AMERICAN WOODCOCK 121 
shooting is to me a puzzler, unless it is because 
a woodcock permits a dog to take more liber- 
ties. ‘‘Make a sport easy and you have made 
it popular!’’ Shall we give the first honors of 
the forest to the Woodcock solely because he al- 
lows his destroyer to tread upon his tail feath- 
ers before flying from danger? That seems to 
be his chief claim to the distinction, for he is 
admittedly inferior to the ruffed grouse in 
brains, speed and power of flight, and in lead- 
carrying grit, to say nothing of his smaller size. 
To my mind there is no bird in America to com- 
pare in game qualities with our ruffed grouse. 
But perhaps I am not an unprejudiced witness 
in this case. I know that it will take a long 
course of treatment to cure me of the ‘‘par- 
tridge habit,’’ and once cured (if such a thing 
be possible) there will always be the danger of 
relapse. Right well I know which would re- 
ceive my attention if woodcock and grouse were 
to rise together before my dog. Many a time 
the thunder of the ruffed grouse’s flight has 
called me away from the woodcocks up into the 
birches on the side hill, leaving a fair chance 
of shooting ‘‘timberdoodles’’ for the much 
smaller prospect of capturing Br’er Grouse, 
