256 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
species of ground you ehter, search well for the borings, 
or, as some term them, “spikings” in the ground. These, 
you are aware, are small holes, like worm holes, or rather 
of a triangular shape, sometimes in clusters, directed fre- 
quently at the foot of a tuft of grass or tussock, and made 
by the bird with its bill, while seeking for acorns beneath 
the surface of the ground. The object of this is argued by 
persons differently. Some say the bird lives by suction, 
that is, by some nutritive substance drawn from the earth 
by means of its bill; others, that the bird, being governed 
by the sense of touch alone, drives its bill into the ground 
and remains in that position until it feels the worm, when 
it is drawn forth and eaten; each of these positions may be 
partially correct; but my observation causes me to differ 
from both. There is no doubt, the sense of touch, hear- 
ing and sight, are all employed by the bird in the attain- 
ment of its food; perhaps the two former more frequently. 
The latter cannot avail, when the objects searched for by 
the bird, are placed beneath the surface of the ground. 
The operation of boring, or spiking, is done by the bird, 
by sticking its bill with all its strength into the mud suc- 
cessively, and then a pause ensues for a few seconds, when 
the same action is repeated; during this employment, the 
bird half spreads its wings, and at every stroke of the bill, 
gets up and also spreads its tail considerably; now, it is 
evident, that the bird, by thus disturbing the ground, ex- 
cites the earth worm to motion, which, perhaps, in its en- 
deavours to escape, finds easier access to the holes made by 
the bill, and instead of escaping, ascends to the surface of 
the ground, and thus serves as a repast to the bird. The 
woodcock is no doubt greatly governed by hearing, and 
directs its efforts towards those parts where it hears the 
worm perforating the ground. This opinion, Ithink,ismost 
reasonable, as we, who are more imperfect in that sense 
than many other animals, can hear insects boring various 
substances, especially the bottom of a ship, which is per- 
forated by myriads of the minutest insects; this accuracy 
of hearing is one of the perfections, but not an absolutely 
necessary part of our nature; but with the bird in question, 
it becomes a necessary part of its nature, inasmuch as most 
of its food is sought after in the darkness and stillness of 
the night; and it appears to be endowed by Providence 
with that particular quality as is suited to its circumstances 
or habits. These borings indicate the presence of the 
bird, and I would advise you to hunt every spot well, 
when such occur. When you spring the bird in clear 
ground, a little deliberation on your part will ensure you 
a successful shot: for the bird is neither rapid in its flight, 
nor strong on the wing, and a very slight wound will 
bring it to the ground. Should a bird come towards you, 
always suffer it to pass before you shoot. Should you 
spring a bird in a thicket, you will observe it will always 
soar to the tops of the trees, unless the wood should be 
open. In this case, you must wait until they have risen 
to their highest point before you shoot, or you will pro- 
bably miss your object. 
In the fall season, woodcocks are seldom seen in mea- 
dows, or open land, except it should be newly cleared land 
of wet bottom; but in maple swamps, and bush land, they 
may sometimes be found in abundance; at this period it is 
truly a valuable bird, and a small number will compen- 
sate for a day’s hunt; the finest bag of game the writer 
ever carried in one day, consisted of twenty-one wood- 
cocks, killed in the early part of November, in a large 
swamp, within ten miles of Philadelphia. I have heard 
of some sportsmen killing four times as man)? in a single 
day, in the early part of the season, that is in July; but I 
would ask any epicure, whether my twenty-one birds 
killed in November, were not more valuable than four 
score killed in the summer. It is not the quantity, but 
the condition of the game which makes them valuable. 
In the latter instance, an unnecessary wasteof life is occa- 
sioned, for not one-fourth of the quantity is ever used, and 
the satisfaction of bagging half a dozen of the splendid 
November birds, is greater than killing two dozen in July- 
Very small shot will kill these birds, say No. 9 or 10; 
but as you may encounter partridges also, I would advise 
you to use No. S in fall and winter, and in the summer, 
No. 9. A woodcock is a very nerveless bird for its size 
and appearance, although it sometimes happens, that when 
struck by shot, it will fly a long distance before it falls, 
and I have known them, even when mortally wounded, 
to move and settle as if unhurt; but it rarely occurs, if 
wounded, that it will ever take wing again; therefore, if 
you suppose you have struck the bird, you should follow 
its wake with caution, and you will stand a good chance 
to recover it, if wounded, without the necessity of shoot- 
ing again. I have no doubt many birds have been lost by 
inattention to this point. 
Snipe shooting is somewhat different and more diffi- 
cult, as the shooter must hunt through mud and water con- 
tinually; it is, however, more free from other obstruc- 
tions, but it requires much skill to be successful. Snipes 
occur in abundance twice in the year; the first season is 
from the middle of March to that of April, and again 
during the latter part of October and beginning of Novem- 
ber: these are the seasons for the middle states; but they 
are found much sooner in the year, and later in the fall, 
in the Carolinas and Georgia, and vice versa in the northern 
states. In the first instance, they are migrating north, 
and in the latter, returning south- They are poor on their 
first arrival in both seasons, but a few days rest on good 
