292 MANUAL FOR YOUNG SPORTSMEN, 
any consequences, the birds lie in the wide open meadows 
among rushes, bogs, waterflags, and the plant commonly 
known as skunk-cabbage, where there is not a bush or 
brake within miles, and are rarely found in the woods. In 
some districts, especially in dry weather, one must look for 
them in the thickest, deepest, and most tangled brakes of 
alder and even briers, where there is a muddy bottom; in 
others, they will be found in moist grassy meadow sides, 
where there are springs and rivulets, and patches of wil- 
low, alder, and other water-loving shrubs, and this is the 
prettiest ground in which to find them. Of this nature 
was the finest portion of my favorite old shooting grounds 
in Orange County, New York, and Sussex County, New 
Jersey, although that magnificent range contained lying 
of all sorts and feeding until late in winter. 
Again, in mountainous districts they love the swales 
and little valleys, both at the base of the hills along the 
water-courses, and those smaller hollows through which the 
little upland rills percolate through stones and gravel, 
leaving a rich alluvial deposit of black vegetable mould, 
rich with ferns and water plants. 
Lastly in level countries, near large rivers, as on the 
banks of the Wall Kyll in Orange County, and of the 
Passaic in the Big Piece, and at Chatham, they haunt wide 
open woodlands, where the great pin oak or maple trees 
stand fifty feet apart, and all the rich alluvial soil is free 
from underwood, but covered with succulent short grass. 
In very wet seasons, when all the low woodlands have 
been submerged and drowned with water, woodcock will 
be found on hill-sides among second growth and saplings, 
