56 A Sportsman at Large 



any kind of fish, in any water, depends entirely upon the 

 normal supply and quality of the food which such water is 

 able to provide. 



When the Christmas holidays came round the gun reigned 

 supreme, for my angling efforts had not risen to winter 

 fishing. The leviathan pike was beyond my dreams then, 

 nor have I ever enjoyed one of those gala days with Esox- 

 lucius, when fishing in ice-rimmed waters, wonderful specimen 

 of twenty to thirty pounds are often accounted for. In 

 fact, I may at once confess that a paltry fifteen-pound pike 

 is the best of its ilk that I have ever claimed for my own. 



I have already stated that the show of game on the home 

 estate was of a very modest description, even at the com- 

 mencement of the season. By the time December was 

 ushered in there was practically nothing to shoot at in the 

 way of legitimate game, so we had to fall back upon very 

 small " deer," such as blackbirds, thrushes (common or 

 garden and missel), fieldfares and red-wings. The two last- 

 named were fair game, and enthusiastically welcomed in 

 any numbers by old Mary, our " Zummerzetzheer " cook, 

 who served them up in many appetizing and dainty ways. 

 Personally, I preferred them plain roast and stuffed tight 

 with bread and butter crumbs, to which just a soup f on of 

 onion had been added. Believe me, sirs, a fat missel thrush 

 or fieldfare is something to smack the lips over, cooked and 

 served in the fashion described. 



In my boyhood's days the grass lands which lay to the 

 north-west of the Metropolis were a favourite resort of the 

 Scandinavian turdi. When conditions were favourable, large 

 flocks could be seen scattered over the pastures, busy gather- 

 ing their daily rations of earthworms, leather-jackets, wire- 

 worms and other obscene creatures. Wherefore, these birds 

 might be accounted real good friends to the farmer ; but I 

 sorrowfully admit that this did not save them from our 

 murderous raids on their flocks. It was only when a hard 

 frost rendered their food supply more than problematical 

 that we had any chance of bringing them into action during 

 the day-time. In open weather they had ever an alert eye 

 to mark our stealthy approach. 



