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The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain tha symbol — ^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol ▼ (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Lea Images suivantae ont At* reproduites avec le plus grand soin. compta tenu de la condition at de la netteti de rexemplaira film*, et en conformity avec las conditions du contrat da fiimaga. Lea axemplairae originaux dont la couvarture en pepier est imprimie sont filr ^.x> *Ji. Jo . Co-VIN(J-SUOOTING. Late in the season : — The same quantity of powder. « A card, a thick felt and a card wad. The same quantity of shot. A card wad. For covert shooting : — Increase the quantity of powder, or reduce the shot, A pink-edged wad over the powder, and A pink-edged wad over the shot. For heavy 12-gauge guns. Use J dr. more powder, and place the wads as recom- mended for late in the season. For a 10-gauge gun. For general shooting : — 3| -4J drs. Curtiss and Harvey's - No. 6. 3f -4 J drs. Pigou, Wilks and Lawrence's No. 6. 3{ -4J drs. Hazard's Electric - - 4 -4J drs. Orange Lightning - - 4 -4J drs. Hamilton Caribou - - A card and thick felt wad, or A card, pink-edged, and card wad, or Two pink-edged wads. The shot. A card, or Baldwin wad. No. 6. No. 6. No. 6. TABLES OF LOADS. 35 )t, a- Late in the season : — The same quantity of powder. A card, thick felt, and card wad. Or later : — A tight-fitting pink-edged, thick felt and card wad. The shot. For covert shooting : — Increase the powder, or reduce the shot. A pink-edged wad, or A card and pink-edged wad. The shot. A card and pink-edged wad, or A pink -edged wad. The above methods of loading will give good satisfac- tion, but the system is complicated, and the cartridges must be marked, in many instances, in order that one may know the quantity and kind of ammunition that he is using. You can simplify the thing by the use of *Eley's brown, blue and green cartridges, and know at a glance, the colour indicating the kind, which will be required for the occasion. For a 12-gauge gun I load as follows :— In a brown are put 3 J drs. of powder, two pink-edged wads; 1 oz, or \\ \ WINO-SHOOTINO. of No. 9 .shot, and a Baldwin wad. This is used for wood- cock and giouse in September, and quail in October. In a blue, 3J drs., a card, thick felt greased, a card wad; IJ oz. of No. 8 shot, and a card wad. This for snipe, grouse in October and November, and quail in December. In a green, 3| drs., a card or pink-edged, thick felt greased, a card wad; IJ oz. of No. 7 shot, and a card wad. This for grouse in December. To get the best and most uniform shooting, make use of the Field Method. In the Field Method the object is to have the wadding over the powder long enough to reach from the mouth of the cartridge case to the entrance of the true barrel, so as to prevent the escape of gas into the shot — the escape causing wild shooting. The Field Method. The directions for loading 12-bore cartridge cases : " Obtain three kinds and sizes of wadding, which are made by Eley. 1. A thick wad of fine felt, pink on one side and grease- proof on the other, 11 J to Hi ; edge slightly greased. 2. A greased felt wad, carefully cut to 11 J gauge, and f to J an inch in length. f TABLES OF LOADS. S7 n, A ill In card wad, 12 g'-uge, so as to just fit the case. • h'h'ui pour in tlie powder, tlien introduce wad No. 1, witli tlio l)lack side downwards ; put on this the felt arid No, 2, and gently seat them together or sepa- rately, uwing no more pressUte than is needful for that puqioHo. A wad No. 3, is then dropped down, tli« nliot poured in and another of the same wads \tUmu\ on it." An ii»[irovonient is as follows : — Put No. 1, No. 2 and a looHCJ pink-cdged wad over the powder, and a card wad over tlu) nliot. The pattern in nearly every instance is very ri^^nlftr, and the penetration all that can be got out of a 12-y:au^« gun. By using 1 oz. of No. C shot in a full clioko-boro gun, with a pink-edged, a thick felt greased, and a card wad over the powder, one can make as heavy bagH upon ducks as the majority of his friends who are aniiiul with heavy 10-bore guns. Straight paper cartridges perform better than those rimnic»d dowti, but it has been found almost impossible to carry cartridges without being rimmed. For special whooting, when you wish to keep the cartridges straight, apply aHtiiall o o o o w !«♦« .1 :*l I: 7 ! ' It' IM ! mmm/m :»*.. :,-^'. K^'W^-**' ir •!^ WOODCOCK. 59 ter part of that month, and tliroujjliout the month of Oc- tober. During those months the birds are strong and vigorous, and fly with such rapidity, that he who makes a good bag may well be proud of the achievement. From an expe- rience of more ihan thirty years, I am firmly convinced, that if they were not killed in such large numbers in July, that we should almost always have an abundance in the autumn. I shall not undertake to give any directions or hints for the pursuit of woodcock in July and August, as I have mostly given up its capture during the summer months, and I hope that all sportsmen may shortly see the error of their ways, and defer the shooting of woodcock till the month of September, and then what fall shooting we should have when the birds are full-grown, and bold of flight I I will relate a little experience that I once had as it will go to show that whenever, by chance, woodcock are spared for a single summer, that they will greatly multiply, and consequently good sport must follow. For a number of reasons I remember the summer of 1854, the Cholera year, as it was a long, dry, and sickly summer, and sportsmen, through fear, had to remain at home : and it was the first time, in life, that I had been obliged to re- alize the sober side of it, as I was one of many, who had I . ' i 6a WING-SHOOTINO. IK i I to battle with the greatest scourge of this century. I re- member that July and August were hot and dry, but about the twentieth of August, the epidemic nature of the disease suddenly ceased, and about the twenty-fourth, I made up my mind to look