150 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 



taste of its wheat mingled with lead ; and if you can 

 manage to get first innings at the first wheat-field to 

 which pigeons take a fancy, you may obtain sport 

 which neither yourself nor the pigeons will forget 

 for some time. So it is well, towards the middle of 

 July, to keep a look-out ; but do not disturb the first 

 few pigeons that visit a field : wait till they come in 

 streams. Sometimes pigeons are so keen on the 

 milky wheat (which they guzzle, husk and all) that 

 plenty of shooting may be had at any time during 

 daylight ; and it is well worth while, more especially 

 when having a first go at them, to be on the spot 

 from daylight to dusk. I have found, however, that 

 the favourite time for pigeons to feed in summer is 

 the hour on each side of six in the evening. They 

 come then in smaller bunches, with greater fre- 

 quency, and straighter and lower, than during any 

 other part of the day. Then, too, there is apt to be 

 a strong breeze, which, if it happens to be against 

 the pigeons as they steer for their supper, will help 

 the bag by keeping them low. 



I have had many an hour after tea in the summer 

 at supper-seeking pigeons, returning with as big a 

 bag as I could conveniently carry. I never had 

 time to put in a whole day, or I am sure that on 

 several occasions I could have got over a hundred 

 birds to my own gun, without using decoys of any 

 sort. It is advisable always to take some sort of 

 fly-proof receptacle for the dead birds, as otherwise 



