DOMESTIC POULTET. 



the water. The dog returned along the hank, hetween the 

 reed-fences, and came out to his master at another hole. The 

 man then gave the dog something more to encourage him, and 

 the dog repeated his rounds, till the birds were attracted by 

 his motions, and followed him into the month of the ditch; — 

 an operation which was called ' working thfem.' 



" The man now retreated further back, working the dog at 

 different holes, until the ducks were sufficiently under the net. 

 He then commanded his dog to Ke down under the fence, and, 

 going himself forward to the end of the ditch next the_lake, he 

 took off his hat, and gave it a wave between the shooting. All 

 the birds that were under the net could then see him, but 

 none that were in the lake could. The former flew forward, 

 and the man then ran to the next shooting and waved his hat, 

 and so on, driving them along until they came to the tunnel- 

 net, into which they crept. When they were all in the man 

 gave the net a twist so as to prevent them getting back. He 

 then took the net off from the end of the ditch and taking out, 

 one by one, the ducks that were in it, dislocated their necks." 



Duck shooting is another sport, once a very common and 

 lucrative employment, but of late years almost entirely gone 

 out of fashion. Profitable as the business may have been, 

 the life of a duck -shooter was anything but an enviable one. 

 Only in the winter could it be carried on at all, and then either 

 late at night or very early in the morning, on wet, marshy 

 places, surrounded by the sea. The wild duck is remarkable 

 for the fineness of its scent, in addition to being exceedingly 

 wary and timid, so that "the duck-shooter could only approach 

 them to leeward, with a piece of burning turf in his hand. He 

 was obliged to have a pair of huge wooden pattens or he would 

 not be able to proceed a hundred yards without sinking up to 

 his waist. Indeed, so altogether comfortless and tiresome was 

 the sport, that, purely out of charity, many duck-shooters 

 would even deny themselves the company of a dog on their 

 expedition. To show how precarious this sport must have been, 

 an eminent naturalist, some years ago, wrote the following : — 



" On the Cheshire side of the mouth of the river Dee, runs a 

 ridge of three small rocky islands, called Great Helbree, Little 

 Helbree, and, at the southern extremity, at a somewhat greater 

 distance, forming the termination of the ridge, the Little Eye. 

 At low water, the passage between these rooks and the mainland 

 is entirely dry. At this time, therefore, those who were inclined 

 to take the chance of one single shot, for a second loading was 