for cock. Within a mile of my home was a nice little covert ^.vhere at the beginning of the season two or three broods could be easily flushed, but after the tenth of August, as a rule, not a bird could be found. Well, when danger from the epidemic had pas- sed, after having spent seven anxious weeks attending to and looking after the welfare of several hundred labour- ers, I was ready for sport, and on that afternoon I had it. From the excessive drought I fully expected to find a fair number of birds in this springy covert, but on fairly get- ting into it, I found that the covert seemed to swarm with them. It contained three depressions, of about tvrenty by thirty yards, and in each of these nearly a dozen were flushed. In three afternoons twenty-one couple were se- cured, and that was a greater number of birds than I ever remember of being taken out of that covert in any one season, and I attribute it to the drought, which caused the coverts in its vicinity to become too dry for suitable feeding grounds. After a fe w days a heavy rain set in and all the cock disappeared, but what glorious shooting WOODCOCK. 01 w« had tliat fall on tho great brown beauties ! The fol- lowing yoar, the last one that I was in that locality, af- forded tho finest cock shooting that I ever have had, and thin lino shooting I attribute, to a certain extent, to the fact that tho birds were spared in July and August the l)r Hi »» m 74 WING-SHOOTING. Hi RUFFED GROUSE; PHEASANT; PARTRIDGE. HABITS AND HAUNTS. I In almost every newl}'' settled wooded section of the northern portion of North America, ruffed grouse are to be met with. They are found along the sides of hills covered with hemlock, pine, cedar or beech ; in level por- tions of country lined by swampy thickets ; in dry swampy grounds, and the adjoining portions covered with beech or oak trees, the nuts of which they feed upon during the late autumn and throughout the winter. They nest in April, May and June, and bring forth their young in the same months. They produce only one brood a year, and the brood is usually hatched in May ; those hatched in June or later are late broods, and are late because the eggs laid early in the season have been destroyed. The brood usually consists of eight to twelve, and sometimes fourteen or fifteen birds, and mature very early. In very rainy seasons, many of the young birds are killed by the wet. They moult in August, and when the plumage is perfect, which is in October, the covey usually separates ; afterwards they are generally found singly or in pairs, but, in severe winter months, may often b ji'-'-' f x\s N 'i !t r»i HUFFED OROirSE ; PHEASANT ; PARTRIDCJE. 75 be found in companies of five or six. They are liardy l>irds, and can defy the snows of winter. In fine weather, or when the weather is cold, or when there is snow, they roost in the woods usually, upon the ground, each one by himself, and usually roost upon the same spot for several, nights in succession ; but when the weather is wet, they often roost upon the limbs of trees, sometimes three or four in company. The males predominate in numbers probably in consequence of the females so often falling a ])rey to vermin when sitting. It is a common belief among sportsmen, that the males greatly exceed the females in numbers, but on this point there is room for doubt, as it has been determined that the plumage of the present season's birds, male and female, is the same ; the ruff is smaller in size, but of the same colour and as dark as in the old male. Early in the season they may often be found in the mornings and evenings upon the outskirts of wooded lands, or upon the edges of dry alder swamps, where they run about and feed much like quail ; but as severe winter weather app^'oaches, the woods and their outskirts will be their constant resort. Towards the middle of the day they are almost constantly in the woods, or upon the outskirts of wooded patches sur- rounded by fallen trees and brush-heaps. They live on a 9 If- ^^\ 0 J: ? .! 'I I lli.—*mUrf- ■>.■■- T... ,. «..l.«n.l^-^.:.* --...^T-^.^.f .^ .^^^^ ,■>•».. y^^iK-y ^.^-. w^ 76 WING-SHOOTlNa. variety of food — grain, seeds, bcocnnuts, acorns, wild fruits, nuts, and, during the winter months, winter berries, the buds of laurel, spruce, iron-wood, soft maple, black birch and alder. When flushed they skim over the ground, or rise to about seven or eight feet, but when flushed in clumps of bushes, they rise twenty or thirty feet. After rising for the flight, they go straight away to the thickest portion of cover, but after the first flight, often lie well to the dog. [i ' 4 I* ii I GROUSE-SHOOTING. For many years I hunted grouse in a haphazard sort of way, and thought myself lucky enough to bag one or two. I liked the shooting well enough, but considered them too wild to give one much sport,yet in time I became convinced, through the success of a country lout, that the ruffed grouse is the game bird par excellence of all our birds. This fellow showed mc that he could flush a grouse some half- a-dozen times, and then shoot him while sitting upon the ground with a two-dollar gun. Some years ago I began hunting them in a rational manner, and having, in a measure, mastered their habits, haunts, and cunning, I have devoted the greater part of my shooting days, of late years, to their pursuit, and have come to the con- ORO USE-SHOOTING. 