THE RUFFED GROUSE. 297 
ravine also, but will dive up or down, as the covert may 
invite. ; 
When birds lie in narrow ravines, filled with good 
covert, by throwing the guns forward on the brow of the 
ridges a hundred yards ahead of the dogs, which must 
be left behind with a person to hunt and restrain them, 
and letting the sportsmen carefully keep that distance in 
advance, going very gingerly and silently, sport may be 
had; and so I think only—especially over slow, mute, 
cocking spaniels, for as the birds, after running before 
the dogs, will be likely to take wing abreast of, or per- 
haps even behind the unexpected shooter, who has thus 
stolen a march on them, and as they rarely, if ever, cross 
the ridges, but fly straight along the gorge, they so 
afford fair shots. 
For my own part, I do not consider it worth the while, 
as the law now stands, to go out in pursuit of Ruffed 
Grouse with dogs, where you expect to find no other 
species of game; for, in the first place, they ramble so 
widely, that there is no certainty of finding them within 
ten miles of the spot where you may have seen them 
daily for a month ; and, secondly, if you do find them, 
there is no certainty of having sport with them, but 
rather a probability of reverse. As an adjunct to other 
kinds of shooting they are excellent, but as sole objects 
of pursuit, I think, worthless. I have often blundered 
on them by chance while hunting for other game; but 
