EFFECT AND SPREAD OF SCENT. 85 



was no cover ; besides, as soon as they got to my 

 level they would get my wind. My chance of a 

 shot being over, I made up my mind to study the 

 effect and spread of scent at a certain distance. I 

 reckoned that if they came on straight, they would 

 pass exactly 400 yards in front, with the wind 

 directly in my rear. They came on slowly, 

 exactly in the line I expected, and when within 

 about 100 yards of the point I had marked as 

 being straight down wind, the leading ram threw 

 up his head, sniffed the wind in my direction, and 

 set off up the mountain-side at a gallop, the rest 

 following. They were all good heads; but, I 

 consoled myself, no shot was better than a miss. 

 I verified the distance, and found that 80 yards 

 below the direct line of wind the Ovis had got 

 my scent, 400 yards from where I was, which 

 gave the spread at that distance 160 yards. The 

 strength of the wind was normal, the usual 

 draught, which blows down the valleys in the 

 morning and up as soon as the sun rises. 