77 elusion that, in parts of the country where grouse may be found in fair numbers, they afford rare sport, and, at the present time, grouse-shooting seems to me " head and shoulders " above all other sport with dog and o-un, because he is the hardest to hit, the hardest to brinsr to bag, and the most wily of the feathered tribe of this country. * When iiunting grouse, you require a dog well up to his work ; he should work very carefully, and be satisfied with his points, as a rule, at long distances. I prefer a dog that is not a slow one by any means, as the country to be worked over must necessarily be large. I prefer a high-headed, wide-ranging dog; one that is broken to hand, as it is essential to hunt without speaking to youi' dog or companion. On the first of September the shooting season begins, when the young birds are nearly and often quite full- grown, and then may generally be found by those who are familiar with their haunts. Then they will be found in coveys of a dozen or more, yet a stray bird, usually an old male, may often be flushed. The first flight of the covey is a short one, and is usually in a straight line from where flushed. By following them up they may gene- rally be flushed again in an irregular way ; that is, one 4 * f « I It? TfTf -— "'^"" - --^-- ^•i 78 WING-SHOOTING. SI •' tit. ■' |) or two, then five or six, and at last the remainder. Here a breech-loader shows off its advantages, as a number of shots may be had, provided the sportsman handles his gun rapidly, and works without speaking, as they often lie within a few feet of the gun even after it has been fired, when they rise at the sound of the voice. When they rise in this irregular way, they go in different direc- tions, and by marking the different lines of flight you may have an idea of their Jocalities, which will be within two hundred yards. By following them up immediately, or leaving them for half an hour or so, you raay, to almost a certainty, flush them again, singly, or in small com- panies of three or four. When the season is well advanced, say from about the tenth to the twentieth of October, they change their feed- ing grounds., especially if the weather be wet, when they resort to beech and oak ridges. Then they are usually found singly or in pairs, and will be harder to approach, often flushing before the sportsman is within shooting dis- tance. At this season of the year they frequently allow the dog to approach within twenty or twenty-five yards, when they run twice that distance before rising, and, in all probability are out of gun-shot. When followed up they will, as a rule, be found in comparatively open places: GROUSE-SHOOTING. 79 that is, they do not always, when the foliage is in the green and the weather warm, lie close in hidden covert, but end their flight by pitching down in any little clumps of saplings that may present themselves in their line of flight, or take to the trees. During the latter part of Oc- tober severe frosts set in, and then grouse lie much better to the dog, after allowing a good long steady point to be made, so that fair shots may be had, provided the ground be worked in a quiet way, and above all, that the sports- man hunts silently. Then, when flushed, his flight, in all probability, will extend over several hundred yards, and he will generally end it in one of two ways : first by go- ing directly to some cover, such as a thicket, by the side of a log, in a brush-heap, or in the top of a fallen tree : or secondly, by doubling back for a few yards, and pitching •down a little to one side of his line of flight. Then when flushed, follow the bird with your eyes on his line of flight, and follow on, endeavouring to find his hiding-place ; keep on his line of flight until he is flushed or passed; but if you suspect that you have overrun him, work back a few yards, ofi" and on one side of his line of flight, and then on the other if necessary. By following these instruc- tions it is quite possible to flush a single bird three, four, or five times, and it is quite likely for you to secure a few 4 $ I* if t 80 WING-SHOOTTNrt. i S !»* l! ' !■ 'I 'IN' brace. Now, in order to appi'oach within fair distances, when the season is well advanced, it is requisite that no noise should be made, and that your dog should obey you rather by signs than otherwise, as a headstrong, noisy brute is entirely out oi' place. In the afternoon, late in the autumn, grouse feed upon beech -nuts, and aie usually wild, because the ground upon which they feed is j'ather bare, that is, devoid of much underbrush, and the sports- man is readily seen. I have often seen birds upon the ground upwards of sixty or seventy yards away. Under like circumstances, I generally allow the dog full sway, and as he is a high-headed worker, the birds are scented at long distances. The instant that the dog winds the game, he works carefully, slowly, and steps lightly, often standing for a few minutes in order to catch the direction from which the scent is coming. The dog is seen by tho bird, which often runs to cover. In the meantime I re- main stationary until the dog makes his point, and then I approach slowly. In this way the dog and I generally approach within ten yards of the bird. But if the bird flushes wild, I endeavour to take his line of flight, which will extend over three or four hundred yards ; when he ends it, he generally goes to cover, such as by the side of a log, in a brush-heap, in the top of p fallen tree, or in a ^ GROUSE-SHOOTING. 81 thicket ; and when following him up, I endeavour to keep on his line of flight, yet I give any likely hiding-place a call, on my way, that lies near by. In order to attain good results, the work, at times, must necessarily be slow, and with as little noise as possible, yet it is often most tire- some to the wrists as the gun must be held " on the ready" for nearly the whole cime, as almost every bird is secured by quick shooting ; but the sport is the most exciting, the shooting the most difficult, and the work the most satis- factory of any that I have had any experience with, be- cause it is claimed that one of the great charms of sport is when success has been attained under special difficulties On the other hand, late in the season, T have often' travelled over miles of beech-ridges without finding a single bird, when I would resort to swampy grounds, and there meet with fair success. On these grounds you often require a companion, if not two. Such grounds are usually made up in this way : a piece of open ground, then a patch of alders or willows, or both ; in the coverts, the birds may be found. The dog may be upon a point, a shooter is upon the opposite sides of a covert; the third person goes in and flushes the