SNIPE SHOOTING 
It is not unlikely these birds had come from the contiguous warp -lands 
which were then mostly frozen, and which attract large numbers of snipe 
throughout the winter.* 
It is remarkable how the colour-scheme of the back of a snipe assimilates 
with the surroundings of withered grass and rushes, and how difficult 
even a dead bird is to see when it lies back uppermost. The buff markings 
and dark streaks so coincide with the colour of the stalks and dark shadows, 
that even practised eyes may be some time in noticing the little form, 
lying prostrate and fully exposed, without any artifice of concealment ; 
whilst a live bird, squatting close in some little hollow in the ground, 
is seldom seen unless the point of the bill attracts the eye. 
Like the woodcock, snipe possess the little pin-feather at the extremity 
of each wing, but whilst those of the former used to be in great request 
by water-colour painters, when a very fine and thin line was needed in a 
picture, those of the snipe were seldom requisitioned, either because they 
were deemed too small to be of use, or because their existence was un- 
recognized. For miniature painting they appear to be eminently suitable. 
When in pursuit of snipe over a large extent of bog or mountain, but 
little sport will be obtained without the aid of a setter which is staunch on 
snipe, and keen as well. Though these birds have a very strong scent it is 
distasteful to most dogs, and many will not acknowledge it at all, while 
few will eat the flesh of either snipe or woodcock. But some setters love 
to hunt for snipe, and are invaluable to anyone who is fond of snipe 
shooting, and has to seek them over a large area. When snipe lie well 
numbers of birds will be passed over, which would be found by a good 
dog; and on the other hand when snipe are wild, oft-times one will lie 
to the point of a dog ranging rather far ahead, and then, crouching low 
down, will not observe the approach of the shooter, but would have 
risen far out of shot if its attention had not been concentrated upon the 
dog. Setters are usually better suited for this work than pointers, for they 
are generally hardier, and can stand the wet, with more impunity from 
rheumatic ailments. The Irish red setter has deservedly a great reputa- 
tion, but other breeds of setters are often as good, and some of the best the 
writer has used have been black-and-tan Gordon setters. 
The surest way of inducing a dog to be keen after snipe is to take 
him as a puppy, at the very beginning, to likely places for finding a snipe, 
* This observation is entirely at variance with what has been observed by others ; snipe being very rarely found 
on tidal mud-flats, and then only singly or in twos and threes ; certainly not in such numbers as here indicated. It 
is more likely that the birds referred to were sandpipers of some kind. — Ed. 
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