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SPOETING REMINISCENCES

LONDON
ilMED Br SPOTTISWOODE AND CO.
NEW-STPEET SQUARE

REMINISCENCES of an OLD SPORTSMAN

COLOIfEL J. P. HAMILTON", K.H.

ArTHOR OF TEAVELS IN THE IXTEEIOE OF COLUMEIA'

In Two Volumes
VOL. I.

LONDON

LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS

1860

The right of translation is resei-ved

PllEfACE.

" Since loss of sight and age refuse
Sports I indulged in heretofore ;
Then, memory, oft vrith thee I muse
On days that Jiiust retiirn no more."

Having unfortunately been blind for upwards of
twenty years, it is natural to conclude that I
have experienced many hoiu^s of ennui, notwith-
standing the kind attentions of relatives and
friends.

During those periods my mind has reverted to
the past scenes of my hfe, and, having pursued
field sports with ardour for upwards of forty
years in various parts of Europe and South
America, I determined to seek a solace by
dictating my reminiscences and experience on
the above subjects, which I hope may prove
interesting to the reader, and instructive to the
young sportsman.

The reader will perceive that as one of the old
school, I am no advocate for slaughtering game

A3

VI PEEFACE.

by wholesale, as is the modern practice of battues,
where, as we learn from " The Field," and other
newspapers, that a thousand, or even fifteen hun-
dred head of game, are killed in a day. This, it
appears to me, is very tame work compared to
the healthy and invigorating exercise of fagging
for your game, and observing the manoeuvres
of your well-trained setters, pointers, and spaniels,
which in this country have attained perfection
with regard to breed.

On those subjects which I cannot altogether
treat from experience, such as falcomy, hawldng,
and deer stalldng, I have consulted several old
works, more especially Blome, wdio wrote in the
latter end of the seventeenth century, and also
standard modern works. I am hkemse indebted
for much useful information and anecdote to
some of my sporting friends, amongst whom I
may class General Shaw Kennedy, wdio practised
hawddng in Ayrshire, many j^ears ago, when a
considerable part of that county was unen-
closed.

I entertain a hope that the account of my field
sports in the Island of Sardinia may be interestino-
to sportsmen, as I had a most favom^able oppor-
tunity of enjopng this recreation in various parts

PEEFACE. Vll

of the island with my friend, the Honourable W.
Hill, then British Llinister at the Court of Sardinia.
As far as I have been able to ascertain, httle
or no account has been published of the field
sports in that island ; and, during the period I
resided there, I gained also some information
respecting the manners and customs of its in-
habitants, which I have communicated to the
reader.

It would afford me much satisfaction if the
amusement of falcomy or hawldng Avere more
extensively pm'sued. Although much of the
United Kingdom has been enclosed within the last
century, there are still many open parts where the
sportsman may follow this exciting amusement
successfidly, without much risk or danger, — an
amusement to which our ancestors devoted them-
selves, for several centuries, with enthusiastic
ardom\ I look upon Freeman and Salvin's work
on " Falconry," recently pubhshed, as an indi-
cation that this noble sport is likely to be revived.

CONTENTS

THE FIRST VOLUME.

CHAPTER I.

Page
Feudal System of Barbarous Kations. — Sererity'of Norman Game

Laws. — Louis XI. of France ....... 1

CHAP. II.

Partridge Shooting. — Directions for Partridge Shooting. — Shoot-
ing in Biickinghamshire. — How to Destroy Cock Birds. —
Affection of the Partridge 9

CHAP. III.
Difficulty respecting Scent. — Eefreshment Recommended. — Moun-
tain Partridge. — Attention to Farmers . .... 22

CHAP. IV.

Sportsman of the Old School. — Celebrated Men of Norfolk . .32

CHAP. V.

Red-legged Partridge. — Siege of St. Philippe. — Civil Growl of
an Old Sportsman 42

CHAP. YI.

Pheasant Shooting. — Ordeal for Yoimg Sportsmen. — Shooting in
Cambridgeshire and Windsor. — Camp on Bagshot Heath. —
The Poet Bowles. — Battues at Col. Adeane's. — Battue at
General Bulwer's. — Gold Pheasants at Blenheim . . .51

X CONTENTS OF

CHAP. VII.

Pfge
Grouse Shooting. — Disease in Grouse. — Man of Eoss. — Carmar-

tliensliii-e Shootiug 84

CHAP. VIII.

The Ptarmigan. — Where Found. — Period of Breeding. — - Taken
by Greenlanders. — Description of Ptarmigan . . . .104

CHAP. IX.

The Bhiek Grouse. — My First Shot at a Black Cock. — Habits of
the Bii-ds 108

CHAP. X.

Capercailzie. — Description of Capercailzie. — Male Bird easily
Approached in the Pairing Season. — One Seen by Author in
Germany 113

CH.4P. XI.
The Hare. — Form of Eyes and Ears well Placed for its Protec-
tion. — Fascinated when Pursued by Stoat or Weasel. — Weight
of Hares. — Hares very Prolific. — Enemies of Hare. — Ciu-ious
Old French Eecipe for Dressing a Hare . . . . .118

CHAP. XII.
Eabbits. — Dog Tax in Ireland. — Breeding of Eabbits. —
Worm in Eabbit. — lujury to Farmers. — Farming in Cam-
bridgeshire .......... 126

CHAP. XIII.
Woodcock Shooting in Ireland, Wales, and the Island of Ter-
ceira. — Description and Habits of the Woodcock. — Breed in

England

CHiiP. XIV.

Snipe Shooting in Canada and India. — Snipes in Various Parts
6f the Globe. — The Cambridge Fens. — Solitary Snipe. — Snipe
Shooting by Mr. Stiu't 155

THE FIRST VOLUME. XI

CHAP. XV.

Page
Quail Shooting. — Quails in Malta, Sicily, and Eussia. — Landrail

or Corncrake. — Anecdote of French Abbe . . . . 16G

CHAP. XYI.

The Bustard : Its Habits. — A Frenchman's Anecdote. — The
Bustard in Morocco, the Island of Sardinia, and Canada . .176

CHAP. XVII.

The Ortolan : Abundant in HoUand : Suliject to Apoplexy from
Over Fatness. — Smollett's Method of Dressing them. — Adven-
ture in Holland. — Severity of Dutch Criminal Laws. — Sir
David Dundas. — Threatened Arrest. — Dispatches to Dutch
Ai-my. — Fortunate Promotion 183

CHAP. XVIII.
FHght of Wild Swans. —Wild Swan Shooting. — St. John's Wild
Swan Shooting. — Mode of Dressing the Swan. — Author Shoot-
ing a Wild Swan 194

CHAP. XIX.

The Bittern. — Breeding of the Bittern. — Wild Geese. — The
Fhght of Wild Geese. — Brent Geese 206

CHAP. XX.

The Wild Duck : Its Habits. — Decoy for Wild Duck. — Tricks
of Decoy Men. — Teal. — Widgeon. — EiifTs and Ecevos. —
Lapwing. — "^ATieatears 215

CHAP. XXI.

The Knot. — The Godwit. — The Golden Plover. — The Dottrell.
— The Cuiiew 241

CHAP. XXII.

The Magpie. — The Carrion Crow. — The Jay . . . .253

XU CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

CHAP. XXIII.

Page
The Raren-. — Nest Euilt in Oak. — Its Habits. — Mentioned in

Scripture 257

CHAP. XXIV.
The b-sv-l. — Superstition. — His Prey . , . . .260

CHAP. XXV.