bird. In December I have, many-the-times, made capital bags over such grounds, when I could not get a single shot upon others. a 4 4 4 9 f [ rn l: I I 'i 82 . WING-SHOOTING. In a fresh fall of snow, of a foot or more in depth, grouse have a trick of secreting themselves under the roots of trees, and under the borders of grassy plots in low swampy- grounds. In these localities, the only possible way to flush them is by the assistance of your dog through his scent. It is a mystery how the scent can be taken upon a bird entirely covered with snow, but such is the case. When the dog makes his point, walk up to him, pass him, and kick the snow in the direction that the dog is point- ing ; and after a good deal of time cut to waste, the bird from under your very feet v^ill make a rush, throwing the fine snow four or five feet in height, so that in all probability, it cannot b 3 seen until it has covered twenty- five or thirty yards in its flight. Occasionally I have made good bags under like conditions. The one great ingredient in successful grouse shoot- * ing, as in most all other shooting, is patience and perse- verance. The shooter, who follows his dog even to the most unlikely places, and sticks out to the last, usually, has the best chance. I am a sticker myself, and never like to give it up as there is often a chance of a bird or two, no matter how hopeless it looks. I have many a time had a run of luck at the last mo- ment, wlricli turned an indiflerent day into a good one. GROUSE-SHOOTING. 83 One of the last days that I shot last season was one of the best instances of this, that has happened to me for many a year. There had been rain, the birds very wild and mostly on the trees. A bird arose here and there, out of all range, not allowing tlie dog to approach within fifty yards. Evening came on ; I went to the outskirts of the woods, trying the underbrush and brush-heaps, here and there ; at dark or nearly so, the dog came to a point near a fallen tree-top, surrounded by beech .saplings. I went on the far side of the heap, leaving a companion behind the dog. We scored seven grouse, certainly within two minutes, having secured only two during the entire day. It was a big hand, and we played it straight, but it was a marvellous streak of luck. Ruffed grouse and quail in December are much alike, as in that month quail are wild, often rising at first out of shot ; but, by sticking to them, good sport in the end may often be obtained. These two birds, late in the sea- son, begin wild ; but, by following them up as long as there is a chance of obtaining sport, end by becoming tame, and often afford easy shots; yet in the case of ruffed grouse it requires a good deal of perseverance on the part of the sportsman, and caution on the part of the dog, to make a good bag. J: f 84 WING-SHOOTING. HOW TO SHOOT GROUSE. I ' ' I « ■ t • t * * The fault with many sportsmen is either shooting too hurriedly, or dwelling too long, but there is a happy medium in the time for firing. As the bird flushes, the gun should be " on the read)/," and as it jumps twenty or thirty feet in the air, the gun should be carried with the bird until the bird reaches its height before moving forward, that instant the gun should be fired. When the bird rises seven or eight feet, the gun should be placed upon the bird, a quick and decided aim taken high on the bird at the instant of firing. When the bird presents a cross shot, due allowance should be made for the velocity of flight, rise of the bird, and fall of the shot. At cross shots, the muzzle of the gun should be placed ahead of the bird, from one to five or six feet, according to distance ; and the motion of the gun should be kept up, even after its discharge. When a bird hugs the ground in its flight, the gun should be carried high on the bird and raised somewhat over the bird, so that when the bird is lost to view, the gun should be fired. [A bird, pitching from a tree presents one of the most CHARGES Foil QROUSE-SHOOTING. Si difficult shots possible, and the only chance of hitting him at all is to place the muzzle of the gun upon the bh-d, de- press it from two or three to five or six feet, according to distance, at the instant of firing. CHARGES FOR GROUSE-SHOOTING. Early in the season, [ use a 12-gauge cylinder gun, and load the cartridges as follows: — 3J drs. of Hamilton Caribou, No. 5 powder. Two pink-edged wads. IJ oz. of No. 9 shot. And a Baldwin wad. * Late in the season : the same gun is used, the same quantity of powder retained, but the wadding is changed as well as the number of the shot. Over the powder are placed a card, a thick felt greased and a card wad; 1 J oz. of No. 8 shot, and a card wad. During the latter part of November and throughout the month of December a full choke-bore gun is preferred, and the loading is as follows : — 31 drs. of Pigou, Wilks &; Lawrence's Alliance, No. 4 powder. The Field Method of loading, with 1 J oz. of No. 7 shot. i if 4 I 86 WINQ-SHOOTING. i> SYNOPSIS. '1 i ir> i 'i Thfen, in the month of September you are very likely to find ruffed grouse in the mornings and evenings upon the edges of thickets, alder bottoms, and swampy grounds where woodcock make their haunts ; and upon other parts of the day in ravines through which small water-courses run. In the early part of October, you may expect to find them upon the same grounds, but later on in the month, upon more open grounds, upon hill-sides, in beech woods, and upon late woodcock-grounds. In November and December, they usually travel over a large extent of country, changing their grounds frequently, but stick more to high and dry grounds, except swamps that are comparatively dry, where there is often an abundance of food ; and on such grounds, I have often got my best shooting at this season of the year. The same applies to swamps that are filled with water, but are frozen over. In order that you may keep up the stock over the same grounds year after year, make it a rule to always leave a sufficient number for that purpose. I know of a few localities where this practice has been adopted, and the same success has attended my shooting exploits, year after year, in those localities where the timber has not been materially reduced. i r*\ f I i f If 1 h .*> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ?. ^ jY/// • -fc W << ^'^ « i&? u. 1.0 I.I IfflM IIM I "- IIM Ill 1-8 L25 ■ 1.4 mil 1.6 V] 88 WING-SHOOTTNO. I I winter, followed by a dry hatching season, quail appear to come through the winter with a smrJl percentage of deaths, ana the greater part of the young arrive at maturity as the following autumn affords more birds, and better sport than has been known for years. Habits and Haunts. — Quail roost in bevies upon the ground, in a circle with their heads outwards ; the roost- ing-place is generally in a cleared, or stubble-field, or bush-pasture ; or in open woods, or by the edge of a swamp ; but they are not very apt to roost in the same field where they habitually feed. It is a bird of rapid flight, and perhaps no game bird, except the ruffed grouse, flies more rapidly when full grown, and fleeing under fright. If the day be fine and clear, the birds will be found feeding at an early hour ; if wet and cold, they come out late ; if rainy, they go to the woods, not coming out till towards evening. If the weather be dry and warm for several days, they will be found in the vicinity of water; bvit if wet, in the stubble-fields and oush-pas- tures. If the weather be windy and boisterous without rain, they will generally be found in the edges of close coverts, or on the sides of high rising grounds. When beechnuts are plentiful they may often be found in the woods. They usually feed until about eleven o'clock, and QUAIL. 80 then remain quiet for two or three hours, resorting to some favourite hiding-place, such as a thicket, turnip- field, corn-field, fallow-field, grass, or clover-fieid ; they may often be found by the side of the trunk of a fallen tree, or in the branches of a tree top, or on the edge of a wood, or in a bush-pasture. When feeding they may generally be found in wheat, sometimes buckwheat fields, in turnip or corn-fields, along the hedges, by fe. ^es streaked with brush and grass as they return from their feeding grounds. During the month of December they go to bushy swamps that have become frozen over, and along streams lined by thickets. About three o'clock they run about and begin to feed, and then may be found upon the same grounds where they were found in the morning. Enemies.~Q\ia.il have many enemies, such as the mink, the fox, the hawks, but the skunk is the greatest enemy to quail, except the very cold winters with much snow. The skunk is a great egg-destroyer, and is doubtless the cause of so many nests being broken up early in the season. The males predominate in numbers, probably in conse- quence of the females so often falling a prey to vermin when sitting. If sportsmen would make a dead-set 90 WING-SHOOTING. f against vermin, and the skunk in particular, there would be an increase of game. When shooting, every sports- man should have with him three or four cartridges for a special purpose — that pui-pose, the destruction of hawks. QUAIL-SHOOTING. At the beginning of the season, quail -shooting is an easy affair as compared with it later on ; the birds are young, fly slowly and steadily, dropping down after a short flight, in long grass, briers, or any covert that pre- sents itself in the line of flight. Then, early in the sea- son it does not require much skill to bring down a young quail which flies in a straight line, and which is not strong enough to fly very swiftly. But what a difference at the end of the season. Then quail fly very fast, often twisting and curving just in the nick of time to save their feathers. If a bevy is lost early in the season, after having been marked down, you may come to the conclusion that you have overrun it, and it lies just where it was seen to alight. You will find it add very much to your success by sticking to a bevy so long as theie is any chance of finding gamii, and never leave the birds for the idea that more may be fotind elsewhere ; but make it a rule to al- ways spare a fair number for stock. .S^^ QUAIL-SHOOTING. 91 Wiien you fail to find birds on aground that you know to harbour a bevy, you may be successful by working the same ground again ; in this instance, work out carefully every portion that contains high grass, weeds, or briers, and especially look over every fallen tree, and every fence comer, as they lie close together, so that both you and your dog may pass by without disturbing them. When your dog is on a point, walk up slowly until you get your position, and, as the birds rise, do not fire too soon as the shot requires distance to spread, and the birds are continually rising. In order to make sure of hitting at all, you must fix the eyes steadily upon one bird at a time, and the instant that it begin* to fall to the first bar- rel, fix the eyes upon another ; or if the bird is missed, fire the second barrel at the same bird, lest it should go away wounded. After firing, cast your eyes in the direc- tion of the bevy ; just before alighting you will perceive that the birds will give a sudden flap to their wings, which at the moment of pitching is often seen after the birds have been lost sight of. Before moving, cast your eyes upon the suspected spot or spots where the bird or birds fell, as a bird on falling dead requires a careful marking, because of their being but little scent to assist the dog in finding it, except within a short distance of where it fell. WING-SHOOTINO. Whenever a bird halts the instant that it is shot at, or the legs of the bird hang down, or if the feathers fly, it should be accurately marked down, and immediately followed up, and searched for. A wounded quail should always be fol- lowed up at once, and worked for, for a reasonable length of time, till found. Not unfrequently, on being flushed, a bevy drops into long grass where the groilnd is flooded in the spring and autumn, and here the grass grows in tufts about