84 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE PHEASANT 



' Dictionary of Birds.' ' Formerly,' he writes, ' phea- 

 sants were taken in snares or nets, and by hawking ; 

 but the cross-bow was also used, and the better to 

 obtain a "sitting shot," for with that weapon men had 

 not learnt to shoot flying, dogs appear to have been 

 employed in the way indicated by the lines under an 

 engraving by Hollar, who died in 1677 : 



The Feasant Cocke the woods cloth most frequent, 

 Where Spaniells spring and pearche him by tlie sent.' 



The foregoing pages have, I think, accounted for 

 most of the old-fashioned methods of fowling for 

 pheasants ; but there can be no doubt that other 

 ' wrinkles,' if they deserve the name, are to be picked 

 up occasionally in rural districts by those who can win 

 the confidence of our English peasantry. I have often 

 had described to me the effect of steeping grain in 

 strong spirits, this ' doctored ' stuff being placed on 

 the feeding grounds of pheasants and other birds ; but 

 whether any serious credence is to be attached to 

 this I do not know. There can, however, be no 

 doubt as to the use of horsehairs for catching phea- 

 sants, though I have no reason to suppose that such a 

 device is extensively employed. 



My information was taken down from the lips of 

 an original sinner named Adam, to whom the serpent 

 came in the form of a small farmer, in whose service 



