548 
president’s address. 
a record of his own and his companions’ doings meanwhile, 
but I find that his best day was only 15 couple, and 25 of 
them were Jacks. I was also surprised to find that the 
diaries of the late Rev. S. N. Micklewaite disclosed nothing 
over 12 couples as shot by himself or friends in a day at 
Hickling. Larger bags than these, however, were being made 
about the same time by the Waites at Hempstead, and in 
1868 my father killed 33 couple in a day to his own gun at 
Somerton. On September 28th, in the same year, Mr. 
Ash Rudd and Mr. F. Hylton killed 27^ couple on Ruston 
Fen, but one couple only of them were Full Snipe ; the Jacks 
had probably just arrived from over sea. The heaviest 
weights recorded here by Mr. Rudd are 6 ozs. and 6J ozs., 
shot on November 3rd and 8th, 1880. 
When the weather is very mild, Snipe occasionally drum 
during the winter, usually at evening twilight. I have notes 
of hearing them in December and January. Several Solitary 
Snipe have been killed on the common. 1887 was a great 
year for them, no less than five being shot here. 
Common Lapwings relying more especially upon the adja- 
cent arable lands for a living, seem to be more susceptible 
than Snipe to atmospheric changes, and generally leave us in 
the winter before the actual advent of severe weather. For 
instance, we had more of these useful birds about here last 
November than for several previous seasons, but by about 
the middle of December, the bulk of them had taken their 
departure, and thus escaped the sharp frosts with which 
the year ended. So long as open weather continues, they 
feed chiefly on the ploughed land and stubbles by day, 
but regularly resort to the marshes at night to drink and 
to wash their feet and beaks after their slug and worm 
hunting. 
There are at least three good stands for flighting Duck on 
the common, each place sufficiently far apart from the other 
as to admit of being visited by the sportsman two evenings 