f. foot in diameter ; the cover is so peculiarly grown, that the birds drop into a hiding-place at once, and do not move after alighting, so that the dog is unable to wind them, except by passing directly over them. Here is an instance where quail are believed to withhold their scent. Where met with under similar conditions, you may go over the ground carefully without flushing a bird ; but by kicking each tussock, every bird will arise singly, and it will be ycur fault if a good account is not rendered, as they present the easiest shots possible ; you must take time by allow- ing the birds to go sufficiently far to have the shot spread, or you may overshoot, and be rewarded by a succession of clean misses, or have your birds badly mangled ; then by keeping cool, you do not mutilate your birds, and instead of being a ragged mass of flesh and feathers, you have QUAIL-SHOOTING. f)3 game to be proud of. Again, a bevy may drop upon un- even ground well covered with long grass or small bushes, or along the side of a fence lined with cat-brier or black- berry bushes ; and here you may be unable to raise a sin- gle bird, after going over the ground again and again, be- cause the dog is unable to wind them, except by passing directly over them. Under like circumstances, sit down, or beat another fieJd, and return in fifteen or twenty min- utes, when the dog will readily find them, as they have moved and given out their scent. You can often persuade them to move by imitating the call of the old bird, but before doing so it is necessary to leave the spot for a time. Early in the season, after nine and before eleven o'clock in the morning, it is a good plan after having flushed a bevy, and marked it down in good cover, to go over the feeding-grounds near by before following up the birds, be- cause a gooH deal of time would be cut to waste, and any other bevies in that vicinity would have gone from their feeding-grounds, and hidden away in some covert where it might be no easy matter for your dog to find them. When the birds are full-grown, they are strong on the wing, take long flights, and usually go to the wood.«, under-brush, or brush-heaps. When followed to the ,fr 94 WINU-SHOOTINQ. woods, they may generally be found in and about the tops of a fallen tree, along the sides of a log, or in and about a brusli-heap. Here they will often give the sportsman a number of shots, by one or two rising first, then the greater portion of the bevy, and at last, one or two more, affording sufficient time, if caution be used, for a breach- loader to be charged two or three times. Finally, when the bevy is lost, you can get a few more shots by going about seventy or eighty yards from where you suspect the birds are. Then sit down, remain silent for ten or fifteen minutes, and begin to give the call of the old bird. Give it once, twice, then three times at in- tervals of a minute or two, and in all probability, you will be answered by several of the scattered bevy. Shortly after they begin to call they begin to move and approach each other, and in a short time will be together ; do not wait too long, but when sure of the locality of the several answers, then go quietly to each, and you will be rewarded by a shot ; but under like circumstances you must be " on the ready " as the birds are not now hidden, but are in comparatively open places, and ready for a spring. Late in the autumn and early in the winter, their flights are long and swift, and then they are often hard birds to kill, especially in December when the ground is covered 1 g'JAIL-SHOOTINO. 1)5 with snow, as at this season of the year they become very wild, and are difficult of approach. The first flight is a long one, and it hi invariably to the woods, but by mark- ing the line of flight, although the bevy may disappear from view, a persevering sportsman, accompanied by a cautious dog, may generally find the birds by hunting for two or three hundi-ed yards, more or less, beyond where seen last. The second flight will be long, although not as long as the first, when they will scatter,and lie much better, afford- ing a number of shots. Here you have the birds driven into the woods for protection and shelter, and as you ap- proach the frightened bevy, they by ones, twos, and threes fairly jump into the air, and dart off" with great velocity; and in order to bag the birds, the shooting must be de- liberate and steady, and the gun must be well held on, as they require hard hitting ; and in order to make double shots, it requires extremely good shooting. With snipe, woodcock, and sometimes ruflfed grouse, the oftener they are flushed the less will be the chances of bagging them, but with quail, late in the season, the con- trary is the rule as they seem to tire after a couple of long flights, and often rise close to your feet ; in fact, be- ginning as very wild birds at first, they often end by be- ' 1 i 96 WINQ-SHOOTINO. coming tame ones at last. When hunting quail, work the dog against or across wind, and late in the season hunt as silently as possible. The chief qualifications of a first-rate quail-dog are, that he should possess a high degree of speed, should work altogether for the body scent, and should have a good nose ; yet many a dog, that does not possess these qualifications in a high degree, seems !.a do well enough, as he finds lots of birds, and is the means of giving his master good sport, which is owing, in part, to the fact that the quail goes anywhere and everywhere, and at the same time gives out a strong scent. In damp or wet weather, or even on cloudy days, quail do not lie well to the dog, but run and stop, and repeat that manoeuvre several times before rising ; during such weather, after being flushed, instead of remaining where they alight, they are apt to run also. Many years ago I saw the following directions given in one of the sporting journals, for hunting quail : — " On a hot, calm day, scent lies very badly, only hunt in the morning and late in the evening. At other hours your dog cannot smell the game. " On a hot, windy day stay at home. " On a warm, sunny day hunt near the ditch banks and water-courses. CHARGES FOR QUAIL-SUOOTINO. 