20 tJPLAKD SHOOTING. 



corn and grain, and the dingy white house of the planter 

 gleams through its bower of fruit-trees, twinkling amid 

 the embowering elms, locusts, and oaks. There the mock- 

 ing-bird builds and sings and other sweet songsters 

 assemble, and every stubble-field repeats the soft whistle 

 of the quail; but there pervades the blight of malaria; but 

 on the sea-coast side it is much healthier, where the salt 

 breeze, blowing in fresh from -the Atlantic, fills the lungs 

 with healthful inspiration. In such latter place the bay- 

 snipe shooting can not be surpassed, and we have never 

 seen the curlew in such great numbers, whUe the wUlet, 

 plover, yellow-leg, and dowitch are ever abundant. These 

 haunt the meadow-lands that line the shore, and the 

 boundless acres of salt marshes, intersected with tidal 

 creeks, between the main-land and the sea; there also 

 resort the ducks in late fall, and a good boat, good gun, 

 and good aim are all that is requisite for good and ample 

 enjoyment. We have found the broad-bill (blue-bill) very 

 numerous in the lower parts of Chesapeake Bay, where 

 they are called "raft-duck." These fowls pass the nights 

 on the flats, in large flocks, and seldom resort to salt 

 meadows. Great havoc is made among them by batter- 

 ies, and we rejoice that the use of these destructive 

 machines are prohibited ta many places. Of all void fowl, 

 the most valued is the canvas-back, though we think 

 them not superior to their congener, the red -head. The 

 two fowl closely resemble each other in size and j)lumage, 

 and their food is identical, viz., the ■\'alisneria, or duck- 

 weed. They are very plentiful in IS^orth Carolina waters, 

 but the best ground for them geems to be the upper waters 

 of the Chesapeake. They arrive there about the middle 

 of ISTovember, and are then in poor condition after their 

 long flight from the North; but soon after feeding on 

 the succulent grasses, they acquire the delicious flavor 

 which makes them world-renowned. At such places the 



