THE FIELD.—SNIPE-SHOOTING. 265 
ing weary, losing them for a second, and never being again 
able to recover them. 
Few niceties of sportsmanship are less understood, yet 
on few does more depend, than on this art of marking. I 
never, in my life, either in this or any other country, saw 
an untrained person or a countryman, who was not himself 
a game shot, who had a conception of marking birds 
down; yet I never saw one who was not confident that he 
could always do so to a yard. 
Every bird has its particular method of alighting, 
which will be noticed under each head, and the motion 
which it makes, in order to accomplish this, is so clear, 
that it cannot by any accident be mistaken by a practised 
eye. This motion once seen, the marker may be certain 
that the bird has not merely flown out of sight but has 
really gone down, and he has only to note the spot, to 
which this motion has brought the bird. 
In the case of the snipe, the peculiarity of action can- 
not be mistaken. High or low, leisurely or swiftly, as he 
may be flying, as if he suddenly caught sight of a spot 
which suited his fancy, and made up his mind on the 
instant, he makes a short pitch from the direction of his 
previous flight, with his bill pointing earthward, half closes 
his wings, and darts to the place he has selected as swiftly 
and as straight as thought. 
In regard to hunting your dogs—observe these rules : 
Ist. Never do that yourself for which you would 
punish, or from which you wish td restrain them. If you 
become eager, and run on to retrieve a winged bird when 
it is running, you encourage them: to do likewise, and do 
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