97 " On a cold day hunt southern exposures. " On a windy cold day hunt the leeward .side of the woods. " When the wind is north-west, and it is freezing, hunt a fire side, for your dog cannot smell a foot from him. " On a rainy day, hunt in the ditches and briers. "On a cloudy or grey day, hunt anywhere, and ;'"i will find them ev^crywhere." CirAItOilS Foil QL'AlL-SIIOOTINa. Early in the season I prefer a cylinder 12-gaugo "un, and load as follows : — 3| drs. of Hamilton Caribou, No. 5 powder, two pink- edged wads ; 1 oz. of No. 9 shot, and a Baldwin wad.. Late in the season as follows : — 3i drs. of Pigou, Wilks t Lawrence's Alliance, No. 4,. a card, a thick felt greased and a card wad; IJ. oz. of No. 8 shot, and a card wad. Throughout the month of December I prefer a choke- bore 12-gauge gun, and like to have the cartridges loaded according to the Field Method with No. 8 shot. At the last of the season many quail are lost by falling dead out of sight ; but when the cartridges are loaded according to the Field Method, the birds usually drop stone-dead. h w^- WING-SHOOTING. A reason why a light choke-bore is preferable to a heavy one, is that the birds are wild, flush at long distances, and a light close-shooting gun is more effective, because it can be held " on the ready " more easily, and tossed in posi- tion more readily. In fact what is required for this game in winter is quick, hard, and straight shooting. SYNOPSIS. Then, when the weather is fine and clear, begin your work at an early hour in grain-fields, and work them over until ten or eleven o'clock ; from that time till three or four o'clock, work out corn-fields, turnip-fields, thickets, fence-sides, streaked with cover, fallow-fields, and grass lands coni.iining creeks, and look over bush-pastures dot- ted with patches of standing trees, fallen trees and brush heaps. After three or four o'clock, return to the same grounds, or similar ones to those worked over in the morning. During cold and windy weather, work out the edges of thickets and hill-sides with a southern exposure. If the weather h'e dry and hot look over the edges of swamps, the sides of streams lined by weeds and bushes 5 but if wet, go to the dry woods and high grounds. When beechnuts are in abundance, work out beech ridges, and broken grounds adjoining. In the month of December, SYNOPSIS. 90 when thick ice has formed, and the ground is covered with snow, turn your attention to weedy fields containing stooks of corn, patches of thickets, and bushy swamps. " ADVERTISEMEN iim MERCHANT TAILOR,' 77 DUNDAS STREET WEST, THE LARGEST ASSORTMENT OF IMPORTED GOODS TO BE FOUND WEST OF TORONTO. SPECIAL ATTMTIOS PAID TO SHOOTIUG SUITS UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE GP THE CELEBRATED CUTTER, nilR. JAMBS laEIVIffOX. Sportsmen are respectfully invited to inspect our Stock before giving their orders elsewhere. JOHN GLEN, PROPRIETOR, ADVERTISEMENT '.f 111 A. S. MURRAY & CO. 493 RICHMOND ST., LOIsTZDODSr, OITT., FOR SILVERWARE, CUTLERY, AND FINE JEWELERY, ESTABLISHED NINETEEN YEARS g 3 I ^ i I 1^ a $ I Tte largest and finest selected stock in Ontario to choose from. Single Tea Pieces, Water Sets, Candelabras, &c. A beautiful display in the new Show Rooms. A. S. MURRAY & CO. ADVERTISEMENT ). Single CO. OF Ix\TEUEST TO SPORTSMEN. In order to have a pleasant and successful day's sport, with either rod or «un, all your equipments should be of the best. Having been well instructed in the preceding pages on what are considered the more important r.itters, let us turn for a moment to other details which often make or mar rur sport. All old sportsmen well know how much longer they can stand fangue, and even hunger and thirst, by having a little good tobacco handy. As a rule all good sportsmen chew Globe Fine Cut, than which there is no better made in the world. But all may not as yet have learned that the same enterprising Corporation that supplies Globe Fine Cut to its millions of consumers has invented and placed on the market in Canada and the United States a fine brand of Smoking Tobacco known as " &old Flake Out Plug," This smoking tobacco has propeities which make it peculiarly pleasant and useful to the sportsman :— It is cut ready for use. It is packed in compact, handy, foil packages. It is made from the best Virginia leaf It smokes cool and pleasant to the last. It does not parch or dry the throat. It lasts longer than ordinary tobacco. It holds its fire in the fiercest wind. It is perfectly pure and wholesome, and can be smoked ad libitum, without injury. It is now for sale in nearly all parts of the United States and Canada, and v431 be supplied to sportsmen through the mail, pre-pa-M to any address, on receipt of the retail price, 25 cents per 1-4 lb. or $1. per lb. in postage stamps or currency. It is made and w^arranted as represented by the GIiOBB TOBAGGO GO.^ WINDSOR. ONT., and DETROIT. MICH. !<■ ; 11 '■¥. ADVERTISEMENT. ©7X0 1® IBA^& ESTABLISHED 1§46. MITCHELL & PLATT, Manufacturing Chemists, AND nirORTEKS OP Drugs, Chemioafs, Surgical Appliances, Surgical Instruments, Trusses, Elastic and Rubber Goods. We select tlie liost Dnign, as regards quality and condition, which the market affordn. New Keineilien are constantly being introduced by us. 114 Diiiidiis Siivet, North ^ide, London, Ont. PATENT MIDIC*NI8 SOLD AS LOW AS ANY HOUSE IN THE TRADE. REMEMBER THE ADDRESS, MrTCIIELL & PLATT, DUNDAS STREET, - - LONDON, ONT. . ADVERTISEMENT Jforcst anb Stream, |lob anb i&m, THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN'S JOURNAL, A TWENTY-FOUR PAGE WEEKLY PAPER, DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OP Gentlemen Sportsmen and their Families. Its Departments are in the hands of competent Editors, and treat of SHOOTING, ANGLING THE KENNEL, FISH CULTURE, NATURAL History, ' the rifle, YACFITING & CANOEING, ARCHERY. The well-filled pages of the Forest and Stream contain carefully written and impartiaf Reports