The Eagle. — Eoman and Persian Standards. — Golden Eagle. —
Ta\ray Eagle. — Danger in Taking Eaglets. — Capture of an
Eagle. — The Eagle a Glutton. — Anecdote . . . .263

CHAP. XXVI.
The Fox. — His Manoeurres. — "The Biter Bit." — Always the
Same. — His greatest Foe 272

CHAP. XXVII.
The Otter. — His Habits. — His Teachableness . . . .278

CHAP. XXVIII.
The Stoat or Ermine. — Perseverance of Stoat after its Prey. —
Destruction of Game by Stoats. — The Weasel : its Ferocity. —
Fond of Eggs and Young Birds 281

CHAP. XXIX.
The Badger. — The Polecat. — The Marten . . . .289

ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. L

Sardinian Farmer Frontis;piece

Jessy, an excellent Sporting Dog .... to face page 12
Snipe Shooting . „ 155

EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN

REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

CHAPTER I.

FErDAL SYSTEM OP BAEEAROrS NATIONS. — SEVEEITT OF XOEilAX
GAME LA^VS. — LOUIS XI. OF FKAXCE.

" The first physicians by debauch were made,
Excess began, and sloth sustains the trade,
By chase our long-lived fathers earned their food,
Toil strung the nerves and pxirified the blood.
But we, their sons, a pampered race of men.
Are dwindled down to threescore years and ten ;
Better to hunt in fields for health unbought,
Than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught.
The wise, for cure, on exercise depend ;
God never made his work for men to mend." — Dryden.

Feom the earliest ages we find that the chase and field
recreations have been pursued with eagerness and plea-
sure by the human race.

Formerly, it was considered that the right of pursu-

B

2 EEMIMSCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN".

ing, taking, and destroying birds and animals that came
under tlie denomination of ferce natura', was vested in
the king alone, and from him derived to such of his
subjects as had received the grants of a chase, a park,
or a free warren. These grants are of little avail in
modern times, as no person is allowed by common law
to trespass on the landed property of another, and
should he repeat the offence, after being warned off, he
is liable to an action at law. This applies to persons
who are not pursuing game, but any one trespassing
with a dog and gun, may, by the present game • laws,
be summoned to appear before a magistrate and fined.

It is not until the irruption of the barbarous nations
into the Roman Empire, that we read of any other
prohibitions, which led to the preservation of game,
excepting that natural one of not sporting on any pri-
vate grounds without the proprietor's permission. It
will be found that all forest and game laws were intro-
duced into Europe at the same time, and by the same
policy that gave birth to the feudal system; when
swarms of barbarians issued from the north, sweeping
like an avalanche all resistance opposed to them, and
laid the foundation of most of the present kingdoms of
Europe on the ruins of the Western Empire. When one
of these barbarian generals had to make arrangements
for the distribution of the vanquished country to his
followers, his most important object would be to keep
all the natives of the country, who were not his military
tenants, in almost abject slavery, and especially to pro-
hibit them the use of arms by a severe law. Nothing
could do this more effectually than the prohibition of
hunting and sporting, and therefore it was the policy of
the conqueror to reserve this right to himself, and grant

FEUDAL SYSTEM OP BARBAROUS NATIONS. 3

it onl}^ to his capital feudatories or greater barons ; and
accordingly we find in the feudal constitution one and
the same law prohibiting the rustici or peasants from
can-ying arms, and also forbidding the use of nets,
snares, or other engines for the destruction of game.

It is observed that in those nations where the feudal
policy remains the most unaltered, the forest or game
laws continue in their most severe rigour. In France,
before the revolution, all game belonged properly to
the king, and in some parts of Grermany it was death
for a peasant to be found hunting in the woods of the
nobles. In Grreat Britain also hunting has ever been
esteemed a most princely diversion and exercise. In
the time of the ancient Britons the whole island
abounded in game of various species. The people lived
in a wild and pastoral manner, without enclosure or
any improvement in their grounds, and derived their
chief subsistence from the chase, which was enjoyed by
everybody ; but at the conquest of the island by the
Saxons*, the art of agriculture was introduced, the land
improved and enclosed, and the wild animals naturally
took refuge in the forests and woods, and not having
been disposed of in the first distribution of lands, were
therefore held to belong to the Crown. These forests
and woods were well stocked wdth game, which the royal
sportsmen reserved for their own diversion, on pain of

* Hume mentions in his History of England that in tlie reign of the
Saxon king Edgar the wolves in England -were extirpated. He persevered
in hunting these ravenous beasts, and on finding that those who escaped
him had taken refuge in the mountains and forests of Wales he changed
the tribute of money imposed on the "Welsh princes into an annual
payment of 300 heads of -w-olves, ■which produced such diligence in
himting them that they were no more seen in England or Wales. —
Hume's History of England.

4 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

pecuniary forfeiture for trespassing therein in search of
game ; but every freeliolder had the full right to sport
on his own territory. However, on the conquest of
England by William the Norman, more severe laws
were enacted, and the right of pursuing and taking all
beasts of chase or venery, and such other animals as
were accounted game, was exclusively vested in the
king, or in such persons only as were authorised by
him. The right thus vested in the crown was executed
with the utmost rigour at and after the period of the
Norman establishment ; not only in the ancient forests,
but in the new, which the Conqueror made with an
unscrupulous and devastating hand ; for example, the
New Forest in Hampshire, where the Norman tyrant re-
solved to make a forest for the chase, near Winchester,
where he frequently resided. To accomplish this selfish
object, the country was laid waste for upwards of thirty
miles, churches and monasteries destroyed, and the un-
fortunate inhabitants driven from their homes, and their
properties confiscated. Two of William's sons met with
untimely deaths in this forest, and Eichard his nephew,
a natural son of Duke Kobert, shared the same fate in
this district. A general opinion prevailed among the
clergy and the people that these disasters which befell
William's family were a mark of the just vengeance of
Heaven for his cruel and atrocious conduct.

New game laws were now enacted, by which William
the Conqueror prohibited all his subjects, under severe
penalties, from hunting in the royal forests. The kill-
ing of a stag, a wild boar, or a hare, was punished by
putting out the eyes of the offender, whilst the punish-
ment for committing murder might be evaded by
paying a moderate fine or composition ; and in pursuance

SEVEKITY OF NORMAX G.^^iIE LAWS. 5

of the same tyrannic principle King John laid a total
interdict upon the winged as well as the fonr-footed
creation. " Capturam avium per totam Angliam inter-
dixit." The cruel and insufferable hardshijjs which the
rigorous forest laws inflicted on the subject induced our
ancestors to be as zealous for their reformation as for
tlie relaxatioD of the feudal rigours introduced by the
Norman family. In consequence of this, we find that
the immunities of Charta de Foresta, as warmly con-
tended for, and extorted from the King with as much
difficult}^, as those of ]Magna Charta itself.*

By this charter, confirmed by King Henry the Third,
man}^ forests were stripped of their oppressive privileges
and new regulations were made, especially that by which
killing the king's deer was no longer a capital offence,
but only to be punished by a fine, imprisonment, or
banishment from the kingdom ; and by a variety of
statutes subsequently framed this is no longer a griev-
ance to the subject. But no man, unless he who has
a chase or free warren by grant from the crown, or
prescription which supposes one, can be justified hunt-
ing or sporting upon another man's land, nor indeed, in
thorough strictness of common law, can either hunt
or shoot. In fact, most of the ancient feudal laws,
as I have above stated regarding the right of sporting,
may be now considered obsolete, for this good reason,

* We find in Warburton's " History of the Life of Prince Eupert,"
tlaat King Charles I. and the prince followed the chase vrith. enthusiasm ;
but to gratify this passion, he sacrificed the long sacred immunities of
British property, by enclosing Eichmond Park, ■with almost as little
ceremony as the Norman Conqueror displayed in making the New Forest,
for the gi-eater conyenieuce of having red as well as fallow deer near his
residence.

