THE WOODCOCK. 319 
pears above the horizon. Their presence in a region may 
therefore be known by the position of the leaves or the 
borings in the ground. 
Ardent lovers of woodcock shooting think no bird af- 
fords such sport as their favorite, as luck and uncertain- 
ty enter into it to a large extent. This is true, for a 
man may find dozens in a region one day and not a single 
bird the next, owing to their erratic migrations. I will 
close this chapter by giving a recipe for cooking wood- 
cock. The bird should first be allowed to get “high,” 
but not too much so, and then be thoroughly cleansed. 
Leave on the head, as it is a delicious morsel, cover the 
breast with sweet lard, and then roast in a covered pan 
containing a lump of salt butter. 
