WOOD-PIGEONS AND WILD-FOWL 153 
A tall, isolated tree near the feeding-field (pre- 
ferably a silver-fir, through which you can see to 
shoot) is likely to concentrate the birds, which from 
about eleven in the morning till five in the afternoon 
are in no hurry to eat. Having done well at them 
coming to and going from such a tree or group of 
trees, without special attraction, you may get a good 
second innings if you fix a decoy or two high up, by 
climbing the tree or using jointed rods. A day or 
two’s peace in between times will do much to restore 
the pigeons’ confidence. This sort of pigeon- 
shooting does not last more than about a fortnight, 
since so many fields will have become attractive. 
Still, you may bag a good many pigeons, and help 
to lessen the damage they do to the uncut corn, 
especially where it is down or ‘lodged,’ by walking 
round the edges of the fields or up a furrow. The 
first shot you fire will put up pigeons in other parts 
of the field, but the chances are, if they do not 
notice you, they will settle again. By squatting 
down below the level of the corn after each shot, 
you may get others from each field round which you 
walk. Once I bagged a flying pigeon with a stone. 
It was a sort of double fluke, for until I had thrown 
the stone I did not see the pigeon. I had seen 
some rooks pitch where some rye had lodged, within 
a few yards of a low hedge. I crept quietly round, 
armed with the only stone I could find—one of 
those small light ones, like half a walnut-shell, that 