6 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

that no one can delegate the right to sport on another
person's land.*

Blackstone confirms- what I have above stated, re-
specting the trespassing on another person s land. He
says, " But it follows from the very end and constitution
of society, that this natural right, as many others belong-
ing to man, may be restrained by positive laws enacted
for reasons of state, or for the supposed benefit of the
community ; and, in consequence of this authority, we
find that the municipal laws of many nations have
exerted such powers of restraint, as have, in general, for-
bidden the entering on another man's grounds, for any
cause, without the owner's leave. There are substantial
and good reasons for enacting these laws 1st. : For the
encouragement of agriculture and improvement of lands,
by giving every man an exclusive dominion over his own
soil. 2nd. For the preservation of the several species
of those animals which would soon be extirpated by a
general liberty. 3rd. For prevention of idleness and
dissipation among husbandmen, artificers, and others of
lower rank, which would be the unavoidable consequence
of universal licence." Puffendorff, on this subject, thus
writes : " The law does not hereby take from any man
his present property, or what was alrea,dy his own, but
barely abridges him of one means of acquiring a future

* I was lord of two manors in Cambridgeshire ; in one of them I had
eight hundred acres of freehold, and as the greater part of this parish
was unenclosed I shot all over the open fields, and had very good
partridge shooting. In the adjoining parish I possessed no lauded
property, receiving only small fines as lord of the manor from the copy-
holders, but in this parish were about forty acres of common, and
although I had the right to shoot as lord of the manor, yet I never did,
as the game was strictly preserved by the late Lord Maryborough,
brother of the Duke of "Wellingtou,

LOUIS XI. OF FRANCE. 7

property, that of occupancy, whicli indeed the law of
nature would allow him, but of which the laws of society
have, in most instances, very justly and reasonably
deprived him."

Louis XI. of France, who indulged in no pleasure but
that of the chase, and who turned pale when the word
death was mentioned, had the firmness to give orders
himself for the mausoleum to be erected to him. He
ordered that his statue should represent him placed on
his knees in a hunting dress, and a hound by his side ;
that he should not be represented in the attenuated
state to which his illness had reduced him, but as in his
most robust health. If Sir Walter Scott's " Quentin
Durward," give a true picture of Louis XI. we may cer-
tainly infer that he punished with immediate death any
person found in his parks or forests destroying his deer
or game. Louis XL in the disguise of a merchant
thus addresses Quentin Durward : — " Every j^ard of the
ground, excepting the path which we now occupy, is
rendered dangerous, and well nigh impracticable, by
snares and traps, armed with scythe blades, which
shred off the unwary passengers' limbs as sheerly as a
hedge-bill tops a hawthorn sprig, and calthrops that
would pierce your foot through, and pitfalls deep enough
to bury you in for ever, for you are now within the pre-
cincts of the royal demesne." It is well known that at
this period, and until the French Ee volution broke out
in 1789, the game laws in France, according to the
feudal system, were as rigorous and severe as in any
part of Europe.

" The abolition of the exclusive right of shooting and
hunting," says Sir Archibald Alison, " was made the
pretext for the most destructive disorders throughout all

8 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOKTSMA]S'.

France. An immense crowd of artisans and mechanics
issued from the towns, and, joining the rural population,
spread themselves on the fields, in search of game ; the
greatest violence was speedily committed by the armed
and uncontrollable multitude. No sort of regard was
paid to the clause in the decree of the National As-
sembly, that the right of the chase was given to each
man on his own ground only; it was universally con-
sidered as conferring a general right to shoot on any
ground whatever. Enclosures were struck down, woods
destroyed, houses broken open, robberies perpetrated,
under pretence of exercising the newly regained rights
of man."

The abolition of the entail on landed property in
France, and the equal division of personal and landed
property among children, were the two most deadly
blows aimed by the National Assembly against the
aristocracy. It is calculated that at this time there
are not less than six millions of landed proprietors in
France, whose income derived from this source is not
more than five or six hundred francs a year.

PARTRIDGE SHOOTING.

CHAP. II.

PARTRIDGE SHOOTIJfG. — DIRECTIOXS FOR PARTRIDGE SHOOTIIfG. —
SHOOTING IN BrCKINGHAMSHIRE. — HOW TO DESTROY COCK BIRDS.
— AFFECTION OF THE PARTRIDGE.

" Xor on the siu'ges of the boundless aii",
Though home triiunpliant, are they safe ; the gun,
Ghmeed just, and sudden from the fowler's eye,
O'ertakes their sounding pinions ; and again,
Immediate brings them fi-om the towering -sving,
Dead to the ground, or di-ives them wide dispersed,
"Woimded and wheeling rarious down the wind."

Thomson's Scaso-ns.

After this brief notice of the origin of the game laAvs,
I proceed to the business more immediately in hand.

What can be more enjoyable than partridge shoot-
ing, in a good breeding season, accompanied by an old
sporting friend, a brace or a leash of steady dogs, and a
man "who marks well ? In early life, like many young
sportsmen, I passed in general a sleepless night on
the 31st of August, and by five o'clock in the morn-
ing I was ready to take the field on nearly an empty
stomach, for I had little inclination to eat or di-ink at
that hour. What was in general the result of the eaidy

10 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

campaign ? Does it verify the old proverb, " that the
early bird takes the worm ? " By no means ! Eeally you
experience scarcely anything but disappointment and a
light bag. Until nine or ten o'clock the ground is wet,
the birds on the feed, consequently shy and wild, and the
dogs, if they have not had previously sufficient work, un-
steady. I strongly recommend to all young sportsmen
not to commence their fost day's partridge shooting till
nine or ten o'clock ; the ground is by that time dry and
warm, the birds are off their feed and will then lie w^ell
to the dogs. The only sufficient reason for going out
early in the morning is when you have some distant
farms to shoot over, which are not preserved, and over
which other sportsmen have a right to shoot.* In the
few first days, it is an important object to be on your
shooting ground before your rival sportsmen, especially
if the farms should be situated a short distance from a
town, from which they may sally forth early in the
morning with dogs and gun. How worthless are many
of the enjoyments of this life without an old friend to
share them with you. But when birds are shy, and do
not lie well, you may lose a few shots from talking, and

* Many years ago, 1 had leave to sport over a farm of Mr. L. "W. Pole's,
now Earl of Moruingtou. It consisted of seven or eight hundi-ed acres
of arable land on which there was good partridge shooting. I arrived
at the house of the tenant about ten o'clock early in September. He
received me in a friendly way, and assured me there were plenty of bii'ds,
and hoped I shoidd have good sport. But alas ! I beat patiently and
closely with my pointers for several hours over the farm, and to my
great annoyance found only a few straggling bii'ds, and returned home
with almost an empty game bag. I was too old a sportsman not to feel
certain there had been some foid play, and afterwards ascertained that
the tenant had two sporting fi'iends stapng with him fi'om London, who
had early that morning shot over the farm, and had either killed or
driven away the- birds.

DIEECTIOXS FOR TARTRIDGE SIIOOTIXG. 11

not always paying- the same attention to the working of
the dogs. ]n fjict, it is generally admitted, that most
men in partridge shooting, succeed better when alone
than in company.

" The social chat with cheerful friends
For want of sport may make amends ;
The conversation I admire,
Is after dinner by the fire."

When alone there is nothing to excite or make you
the least nervous, and when the birds rise you have a
wider choice of single or double shots. In partridge
shooting, as in all other field sports, you should beat
your ground close, particularly the corners of fields, if
it should be a windy day, as the birds are then apt to
shelter themselves under the hedges ; young sportsmen
either from carelessness or idleness, sometimes omit
doing this, and I have more than once, in consequence,
had good shooting over a country, which had been
beaten two or three hours before. I readily admit that
much depends on the good or bad qualities of your dog
in finding your game, and I was certainly very fortunate
in breeding some excellent dogs, which I always broke
in myself.* If they have good noses, plenty of work
and being a good shot will mainly contribute to ac-
complish this object.

