TWENTY YEARS' SNIPE-SHOOTING 309 



ground out. Oftener, however, I would begin on 

 the weather side of the ground, and beat across wind. 

 My beaters, if I had more than one, were then 

 both to leeward of me, the one next to me about 15 

 yards off and somewhat behind me, the other the 

 same distance from the first and a little behind him. 

 So, as snipe on rising generally fly to windward, I 

 got shots at the birds rising, not only before me, 

 but before my beaters. This would give me 

 longer shots, but more of them. In shooting up 

 wind — which, from the lay of the ground, I some- 

 times found it convenient to do — my marker would 

 walk on a parallel line with me, about 15 yards off 

 and well behind — the wilder the birds the farther 

 behind ; with two beaters, one on each side of me, 

 I walked well ahead. Indeed, I reduced the shoot- 

 ing of these grounds to a system (to which to a 

 certain extent was due my large bags), so as to get 

 each day as many birds as possible in as short a 

 time as possible." 



What these bags were like may be seen from 

 the following extracts from the journal which was 

 carefully posted up each day on return from shoot- 

 ing; the season commencing on November i, and 

 ending- about the middle of March. 



The best six consecutive shooting days, with a 

 rest between, were experienced in November 1874. 

 Thus: November 19, 207; November 21, 214; 

 November 23, 228 ; November 25, 301 ; November 

 27, 208; November 30, 256; total for the six days, 

 1 414. In seven days in December 1887 the bags 

 were 270, 255, 366, 271, 286, 233, and 262;total 1943. 



