WOOD-PIGEONS AND WILD-FOWL _ 151 
they so soon become fly-blown ; and to take also 
advantage of each lull in the shooting to gather the 
fallen, for the same reason. I remember a farmer 
and a friend he took with him bagging a hundred 
and six pigeons in two hours, but all of them were 
shot while perched in an ash-tree at a range of 
about twenty-five yards. There was a single ash- 
tree in the hedge at each end of a large field of rye, 
which was considerably forwarder than any other 
corn in the district. 
One often may get very fair shooting which 
results in all the birds falling into standing corn. 
Even if the farmer does not object to his corn being 
trampled down to search for them, you will be lucky 
to find half the pigeons you get down. The only 
thing is to refrain from trying to score a right and 
left, and go straight for each bird as it falls. Rather 
than leave birds to rot, it is better to take up a 
position less favourable. Sometimes, by sticking 
up sheets of newspaper, you may turn birds from 
their way to yours. The following are what I have 
found to be ideal conditions for shooting wheat- 
eating wood-pigeons—a large favourite wood, at 
least a quarter of a mile from their feeding-field, 
with bare rising ground intervening, over which you 
can see approaching pigeons as specks against the 
skyline. It is good to watch these specks, and to 
wonder whether they will keep to their course and 
enter the field out of shot from your stand; or, 