On entering a field, the sportsman should not stand
idle at the gate, whilst the dogs are ranging over the

* I rarely allowed my gamekeepers to break in mj' pointers or setters.
The error of these substitutes is a want of judgment in the pimishment
of the dogs, and Stonehenge says, "It is much easier to take the courage
out of the very boldest animal, than to put it into a timid one ; " but
gamekeepers resemble some schoolmasters whose motto is " spare the rod
and spoil the child."

12 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN".

field, but quarter it with them, and regulate their move-
ments by the arm, and avoid as much as possible
calling or whistling to them ; for if birds have been much
shot at, they often rise out of shot when they hear any
unusual noise, and frequently in walking over the field,
you start a hare or rise a bird within shot. When a dog
makes a point, the other or others should immediately
back him by holding up the hand; this is supposing
that the dog or dogs do not see that which has the point.
As soon as you have fired the dogs should come in as
soon as you call out, " down charge."

If birds are scarce in a country, and you find a strong
covey, persevere in following them up, and if you can
manage to disperse the covey, you may calculate on get-
ting some good shooting. Never fail to give your dogs the
wind as much as possible. In September, the seed clover,
potatoes, and cole seed, afford excellent cover for birds,
and on a hot day they usually lie as close as stones ; if
you mark down a large covey of birds in one of these
fields, and you have a brace or leash of pointers, I re-
commend your putting in couples all but yom* best and
steadiest dog*, commence operations, and if you and
your friend are good shots, foiu: or five brace of birds will
soon be in the game-bag. Farmers are sometimes so
good natured as to let you follow a covey of birds into

* HaK a centxiry ago, the present Sir C. K., Bart., came to shoot with me
in Norfolk ; I had a liver-coloiu'ed pointer named Phito, who had an excel-
lent nose, and as steady as time. When we marked a covey in clover,
potatoes, &c., Pluto alone accompanied us, and as we were both good
shots, we frequently made sad havock amongst the poor partridges. Sir
C. K. so highly appreciated the good qualities of -Pluto, and was so
anxious to have him, that before leaving he gave me fifty pounds for the

SnOOTIXG IX BUCKIXGIIAMSIimE 13

their standing barley, and I have heard them say, that
if you do not remain there too long, the damage is but
trifling, as the crop is carefully gathered up after it has
been mown. In standing barley and beans, the great
difficulty is to make the birds rise, and if you only wing
them, you run a great risk of losing them without a good
retriever. The damage in walking through the latter
crop with your dogs is more serious than the former,
and I rarely obtained permission from the owner to fol-
low the birds when thus sheltered in the standing beans.
Some sportsmen are partial to shooting when the wind
is very high ; for myself, I had good reason for disliking
such boisterous weather, for I found I never could shoot
so well as when the weather was moderate, although
the birds sometimes lie very close when it blows hard.
Wlien they rise and direct their course with the wind,
like Paddy with a whisky bottle at his moTith, they
never know when to stop. In such boisterous weather,
I have remarked that the dogs are less steady, and not
so readily under command. If you are shooting with a
friend in a country much intersected with thick hedge-
rows, it is better to have a strong steady spaniel to flush
the birds, the sportsmen being on each side of the hedge.
If a bird is wounded, you stand a better chance of get-
ting him with a spaniel than with a pointer. When
birds are wild, and have been much shot at, I prefer
shooting with a brace of well-trained spaniels that
always hunt near you. The birds generally lie better
to them, for when the pointer stands they usually rise
immediately, and, if you do not happen to be near the
dog, of com'se out of shot. To shoot in this way with
spaniels, you must walk well, particularly if it should
be a hilly country.

14 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

I know a gentleman, an excellent sportsiiian, who re-
sides in a country of this description (Buckinghamshire),
and when birds are wild, he goes out with two shooting
parties, beating the high grounds on each side of the
valleys. When the birds cross the valley, they are gene-
rally marked down by the opposite party, and vice versa.
By this manoeuvring the birds become confused, scat-
tered, and lie well ; and the result has been, that five
and twenty brace have been bagged at the latter end of
October.* I should observe that the estate is strictly
preserved, and the valleys generally rather narrow. I
shot over this property about forty-five years ago, and at
that time there was probably not on the whole estate
more than thirty brace of bii'ds in the middle of Sep-
tember ; and as to pheasants you might as well expect
to find an elephant : hares also were very scarce. On
this same land, in November 1856, a party of six guns
shot in four or five hours 160 head of game, a fair pro-
portion of which were pheasants and bares.

An agreement should be made between two sports-
men that when a single bird gets up they should take
it by turns to have the shot ; if this is neglected, both
may probably fire at the bird, each fancying that he has
killed it ; besides, if both hit the bird, it would be hardly

* In tlie year 1859 it appears almost ridiculous to mention twenty-five
brace of birds being killed at the latter end of October; for the Duke of B.
informed me that a party of seven or eight guns, either in Cambridgeshii-e
or Norfolk killed in one day 2000 partridges ! I cannot class this under the
head of the old sport of partridge shooting. The coveys are all di'iven
into a few very extensive turnip fields ; the birds are then walked up, each
sportsman having a man behind him with a second gun, which is handed
to him as soon as he has discharged his two barrels. A good retriever
generally accompanies these slaughterers, and frequentlj' three or four
beaters.

INSTKUCTIOXS TO YOUNG SPOETSMEX. 15

fit for the table. Should the person who fires first miss
the bird, and it is still within shot, then the other takes
his chance ; if he kills, it is rather a mortifying circum-
stance to his companion, and in the vulgar phrase of
sportsmen is termed " \viping a man's nose." In cross
shots, either at birds, hares, or rabbits^ you shovild take
aim a little before them, but this should be calculated
according to the distance of the object, and their speed
in flying or running.

The great fault of young sportsmen is shooting under
their birds; to obviate this Joe Manton, many years
ago, made his guns with elevated sights.* In taking
aim at an object, either flying or running, it is of essen-
tial consequence to keep the arm in constant motion ;
although this may not be acquired when you first begin
to shoot, after a few months' practice you will be sure
to move the arm spontaneously, and very likely become
a first rate shot; this is a sine qua non.

Should you be shooting in a champaign country, and
have not a marker with you, one very essential point is
to observe the spot where the covey alights ; therefore,
Avhen you have killed your bird, you should not run to
pick it up, or employ yourself in making the dogs bring
it, but keep your eye fixed on the covey until you see
them flap their wings and settle, or as ftir as youi» sight
can extend. If you should be unable to ascertain the
exact spot where they have alighted, yet you may have

* I liad one of tliese gims giren me by my old friend and school-
fellow, Sir C. K. It was tlie perfection of a gun, and the click of the
lock was truly musical.

I believe, during the last century, double barrelled guns came first
into iisc. The old sportsman generally took a slow but sure aim,
satisfied with killing one bird, his maxim being Sat est, si sat bene.

16 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMA:^.

a tolerably good gitess where they are to be found, more
especially if there should be any turnips, cole-seed, or
rough furzy ground, in that direction. A good marker
contributes greatly to the success of the day's sport, and
I have known several ladies, who, after some practice,
performed this as well as a gamekeeper.* If two or
three persons are shooting together, and a covey disperse
on rising, each should keep his eye steadily on the birds
which fly to the right or left, or in a straight line, and,
if the marking down is well performed, some good
shooting may be anticipated, for, as I before said, when
birds are dispersed, they lie generally close.

When a covey has sometimes risen forty or fifty yards
off, I have fired both barrels at them, in the hope of
making them disperse ; this sometimes succeeds.

