day, and closely huddled as they are. they are 
difficult for the dog to find. 
The sportsman, if wise, will now follow the 
example of the birds, and seeking the quiet 
of some sheltered sunny nook, will take his 
lunch and rest himself and his dogs. How- 
well we remember that pleasant .spring side, 
with the dogs stretched before us to catch 
the warm rays of the sun, their eyes furtively 
glancing at us, waiting for their share of the 
lunch ; the fragrant cigar, with pleasant jokes 
at our bad shots and untimely tumble, the gen- 
erous admiration of our companions’ skill, and 
talk about the wonderful working of the dogs. 
If the weather is very dry, do not seek the 
birds on the uplands, for Bob White, though 
no hydropathist, likes the vicinity of wmter. 
But if your hunt occurs after a rainy si)ell, go 
to the upland stubble-fields, and work your 
dogs along the border of the driest and sun- 
niest of the coverts. 
If it is windy and cold, the birds will be 
found in covert along the sunny lee slopes of 
the valleys, in the tall rag- weed and briers of 
the hollows, and on the sunny borders of the 
woods and hedge-rows. They will not now 
lie well to the dog, and when flushed will go 
like bullets into the deepest thickets. Should 
you hope to prevent this by getting them in 
between you and the dogs, you may often be 
mistaken, for in all likelihood they will spring 
over your head like sparks from under a 
blacksmith’s hammer, 'bhe shooting is now 
difficult, for you will have to turn rapidly on 
your heel as the bird passes over you, and 
drop your aim just under him 
while he is only momentarily in 
sight. 
If you had a fair day yester- 
day, but after a long spell of wet 
weather, and you returned home 
last night in a clear, cold, quiet 
air, you may expect to see the 
sunshine of to-morrow sparkling 
in the hoar frost which covers 
the ground and all the herbage. 
Tarry at home till the sun has 
nearly melted the ice off the 
meadows, for you will get noth- 
ing but wet legs by tramping 
the fields while the ground is 
iced and while the birds are yet 
huddled and have not spread 
their scent. 
When the dogs are seeking the 
coveys, let them range widely. 
When they stand the covey, do 
not exhaust yourself with haste 
in reaching them, but approach 
leisurely and quietly. AVhen the 
covey springs be very quick, but 
very, very steady, and do not fire till you 
are sure of your aim. Remember that it is 
your left arm and wrist that direct your gun ; 
so grasp it well forward on the fore-end, and 
not near the breech, as some do. You will 
thus be able to give your gun that quick and 
firm motion which is indispensable to skill in 
“ snap-shooting ” ; and all shooting at Bob 
AVhite is of that character. 
If it is your first shot of the season, and 
you are not gifted with a very steady nerve, 
you will do Avell to charge your gun Avith but 
one cartridge. By doing so, it is probable 
that a bird Avill drop to your first shot. If 
you had had two shots, you might have been 
too anxious for two birds, and thus have lost 
both. After two or three successes Avith a single 
barrel, try “ a double ” over the next point. 
Ahvays flush the birds yourself, for a dog 
hied on ” to flush may do so of his own ac- 
cord Avhen you are out of gunshot. At the 
springing of the covey, the dog must “ doAvn 
charge,” or “ drop to shot,” and in either 
case hold his charge till ordered to “hold up” 
or to “seek dead.” If he “break shot,” he 
Avill often cause you great vexation in the loss 
of shots by his flushing birds Avhich did not 
si)ring Avith their felloAvs, but which noAv get 
up in rapid succession, and before you have 
had time to reload. But a good retriex'er has 
his greatest pleasure in fetching a dead bird, 
and the intense satisfaction this act gives to 
him often causes him to lose his head and 
rush in on the report of the gun. The drop- 
ping to shot and retaining charge is one of 
