Putting out decoys. 
Set sail by starlight in a “ scooter,” laden with duck decoys.— Page 524. 
say, is quite so successful for the purpose 
as shooting. Such is a man’s absorption 
that frequently one of us asks the other, 
seated scarcely a yard away, “Did you 
shoot, too?” 
A mile of the outer beach across the bay 
belongs to the estate, and here snipe and 
other shore birds of a dozen varieties ap- 
pear in their appointed seasons. In the 
woods near the house ruffed grouse are 
found — infrequently enough to be appreci- 
ated. And down in the rich black loam 
of the river banks, under low-lying al- 
ders, hides the elusive woodcock, often 
in considerable numbers, though when to 
hunt and where to find that most mys- 
terious and beautiful of all our American 
birds is usually a different matter. Oc- 
casionally even deer are seen in the 
woods, though no attempt is made to 
shoot them. 
That is a goodly variety of game for a 
country place within three hours of New 
York by rail, just a pleasant afternoon’s 
run by motor over roads famous for 
smoothness. Nor is this place stocked 
with game, except occasionally in the case 
of quail, when the winters have been too 
severe or the foxes and owls too prolific for 
the coveys to survive. 
525 
