A SPRINGE FOR WOODCOCKS. 
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“ Four woodcocks in a dish.” 
Love's Labour 's Lost, Act iv. Sc. 3. 
The woodcock, for some unaccountable reason, was sup¬ 
posed to have no brains, and the name of this bird became 
a synonym for a fool. It is to this that Claudio alludes 
when he says :— 
“ Shall I not find a woodcock too?” 
Much Ado about Nothing, Act v. Sc. 1. 
Again— 
“ O this woodcock ! what an ass it is !” 
Taming of the Shrew, Act i. Sc. 2. 
Shakespeare has many allusions to the capture of this 
bird by springe and gin— 
“ Aye, springes to catch woodcocks.” 
Hamlet, Act i. Sc. 3. 
In his “ Natural History and Sport in Moray,” Mr. St. 
John describes a springe with which he used to take both 
snipe and woodcocks very successfully. It was made as 
follows:— 
A 
A. Rod like a mole-trap stick, b. Short piece of stick, c. Forked stick with one 
end passed through the other, d. Straight stick, e. Bent stick, f. Hair-snare. 