In Norfolk and Suffolk, where -partridges are very
numerous, they frequently begin to pack early in No-
vember, and in the neighbourhood of Swafifham I have
seen forty or fifty birds rise together in a field; you
have then no chance of getting within shot of them, as
they are wild as hawks. Should you be much in want
of birds, and able to guess where to find them, load each
barrel with Eley's cartridges No. 4 shot, and conceal
yourself under the hedge of the field, in which you
expe(»t to find the pack ; then let a person enter the
ground, walking in the direction where you lie con-
cealed ; you will then stand a fair chance, as they cross

* My -wife was very aufait in marking down birds. As several hundred
acres of the parish in which we lived were unenclosed, she frequently
accompanied me shooting, on a New Forest pony, and when the birds
were on the wing and I had shot, she rode in the direction of their
flight, and rarely failed to mark them do-mi accurately. I frequently
passed her the compliment of declaring she was as useful in the field as
a pointer.

HOW TO DESTROY COCK BIRDS. 17

tlie hedge where you are, of saluting them with both
barrels, and, if you have any luck, you may probably
bag four or five birds, or perhaps more. A friend of
mine, in Essex, who has a great many red-legged
partridges on his property, adopts this manoeuvre. He
told me, that after the first fortnight in September he
had little chance of getting any of these wild, tiresome,
running birds, which drive away the grey partridges, and
make your dogs unsteady into the bargain. In a covey
of birds the cocks are always the most numerous ; when
they are full feathered the cock bird may easily be dis-
tinguished from the hen by the dark-red feathers in the
shape of a horse-shoe on his breast. To avoid having
too many male birds in the breeding season kill as many
cocks as possible, for when the female is pursued by two
or three male birds she is apt to drop her eggs in various
places, as no nest has been made ; she might as well
have been an old barren bird. To avoid having too
many cock birds, some gentlemen net the coveys with
setters, and kill a proportion of them.

This was done many years ago by the late Duke of
Kingston. I strongl}^ recommend to a gentleman, who
possesses a large landed estate in Ireland, with an
excellent soil for game, to adopt this plan, as he com-
plains that he has hitherto been unable to increase,
excepting in a trifling degree, his stock of partridges.
If, in addition to this, he had in his service, two or three
active and vigilant gamekeepers, either from Norfolk or
Scotland, who understand thoroughly how to destroy
vermin, then I should be greatly surprised if he had
not in two or three years his estate well stocked with
partridges. The same precaution should be taken not
c

18 REMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

to have too many jack hares*, for when that is the case,
the doe hares are sadly annoyed by them and often
worried to death.

The female partridge sits about three weeks, and if
the weather is favourable in the spring many are hatched
the latter end of May and beginning of June, and
flyers may be seen the beginning of July, but the ex-
tremes of wet or dry weather prove very injurious and
destructive to the young birds at the time of incubation;
much rain may drown or chill the eggs. From the wet
the young birds get the cramp, chill, and frequently die ;
and if the heat is great, and the soil a stiff clay, many
are lost in the wide cracks of the land.

When the eggs of a partridge nest happen to be
destroyed, the birds sometimes lay again ; if the eggs are
hatched, these are the small birds called squeakers,
which are found early in September. Good sportsmen
give quarter to these second broods, but in October
they are full grown, and then they need not be
spared. If the winter should be very severe, they ge-
nerally perish.

No bird displays more affection to its young than the
partridge, and it is curious to observe the cunning
manoeuvres they have recourse to in order to draw off
the danger from their brood. When a person or a dog

* A long time since I was on a visit to Baroness Wenman, at Thame
Park, in the month of March : walking about the grounds one morning,
I met the head gamekeeper, with his gun and a hare in his hand, who
told me that he was shooting jack hares, as they were too numerous,
and worried the does ; he afterwards showed me three or four which he
had shot. He also informed me that he knew the jack hares when they
got up, by their being smaller and their heads of a different shape.
This man had a sharp keen eye thus to be able to distinguish the male
from the female, which I am quite certain I never could have done.

AFFECTIOX OF THE PARTRIDGE. 19

approaches near them, the cock bird will rise, giving a
peculiar plaintive cry to warn his family of the impending
danger. He will not fly more than three or four yards,
when he alights, running along the ground, with his
wings expanded, and displaying every symptom of dis-
tress, in the anxious hope of enticing the enemy from
the young ones. The hen bird will sometimes rise and
fly a short distance, returning swiftly to her young ones,
and then make every exertion to lead them to some
more secure spot.

I have often seen these affectionate manoeuvres, and
it is gratifying to see such strong attachment dis-
played by these birds to shield their young from danger.
Should a hawk be hovering over the brood, previously
to his making his swoop to carry off one or two of
the young birds, the old birds have been seen to
attack the bird of prey at the risk of their lives.
\Mien the husbandmen are reaping the harvest, and
gleaners in many of the fields, it frequently happens you
find few birds in these parts, although you are sure that
some good coveys were bred on the farms, which had
been recently seen by the tenants or gamekeeper.* If it
is a hot day, the most likely places to find them will be
on the fallows, where they enjoy dusting themselves,
and also the meadows and artificial grasses where the}^

* In some coTinties where arable farming prevails and is skilfully
performed, and the fields divided by stone walls, which is the ease iu
some parts of Gloucestershire, the partridges are much puzzled where
to make theii' nests, more especially when there are no plantations or
small copses, furze, &c. When this occurs, the clover and artificial
grasses must be resorted to by the birds for the above purpose ; but
should the mowing take place early in the season, many of the nests
wo\ild certainly be destroyed.

c 2

20 KEillXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSM.iN".

lie cool. I have frequently found them on the waste
land of retired lanes.

When you feel pretty sure that the coveys have not
been netted, persevere in beating close every sort of
gi'ound, and by doing this, the chances are two to one
that you will be at last well rewarded with some good
shooting. Birds lie sometimes very close on the fallows,
particularly if the ground is cloggy, which prevents their
running ; young plantations with long grass, and under-
wood of one or two years' growth, are often resorted to
by the birds when they have been much shot at.*

If your estate should be sufficiently extensive, never
beat the ground too often ; give the birds a respite of two
or three days, and you will then most likely find them
lie well, and the reverse if shot at day after day. If a
bird is hit hard, keep your eye steadfastly fixed on it, to
see whether he towers in the air, and as it sometimes
falls dead at a considerable distance, hasten to the spot to
prevent the labourers picking it up, and concealing it,
which is occasionally done.

If you are shooting in a country where birds are
scarce, and you happen to find a strong covey, persevere
in following them, and if you succeed in dispersing them
you may insure some good sport and fill the game bag.

* Some sportsmen, when tlieir minds are haunted with blue devils,
fancy that in a few years there will be little or no partridge shooting in
England, o%ving to the prevailing system of cutting the corn with scythes,
leaving scarcely any stubble for cover, and in a short time the fields
being ploughed for fresh crops. But it shoidd be borne in mind that the
cidtivation of turnips and potatoes has increased considerably, to which
the birds, when disturbed, are sure to resort, as also clover left for seed.
As long as the Irish peasants come to England with their sickles to reap
the corn, we may fairly calculate on having some rough stubbles for
partridge shooting.

DESTEUCTION OP GAME. 21

Should you be beating a hilly country, where there is
not much cover for birds, and your valleys be low, with
hedgerows, gorse, and other low cover, endeavour as
much as possible to drive the birds in that direction.
Here you may be certain the birds will lie well, and if
you have a spaniel or retriever tant riiieux. If you mark
a covey down the top of a field with a steep slope, go
up to them at once, for partridges do not like running
down hill, but are fond of running up hill.

Much game has sometimes been destroyed, both
pheasants and partridges, by farmers steeping their seed
wheat in a solution of arsenic to prevent the smut. I
understand that lime will answer the same purpose and
do the birds no harm. I can speak feelingly about the
above blight, as I had one field, containing forty acres of
wheat completely destroyed by the smut ; a very serious
loss.

