THE WOODCOCK. 53 



did not find them there last year, nor the year before, 

 for both years were dry, the loam of that field was not 

 turned up, and those little springs had not force enough 

 to reach the surface. Woodcock love a sunny spot to 

 lie in on cold autumn days, but the selection of this spot 

 is governed by their appetites. 



The slopes, covered with brakes and sapling pines, 

 are the choice of some; the knolls, covered with birches, 

 of others; the alder-patch and willow-covered interval the 

 favorite resort of others. When the season is wet their 

 feeding-grounds are more extended, and they more scat- " 

 tered, consequently it requires more tramping to secure 

 a bag. When it is dry they are harder to find, but when 

 discovered, are in numbers. A moderately wet autumn 

 furnishes the best woodcock-shooting, all other things 

 being favorable. 



In their autumn flights, I have found them on the 

 highest hills and in the lowest covers, under hemlocks 

 near large woods, and among the briars in the open past- 

 ure; and one day, while walking along a river, my setter 

 wheeled to a point among the rocks under a thin line of 

 alders; I walked up and saw a woodcock lying on a little 

 patch of sand, headed toward the hills. Telling my 

 companion to shoot, if the bird should start, I went down 

 the stream a short distance, then out into the shallow 

 water, stepping from stone to stone until opposite the 

 bird. I tried to flash it by throwing pebbles; it would 

 not flush, and did not, until the young dog, becoming 

 restless, rushed in, when with characteristic obstinacy 

 the bird turned and came straight over my head. My 

 companion dared not shoot, and in turning to get a shot 

 my feet slipped on the rocks, and into the water I went. 

 Apparently having accomplished its object, the wood- 

 cock, Avhen half way across the stream, turned, and just 

 as I arose, dripping from my bath, darted past me for 



