476 



RECREATION 



in the treetops and passing the shells down 

 to you, or how lifeless seems the pond in 

 the woods where no bull-frogs croak and 

 dive, or muskrat's splash is heard as you ap- 

 proach, only to behold the ever-widening 

 ripples which started as he touched the 

 waters. 



If man had only treated the lower crea- 

 tures with more consideration and kindness, 

 what a paradise of interesting life, color and 

 music he might behold about him as he en- 

 tered the home of nature's creatures ! 



But now enter the woods and all is still 

 until some shotgun sounds the death-knell 

 of some luckless creature, that is deprived 

 of its innocent freedom in the glorious home 

 where nature placed it. 



It was a part of the forest, and when it 

 died some of the beauty and fascination of 

 the place was lost. 



A scientific man, not long ago, showed me 

 some fine photographs he had taken of va- 

 rious wild birds. One was of a grouse on 

 the nest, I remember, with her tail pointing 

 up the tree against which she had placed her- 

 self. You could scarcely distinguish her from 

 the rough bark of the tree. 



He told me how he went with his camera, 

 nearer and nearer each time, for several days, 

 so as to get her acquainted with such a 

 strange-looking object as a camera. 



By and by he took her picture, but left her 

 still undisturbed, to care for her little family 

 and let them add life, beauty and picturesque- 

 ness to the grove of nature, which is all too 

 bare through man's thoughtless depreda- 

 tions. 



NOVEMBER. 



BY MARGUERITE JANVRIN. 



November, month of clouds like banks of 



snow, 

 We greet you, sweeping o'er the sorrowing 



land, 

 For all the leaves are falling one by one, 

 Since autumn touched them with her magic 



wand. 

 The days are past when wand'ring hand in 



hand 

 With golden summer, over sun-kissed hills 

 We watched the sunset hues envelop all 

 The West, and dance resplendent in the rills. 

 'Tis sad to think that this can be no more ; 

 But still we welcome you with all your 



charms, 

 With hopes of future splendor, and the 



thought 

 That one more month lies 'tween us and the 



harms 

 Of snow-clad winter's rude and icy touch. 

 In sorrow we can watch the foliage fall, 

 Sorrow that .beauty thus should buried lie, 

 For winter's fingers close them in their pall. 



HOW TO FIND AND SHOOT SNIPE. 



BY GEORGE MAXWELL. 



There is no doubt that the best force in 

 which to sally forth for a really business-like 

 day's snipe-shooting is a select little party of 

 one. That is to say, one shooter, as of course 

 much time and labor will be saved if an intel- 

 ligent and taciturn man be taken to carry the 

 spoil and the lunch, and to handle the dogs. 

 A companion of this sort is, in fact, indis- 

 pensable, if only for the purpose of marking 

 down birds which spring when your eyes and 

 attention are directed elsewhere, and if the 

 right sort, he will not only greatly improve 

 your sport, but will supply quite enough con- 

 versation during the walks from one bog to 

 another — the only time when such a luxury 

 as an interchange of views should be per- 

 mitted. 



One hint only and then I have done with 

 our friend the 1'unch and game carrier. When 

 things go wrong, when either the game, or 

 your shooting, or your dog is wild, producing 

 a like effect on your temper, do not in your 

 first frenzy forget that in the first place it is 

 probably not his fault, and in the second that 

 the day's sport was begun entirely by your, 

 will and for your amusement. If for any rea- 

 son it ceases to amuse you, go home and do 

 not blackguard the man who gets no fun at 

 all out of the toil save that afforded by his 

 instinctive love of sport. 



If you prefer to find your birds with the 

 aid of dogs, and there is no more thoroughly 

 delightful form of the sport, let them be your 

 only companions, and you will gain not only 

 in bag but in peace of mind. Of course it 

 would be absurd to urge the advantages of 

 solitude for every description of country. If 

 your beat is wide, open marsh, two guns will 

 get nearly as much shooting as one, and if 

 naturally inclined for lonely wandering, will 

 gain far more in enjoyment than' are lost in 

 slain. 



Snipe ground is so variously constituted 

 that it is impossible to give instructions that 

 will apply in every case as to how it should 

 be negotiated. But it may be broadly stated 

 that whenever possible it is pleasanter, less 

 laborious, and far more profitable to shoot 

 with the wind at your back than to walk 

 against or across it. And this for many rea- 

 sons. In the first place, snipe, in common 

 with every bird that flies, invariably and of 

 necessity spring from the ground head to 

 wind, "hanging" against it for varying 

 periods, according as it is strong or gentle, 

 before they have obtained sufficient mastery 

 over it to enable them to get themselves un- 

 der way and their flight under control. 



Consequently, if you approach them down 

 the wind they not only rise toward you, but 

 for an instant, often only ^he fraction of a 



