wood-ducks, harlequin ducks, brant, Canada geese, eider ducks, whistlers, 

 buffleheads, mallards, ruddy ducks, loons, grebes, auks, guillemots, and 

 other more or less desirable seafowl. In strong winds, boats are sometimes 

 anchored under the lee of ledges and small islands, and the birds are 

 much more easily decoyed under such circumstances, while the sportsman 

 has the great advantage of shooting in smooth water, and the birds are 

 much more likely to alight among the decoys. At times this is the only 

 way in which the fowl can be shot, as it frequently happens that the sea is 

 too rough for the boats in the open water. If the hunter is too adventur- 

 ous in this respect, he may suffer great discomfort and run great risks, as 

 drowning accidents are by no means uncommon. With good judgment, 

 however, and reasonable care, these risks may be reduced to a minimum, 

 and the sportsman live to a good old age like Harvey Whitcomb, of 

 Scituate, of whom it is related that he went out on his ninetieth birthday 

 and shot a pair of white-wings. Certainly there is no sport in the world 

 better calculated to impart vigor and health than this. 



White-Winged Coot. 



The result of a day's sport in shooting coots is a most uncertain 

 quantity. There may be a large flight of birds with very little good shoot- 

 ing, while, on the other hand, there may be few birds but they may decoy 

 well. Much depends upon the state of the tide, the direction and force of 

 the wind, and the condition of the atmosphere. At Cohasset, the largest 