of all Important Events, entertaining Sketcliea of Sporting Travel and Adventure, descriptions of the Haunts and Habits of Game, the Field Experiences of Sportsmen in every part of the country, and a vast fund of Practical Information for Practical Sportsmen. The Foxiest and Stkeaji has more correspondents than any other paper in America. The nurabc'r of those who contributed to its cohunu-; and whose incpiiries were answered there, during the two m )nths of October and November, 1880, were more than nine hundrel and represented thirti/ dilfer- ent States, Territories and Foreign Countries. The paper is constantly growing in interest anrl value to its readers. No sportsman can well afford to be without it. The subscription price is $4 per year. If you do not now read the Forest and STREA:\r ask your newsdealer for the current nu nber and examine it, or send us your name or a POSTAL CARD FOR SAMPLE COPY. Address — FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING CO., Times Building, ..New York City, ADVERTISEMENT, THE Amebican Field, THE AMERICAN A /ways ahead on all events interesting to Sportsmen. NEVER BEHIND I Not only the latest, but the follest and most accurate account of all events. CENERAUY ACKNOWLEDGED EVEN BY COTEMPORIES TO EE THE SPORTSMAN'S PAPER OF AMERICA. SUBSCRIPTION : $4.00 a year; |>2.00 for six months; $1.00 for three months; Single Copies, 10 cents. CLUBS : Three or more copies to any P.O. Address at ^J each. Publisiied so as to reach its readers (except in Europe), EVERY Saturday. AMERICAN FIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY, 166 and 167 Dearborn Street, N. RowE, Editor and Manager. CHICAGO, III, ADVERTISEMEN JOHN TALBOT, m GIiARENCE STREET, {One Loorfrom Dundas Street)^ a^ J J i\L, )''So THE ONLY STORE WEST OF TORONTO WHERE SHOOTING BOOTS ARE HADE A SPECIALTY. Worhmanship and Material of the Finest quality. A PERFECT FIT GUARANTEED, All work is done under the personal superintend- ence of the Proprietor. ORDERS BY POST PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO. JOHN TALBOT, Proprietor. ADVERTISEMENT THE m l[0ii ^pttmmu THE TURF AUTHORITT OF AMERICA ! —DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO — THE HORSE (Running and Trotting)^ AQUATICS, ATHLETICS AND BILLIARDS. Each number contains tbe latest and moat reliable news. Price : — ^ a year ; $2 for six months ; $1 for three months. Single copies, 10 cents, American Field and New York Sportsman, $G a year. FOR SILS BY ALIi NEWS DSILBRS. Sample copies sent on receipt of price, 10 cents. Subscriptions can be ordered at the Eastern Offices, "Tribune " Building, New York; or, Western Office, office of "American l^ald," 155 and 157 Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois, and should be addressed to ^ Manager New York Sportsman. CHAS. J. FOSTER, Editor. • I ! ADVKUTISEMENT CANADA FIRST. I ^ I J) > be n. Any intelligent sportsman, having a good breach-loader, can test for himself, with the aid of two reams of hardware paper for targets, the superiority of the following high grade Canadian nowders to any of the corresponding imported brands. Hamilton Powder < o/s '' €ainMlian Rifle/^ For long range slmoting ; slow burning so an not to ui)set bullet ; moist residuum ; great uniformity ; excellent for all ordinary purposes and cheap. Ilainiiltoii Powder i^o/s "Ducking." Made to kill ; very strong and clean ; high density ; not easily affected by dampness ; slight recoil even in heavy charges. Haniiltoit Powder €o/s "Caribou/^ The quickest, cleanest, and strongest possible in present guns ; intended for prize matches ; exhibition shooting ; woodcock, etc. ^p'The excellence and uniformity of the above are fully guaranteed by the manufacturers, but purchasers should buy only in original packages, to avoid substitution of lower grades. FOE SALE BY ALL LEADING GUNSMITHS. Full descriptive circulars mailed on application to HAMILTON POWDER COY, 103 St. Francois Xav'er St., MONTREAL. 69 James Street West, HAMILTON. ^ f ^1^!^^ ADVEUTISEMENT BLACK SPANIEL, Bred by A. H. EASTON, Hull, England. Whelped ICtli April, 1878, by Brush, out of Rhea, winners for years in all shows of their day. [mDorted by Dr. NIVEN, April, 1881- I ^BIi4C£ SISS^ \ y has been shown only three times — twice she was First and once was placed Second to a Sussex. On the 21st of May she whelped seven dogs and one bitch by tlSTlcL^ iM y^'sr 13x1.0010X1.0131 ^-ut ^r ZiJoll, For puppies, apply to DR. JAMES niVEN, * LONDON, ONT. ADVERTISEMENT !a, rst g& 11. Burdock TDToWlerS nLOOD "^ Extractofwild IT. Cures all diseaHPS arising from Iinpurity of the blood, a Torpid Liver, Irregular liowelH or Disordered KidneyH, acting powerfully upon the Skin and Secretionn, curin;^' every Bpecies of humour, from an ordinary Pimple to the worst Ulcer or Scrofulous Sore, Rheu- matism, Dropsy, Exhaustive* DischargeR, Biliousness. Sick Headache, Aponlexy, Heart Disease, lemale Weakness, Nervous and General Debility. They are purely vegetable, coniponed of Roots, Barks aud f'lants, skilfully blended to act in harmony as Tonic, Laxative, Altera- ative, Diuretic, purifying and invigorating all the organs to a healthy action. THE BLOOD.— Without pure blood health is inipodsible. When the blood has become thick or loaded with impurities— or when it becomes impoverished and weak — (Carbuncles, Boils, Pimples, Ulcers, Scrofu- lous Sore^, Salt Rheum, Eruptions, and various obs^tinate diseases of the skin arise. Rheumatism and Gout affect the joints. When the blood vessels become clogged. In- flammation, Congestion and often Paralysis follow. If the red corpuscles are deficient, the blood lacks vitality, the watery iK)rtion ia in excess, inducing Dropsy, Anenia, Chlorosis, awd many of the Irregularities and distressing diseases of Females. Bur- dock Bloou Bitters cleanses the blood from all impurities, tones it to a healthy con- dition, regulates its circulation, and restores lost vitality. T. MILBVRN & CO., Proprietor's f Toronto. 19* FOB SALK~ilY ALL DEALEBS. Natures (J rand Remedy for Cholera, Dys- entery, l)iarrh