422 RAIL. 
on their long green leaves with avidity, a d wade in after them as far 
as they dare safely venture. They grow up so close together, that, 
except at or near high water, a boat can with difficulty make its way 
through among them. ' The seeds are produced at the top of the plant, 
the blossoms, or male parts, occupying the lower branches of the pani- 
cle, and the seeds the higher. These seeds are nearly as long as.a 
common-sized pin, somewhat more slender, white, sweet ‘to the taste, 
and very nutritive, as appears by their effects on the various birds that 
at this season feed on them. 
When the reéds are in this state, and even while in blossom, the 
Rail are found to have taken possession of them in great numbers. 
These are generally numerous in proportion to the full and promising 
crop of the former. As you walk along the embankment of the river 
at this season, you hear them squeaking in every direction like young 
puppies. If a stone be thrown among the reeds, there is a general 
outcry, and a reiterated kuk, kuk, kuk, something like that of a Guinea- 
fowl. Any sudden noise, or the discharge of a gun, produces the same 
effect. Inthe mean time none are to be seen, unless it be at or near 
high water; for, when the tide is low, they universally secrete them- 
selves among the interstices of the reeds, and you may walk past, and 
even over them, where there are hundreds, without seeing a single 
individual. On their first arrival, they are generally lean, and unfit 
for the table; but, as the reeds ripen, they rapidly fatten, and, from 
the 20th of September to the middle of October, are excellent, and- 
eagerly sought after. The usual method of shooting them, in this 
quarter of the country, is as follows: — The sportsman furnishes him- 
self with a light batteau, and a.stout, experienced boatman, with a pole 
of twelve or fifteen feet long, thickened at the lower end to prevent it 
from sinking too deep into the mud. About two hours or so before 
high water, they enter the reeds, and each takes his post, the sports- 
man standing in the bow ready for action, the boatman, on the stern 
seat, pushing her steadily through the reeds. The Rail generally 
spring singly, as the boat advances, and at a short distance ahead, are 
instantly shot down, while the boatman, keeping his eye on the spot 
where the bird fell, directs the boat forward, and picks it up as the 
gunner is loading. It is also the boatman’s business to keep a sharp 
look-out, and give the word “ Mark!” when a Rail springs on either 
side without being observed by the sportsman, and to note the exact 
spot where it falls until he has picked it up; for this, once lost sight 
of, owing to the sameness in the appearance of the reeds, is seldom 
found again. In this manner the boat moves steadily through and over 
the reeds, the birds flushing and falling, the gunner loading and firing, 
while the boatman is pushing and picking up. The sport continues 
till an hour or two after high water, when the shallowness of the water, 
and the strength and weight of the floating reeds, as also the back- 
wardness of the game to spring as the tide decreases, oblige them to 
return. Several boats are sometimes within a short distance of each 
other, and a perpetual cracking of musketry prevails along the -vhole 
reedy shores of the river. In these excursions it is not uncomm n for 
an active and expert marksman to kill ten or twelve dozen in a tide, 
They are usually shot singly, though I have known five killed at one 
discharge of a double-barrelled piece. These instances, however, are 
rare. 