C 3

22 EEMIXISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAK".

CHAP. III.

DIITICULTY KESPECTING SCENT. — EEPEESHMEXT EECOMMENDED.
MOTJXTAIX PARTRIDGE. AXTEXIIOX TO FARMERS.

" Exulting till he finds their nobler sense,

Their disproportioned speed does recompense ;
Then cursing his conspiring feet, -whose scent
Betrays that safety which their swiftness lent." — Denham.

The scent is a problem that the best and ablest
sportsman has never been able to solve, however long
he may have pursued field recreations. With a soft
Avind blowing from the south, a gentleman goes out with
his hounds or gun, in the expectation of a good run or
well-filled game bag, when to his surprise and great dis-
appointment the scent is found to be bad; at other
times when the wind is cold, and in an easterly quarter,
and a slight frost during the night, by eleven or twelve
o'clock, the scent being good, I have enjoyed a good run
with fox-hounds. There is another question on which
there has been much disputation amongst sportsmen,
whether game when under the strong excitement of
fear is able to withhold its scent. In the course of
my shooting campaigns I have witnessed some curious

DIFFICULTY KESPECTIXG SCEXT. 23

instances of this. I have sometimes marked down the
exact spot where a bird had alighted, more especially with
the landrail and quail ; but on going to the place with
my dogs, no bird was to be found, nor would the dogs
be able to make out any scent. It is possible the bird
might have risen again without my perceiving it, when
employed in getting over a hedge or attending to the
dogs, if it had happened only once, but such a fre-
quent occurrence is difficult to be accounted for. There
can be no doubt that when pheasants and partridges
are sitting on the nest, Providence, to protect them
against vermin, has given them the power to withhold
their scent. I have heard of more instances than one,
where partridges have made their nests in hedgerows,
close to footpaths, and remained undisturbed until they
had hatched their brood, notwithstanding the path was
frequented by persons who had dogs with them. To
corroborate this, a curious incident is mentioned by Mr.
St. John in his amusing sj)orting work, entitled, " Wild
Sports of the Highlands." He says, " I knew this year of
a partridge's nest, which was placed close to a narrow
footpath near my house, and although not only my
people, but all my dogs, were constantly passing within a
foot and a half of the bird they never found her out,
and she hatched her brood in safety." Daniel, in his
" Eural Sports," mentions a remarkable instance, of a
partridge making her nest on the top of an oak pollard,
on a farm named Lion Hall in Essex ; the nest was ex-
amined by a workman, before the bird sat close, who
found sixteen eggs in it ; they were all hatched, and the
old bird contrived to bring the brood safe to the ground.
\Miat makes it more singular that the partridge should

C 4

24 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

have chosen this curious place for her nest, is, that a
stile and a path were under the tree, which led to the
discovery of the nest.*

The remarks on scent, made by a gentleman in the
newspaper called " The Field," are very interesting ; as
it is evident he has taken great pains to elucidate this
mysterious subject. On some points I agree with him ;
but on others I still think there remains much obscurity.
He says that " the non-emission, and consequent non-
diffusion, of scent from a bird, either in concealment
under grass, heather, or rocks, or when sitting on eggs,
arises not from volition, or from any controlling power
over scent possessed by the bird, but from its peculiar
position, and from its motionless state, these being
adverse to the emission or diffusion of scent, except to
a ver}^ small extent, and within a very, circumscribed
compass." I really cannot acquiesce in this opinion,
for, from the experience of many years' shooting, I have
found birds concealed in every variety of ground, when
sometimes the scent was excellent, and consequently dogs
found the game with great facility ; and again, as I
before observed, with the wind in a favourable quarter,
the soil moist, and apparently everything in favour of a
good scent, and a bird accurately marked down in a
hedge, furze, or rough ground, to our great surprise, on
arriving at the spot, no bird was to be found by the dogs.

* A farmer discovered a partridge sitting on its eggs in a grass field; the
bird allowed him to pass his hand frequently down its back without
moving or showing any fear, but if he offered to touch the eggs, the
poor bird immediately pecked his hand. Several persons went to see
the bird, and a friend of mine amongst others, who informed me of the
circumstance. — Jesse.

UXCEKTAIXTY OF SCEXT. 25

How is this to be accounted for ? Some sportsmen have
supposed that sudden alarm or fright will empower
animals and birds to withhold their scent; with the
human race it has the contrary effect. Providence, in
my opinion, as I before stated, has enabled game, when
sitting on the nest, to withhold their scent against their
enemies ; and this I know to be the general opinion of
gamekeepers, amongst whom you sometimes find very
shrewd and intelligent men. I fully agree with what
this gentleman says regarding vermin that has been
trapped and is alive. The alarm occasioned by coming
suddenly on them is productive of an odour not re-
sembling in the least the otto of roses ; even a house-
cat when taken out of a trap diffuses a most disagreeable
smell.

In August 1802, 1 was grouse-shooting in Carmarthen-
shire, having taken up my quarters at a small inn in at
that time the obscure village of Lampeter. Finding
the grouse sometimes very scarce in the hills in this
district, I occasionally had recourse to snipe shooting,
as those birds of passage remain during the spring and
summer, and breed on some of the morasses on the
heights. One of my dogs, whilst looking out for snipes,
made a point with his nose almost in a tuft of long
sedgy grass, and after waiting a little while expecting a
snipe to rise, I approached the spot, to endeavour to
find out what the dog was pointing, and concluded at
last that it must be a mouse ; but, on examining closely
the high grass, I perceived, lying close on the ground,
a young snipe, just pen-feathered, which I took up, and
certainly he made a very droll appearance, with his bare
roimd head, large eyes, and long bill. I merely mention

26 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAJf.

tbis to prove that a very young bird, in thick cover, and
lying close to the ground in a quiescent state, emits a
strong scent. Perhaps, after all that has been written
on scent, there will be always controversial opinions on
the subject.

During the first two or three weeks of September, the
days being long and the heat frequently oppressive, I
recommend that sportsmen should, about noon, renovate
their strength and spirits with a good luncheon, and to
be cautious at the same time not to indulge too freely
in strong libations, which may have the bad effect of
making the hand and eye unsteady in the afternoon
shooting. The best beverage to quench the thirst is
cold tea with a dash of old cognac in it. However, to
prove that sometimes, when a person has shot badly,
and become in consequence rather nervous, a few glasses
of home brewed ale may brace up the nerves, and im-
prove much the shooting, I will recount the following
anecdote which occurred to me in my juvenile years : —

In 1806, I was brigade major to the late Greneral
Bulwer (father of the diplomatist and excellent author).
The Greneral wrote to me from Bath, the latter end of
October in that year (I then resided at Billingford Hall,
near North Elmham), to go to Heyden, his residence,
to kill twenty brace of partridges, to send ten brace to
him, and to keep the same number for myself. I gave
notice to the head gamekeeper that I should be there
about eleven o'clock. On meeting the keeper, I asked
him whether he thought I could get twenty brace. He
replied, " Yes, to be sure, sir, and ten brace more, if you
shoot to-day as well as you usually do, as we have
plenty of birds, and not much shot at." Whether from

EEFRESIIMEXT EECOMMEXDED. 27

a little anxiety to fulfil the General's commission, or
from some other miaccountaLle cause, I shot so badly
the first two or three hours, that the keeper looked
surprised, and at last said, "If you don't get on better
with your shooting, major, I begin to think I must
assist you to get the twenty brace of birds." Just at this
time, we came near a small neat public house, the sign
" The good woman without a head," kept, if I recollect
right, by Thomas Jenkins, " home brewed ale " written
over the door. The keeper said to me, " Let us go in,
]\Iajor, and have some bread and cheese, and try Master
Jenkins's tap, which I know to be of the right sort." So
in we went. Being rather out of spirits from having
shot so badly, I indulged in a copious draught, which
made me feel rather queer when I came into the
open air, and I told the keeper that I felt quite
certain that I should not be able to kill ten brace of
birds, much less twenty. "Never" fear, major, I always
shoot better when I have had a pint or two of jNIaster
Jenkins's beer." The result was this, I killed my first
seventeen shots, and bagged my twenty brace by four
o'clock, the keeper calling out every now and then when
my bird fell, " Well done Master Jenkins's ale ! " — and
the birds all around me were so plentiful, and my shoot-
ing so much improved, that I feel confident I could have
bagged ten more brace by six o'clock p.m.

