318 MANUAL FOR YOUNG SPORTSMEN. 
on the move, it is high time to be after them, since, if they 
fail to lie at first so as to afford a shot, they can probably 
be marked down, if not exactly to the spot, at least so 
nearly as to render it almost certain that they can be found 
again. 
The first thing in beating ground for quail, is, if it be 
by any means possible, to begin driving the whole range 
of country, which you desire to shoot, from the leeward 
extremity up wind, so as to give the dogs the advantage 
of having the air in their noses, which at least triply 
facilitates their finding and pointing the birds in good 
style; and also to increase the chance of getting a fair 
shot, since quail usually prefer flying down wind to facing 
it, especially if it be blowing a strong breeze. 
Where, from the direction of the wind, and the distance 
of the extreme part of the intended beat, it is not prac- 
ticable to drive the whole range from the leeward, it will 
still be advisable to enter all such fields as seem likely to 
hold game, and invariably all spots, whether high timber, 
coppice, low brake, or bog meadow, into which game has 
been marked down, in such a manner as to let the wind 
face the dogs, even if it be necessary to make a circuit in 
order to do so. 
The likeliest ground on which to find quail in the 
morning, while on the feed, is wheat stubbles, buckwheat 
stubbles, and cornfields, in which the maize has been 
topped in order to admit the ripening of the grain, and 
particularly such fields as lie adjacent to dry bog meadows, 
beds of bulrushes or cat-tails, as they’ are commonly 
called, from which the water has been drained or exhaled, 