Sometimes very curious shots are made.

I was shooting in September 1825, with the late
Eev. — Fisher, rector of Linton, Cambridgeshire ; at the
end of a lane was a stubble field, from which a large
covey of birds rose within shot. I fired at a bird on the
left (Mr. Fisher did not fire), and at that instant the

23 KEMmiSCENCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

covey made a sharp turn in that direction, consequently
my shot raked them, and down fell five birds, to the no
small surprise of my friend and myself: he exclaimed
" Hullo, Colonel, I believe you fancy you are at the battle
of Waterloo." I confess I felt rather ashamed of this
great slaughter *, supposing Mr. Fisher might think I
had fired a broadside into the covey, doing which would
be considered very unsportsmanlike. When I told him,
I had really shot at a bird to the left, he said he had seen
the sharp turn of the birds which had proved so fatal to
them.

In the latter end of October, I was one day shooting
near Dorchester, in Dorsetshire. Three birds rose and
flew through the forked branch of a tree, I fired, killed
two of them, and winged the third. A friend of mine
shot a rabbit in a turnip field, and on going to pick it
up, found he had also shot a hen pheasant which was on
the spot.

I have heard that when birds are very wild and can-
not be got at, a curious expedient has been tried, that
of flying a paper kite in the shape of a bird of prey,
which so terrifies the bii'ds, as to make them lie like

* The following statenaent is a very extraordinary return of the great
number of partridges killed in the month of January 1858, by Major
GTeneral Hall, M.P. and a party of sixteen guns, on his estate at
Weston- Col ville, Cambridgeshire. On January 12th, 118 ; on January
13th, 297 ; on the 14th, 184; on the 15th, 284; total 953. I conclude
that the coveys must have been driven over a considerable extent of coun-
try into large turnip fields, and perhaps into some low furze covers, and
then walked up by the sportsmen and three or four beaters, the persons
shooting having a servant behind them with a second gun, who is con-
stantly employed in loading. Such slaughter will probably astonish the
public, but I would not give one farthing for such shooting.

THE MOUXTAIX PARTRIDGE. 29

stones, and that poachers sometimes adopt this plan,
when endeavouring to net partridges daring the day.
I can readily conceive this artifice might prove fatal
to the covey.*

There has been recently much difference of opinion
whether the mountain partridge is a distinct species
from the common grey. It appears by a letter from
a gentleman, signed " An Old Salmon Fisher," in
the " Field " newspaper, that the Perdix montana or
mountain partridge is classed by Latham as a distinct
species and by Temminck as a variety. I have not
read the works of these ornithologists, but I suppose
that the authorities above quoted are sufficient proofs
that the mountain partridge is a distinct species. I
have never met with them, although I have shot
partridges in various elevated countries ; it is well
known that climate and food will occasion some change
in the plumage and size of the bird.

I particularly recommend gentlemen who preserve
game not to be niggardly towards the farmers, whether
their tenants or not. A liberal supply of game, a hare,
and a brace of birds will make ample atonement for the
peccadilloes you may have been guilty of in pursuing
your game in their standing barley. If the farmer keeps
greyhounds then give him a leash of birds. As cours-
ing is his field amusement, he may habitually feel
annoyed at your shooting hares, and it is not doing as
you would be done by to destroy them on his farm.

* My grandson saw two gentlemen shooting in Huntingdonshii-e, and
as the partridges were very wild, they employed a man to fly one of
these paper kites in the shape of a hawk, which had the eiFeet of making
the birds lie well.

30 EEMIXISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

I strongly advise that every endeavour should be used to
be on friendly terms with the farmers, whether they are
your tenants, whether you rent the shooting, or whether
you have the exclusive right from a relation or friend.
This, I conceive, may be accomplished by displaying
always a conciliatory manner towards them ; and if they
have wives and daughters by paying them occasional
visits. Civility costs little, and generally gets com-
pound interest.

Most farmers will assist to a certain extent a gentleman
in the preservation of his game, provided he conducts
himself as I have above stated ; and if the game should
be so abundant as to occasion serious damage to the
crops he should be readily allowed a fair compensation,
to be made by calling in some person who is a compe-
tent judge and fully able to estimate the loss.

The farmers have it certainly in their power to
destroy much game during the breeding season. Their
time being chiefly occupied in riding and walking over
their farms, the probability is, therefore, that they must
sometimes discover both pheasants' and partridges' nests,
and when an ill feeling predominates in their minds
against the gentleman who has the shooting, the eggs
will most likely be destroyed, and perhaps his labourers
encouraged to do the same. I feel very unmlling to say
anything against this useful class of men, but I know
from experience they are sometimes very vindictive.*

* Several foxes and some of Baron Eothschild's stag hounds were found
poisoned, in the summer of 1856, on the farm of Mr. Bowden in Bucks.
A farmer of the name of Bowden, brother of the above, was convicted
before P. Dauneey, Esq. and E. W. Lowndes in a penalty of 11^. 3s. 6d.
for poisoning with strychnine two sporting dogs belonging to his neigh-

ATTEXTIOX TO FARMEES. 31

If you have a gamekeeper, he should have positive
orders to keep down the rabbits, a source of great
anno3"ance to the farmers.

bour Mr. Thomas Yates. Oue of the dogs was opened, and in his
stomach was found a hare's foot and iutestme tied up, which were taken
to Messrs. Deune and iS'e^v^uan, surgeons, of Windsor, who on analysing
the same found thej^ each contained a large quantity of stiychnine.
The latter was found dead in Mr. Eowden's orchard, who acknowledged
to Mr. Thos. Yates that the dog was there and that he had kicked some
leaves over him.

32 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

CHAP IV.

SPORTSMAN OF THE OLD SCHOOL. — CELEBRATED MEN OF NORFOLK,

" Im "Wald, imd auf der Haide
Da such ich meine Freude,
leh bin ein Jagermann ;
Den Wald und Forst zn hegen,
Das Wiklpret zu erlegen,
Das est, was mir gefallt." * — German Song.

Perhaps the reader may derive some amusement from
a notice of a keen and excellent old sportsman, whom I
met with by chance in Norfolk, about the year 1804.
Being at that time on half-pay as a major of hussars, my
time was chiefly occupied in field sports and in the
cultivation of a small farm in the parish of Billing-
ford. One delightful morning, in the month of May,
I was strolling along the banks of the river Wensom,
which runs down to Norwich, listening to the sweet
notes of the blackbird, thrush, and various other small

* " Through the woods and meadows bright,
There I take my sole delight,

An eager s^xirtsman I ;
To search the forest wild, to find
And hunt the roebuck and the hind.

There does my pleasure lie.

A SrORTSMAX OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 33

singing birds (the nightingale never comes so far east-
Avard). Being at the latter end of INIay, nature was
clothed in her most pleasing garb.

" The flowers of the forest in spring time ■were gay,
And youth heightened all the soft pleasui'es of May."

I had not proceeded far, when I perceived, at some
distance, a person fishing, and as I kept a sharp look out
to prevent poachers fishing this part of the river vdth
nets, bow-nets, trimmers, or night-lines, I went to ascer-
tain whether this disciple of Isaac Walton was a fair
angler, for being myself partial to the rod and line, I
never made any objection to a gentleman waging war
against the finny tribe according to the rules laid down
by him whom I justly consider the father of anglers.

On my near approach to the person I had seen at a
distance, I found from his dress and appearance that
he was an elderly gentleman, well equipped for wading
into shallow water by wearing waterproof boots, which
came up three or four inches above his knees. I entered
into conversation with him, inquiring if he had been
successful in trolling for trout. He replied he had not ;
upon which I recommended him to go a short distance
above Billingford bridge, where there was a strong
current, and below the bridge a large deep hole, on
the banks of which grew alders and willows, amongst
whose roots were the haunts of a few large trout, some
of them weighing two or three pounds. He thanked
me for pointing out the place, but said he knew it well,
as he had fished in that river for several j^ears, and had
formerly caught some good sized trout there, and that
they generally came out of the deep water to feed rather
late in the evening, which I knew from experience to be
the case. In troUing, he appeared to be very skilful ;

34 EEMIXISCE^X•ES OF A SPORTSMAA^

his artificial bait, made by himself, scarcely the size of a
minnow, was composed of brilliant colours, and called
by him a " kill devil," on account of its attractive powers
to ensnare the fish. Our conversation turned on the
fishing in the various rivers in England, when he in-
formed me that the Thames afforded him the greatest
pleasure ; that most years he spent a month on the banks
of this river, for fly-fishing and trolling for trout, in the
neighbourhood of Pangbourne, Eeading, and lower down
the river ; and that he had sometimes the good luck to
capture monarchs of the stream, that is, trout weighing
eight or nine pounds, red as salmon, and a rival to that
fish on the table. On further conversation with Mr.
Grirdlestone (for that he told me was his name) I found
him very agreeable and particularly well-informed on
all field sports. I was much struck with his counte-
nance, which was weather beaten and deeply furrowed
by old Time, and led me to the conclusion he was on
the wrong side of sixty. His eyes were of a light
blue, lively, intelligent, and with a peculiar cast in
one of them, the nose aquiline and forehead prominent.
Years had made considerable havoc in what were once
probably flowing locks, and in its colour of grey and
light brown the former predominated. He might be
about five feet six or seven in height, square built,
strong and muscular, and, as I found a few months
afterwards, fully equal to the fatigue of walking six or
seven hours shooting on a warm day in September.

I confess I am not a disciple of Lavater, whose
Treatise on Physiognomy has for its object to make 3^ou
believe that you are enabled to judge of the good and
bad qualities of person's hearts from the features or
general expression of their countenance. Now we have

A SPOETSMAX OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 3.5

decided proofs, and tliat very recently, that there are
men whose features display rather mildness and are
somewhat prepossessing, but whose atrocious crimes,
for which they suffered the utmost rigour of the law,
gave full proofs of the blackness and wickedness of
their hearts.* Energy and determination of the mind,
courage and calmness in danger, may, I think be well
expressed by the eyes, and more especially by the
formation of the mouth, but in these qualities infalli-
bility is not always experienced. On leaving Mr.
Grirdlestone I invited him to take luncheon at our resi-
dence in the village of Billingford, distant about half a
mile. In an hour or two he arrived, made a hearty
luncheon, and relished much the ale, sound sherry, and
old port. We parted on most friendly terms, and he in-
vited me to pay him a visit in September, assuring me
that he could give me some very good partridge shooting
on his estate, which I readily promised to do. \Mien
September arrived I had almost forgotten Mr. Grirdle-
stone's invitation, when one morning I received a letter
reminding me of my promise to pay him a visit in the
shooting season, and also stating that he had plenty of
birds which had not been much shot at. The next morn-
ing I was off in my dog-cart, taking with me one of my
best pointers, for I like to be independent when shooting
•sdth strange dogs ; the only objection to this is, the

* Palmer, who was Irnng for poisoning his friend Cook, and tliere
can be little doubt had previously poisoned his wife and his brother ;
Eedanies, a soldier in the Foreign Legion, who murdered a young
girl, his sweetheart, and her sister. It was remarked in the coiu-t, that
there was no expression in the countenances of these men to indicate to
a close observer of their featiu-es that they could be guilty of such
great crimes.

D 2

36 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAX.

dogs unknown to each other are apt to be jealous and
rather unsteady.

I found Mr. Girdlestone's house pleasantly situated
in a well cultivated part of the country, apparently of a
light soil, favourable for the breeding of game *, distant
about three miles from the small to^vn of Holt, on the
Norfolk coast. My welcome was most hearty ; my host
informed me that he was a bachelor, and a housekeeper
had the management of his household affairs, the duties
of which she performed much to his satisfaction. In
these primitive times we sat down to dinner at five
o'clock ; everything was tres conime il faut, an evident
proof that the housekeeper was the right person in the
right place. The wines and heavy wet were faultless.
In the evening I was rather surprised, when my host
proposed that she should join our party, make tea for
us, and afterwards remain to play at dummy whist. A
very pretty girl about five and twenty, very neatly
dressed, made her appearance, and on our further
acquaintance, I found lively, and that she was good
himioured, and must have received a tolerably good
education. We played at cards until ten o'clock, when I
retired to my bed-room, and found all most comfortable,
and congratulated myself on being in such snug quarters,
with the prospect of a few days' excellent partridge
shooting. The breakfast nest morning would not have

* " The mellow autumn came, and with it came
The promised party to enjoy its sweets ;
The corn is cut, the manor full of game,
The pointer ranges, and the sportsman beats
In russet jacket, — lynx-like is his aim,
FuU grows his bag, and wonderfid his feats.
Ah ! nut-brown partridges, ah ! brilliant pheasants,
And ah! ye poachers, — 'tis no sport for peasants." — Don Juan.

A SrORTSMAX OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 37

disgraced the table of a Scottish laird, and this concluded
I was on the qui vive to commence the day's shooting.
This, however, was delayed for a short time by the squire
being occupied with agricultural business with his
bailiff. When he made his appearance fully equipped
for the field, I was not a little surprised to see him with
a single barrelled gun, apparently the size of a soldier's
firelock of that period, and the barrel at least a foot
longer than those of my own gun, the bore as large as
one for shooting wildfowl. On handling it, I found it
not so heavy as I expected. The stock had been made
by a London gunmaker, and the lock, which was par^
ticularly well finished, by the same. Mr. Grirdlestone
told me that the barrel came from Berlin, that he would
say nothing of its merit, as he expected I should soon be
an eye-witness of its performance. In the first field we
came to the dogs pointed, a strong covey rose, I shot a
bird, but my companion did not fire ; on inquiring the
reason, he said the birds were too near, and when they
crossed over the hedge he lost sight of them. Shortly
after a single bird rose at about thirty yards ; I fired
both barrels and missed ; then the old squire coolly put
up the great gun to his shoulder, and brought the bird
down as dead as a stone. The distance from where we
stood to where it fell must have been at least seventy
yards. He gave me a triumphant look and said, " This
is my system of partridge shooting ; you have now had
a specimen of what these Grerman barrels can perform : "
adding, " It is now several years since I have shot with
your double barrelled popguns." During the few days I
remained with my hospitable friend, he adhered to this
practice of killing the birds at great distances, and
rarely allowed them to escape, and evidently derived

38 EEMmiSCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

much satisfaction in "wiping my nose," which often
occurred. He walked as vigorously as a man of forty,
and rivalled me in getting over the fences. The last
day, in beating a small copse, we flushed a woodcock,
which I shot.*

When I recall the events of those days, which are
as fully impressed on my memory as if they had
occurred only two or three years since, I feel much
pleasure in declaring that I never shot with a more
agreeable companion and better sportsman than Mr.
Grirdlestone. But alas! like almost all the sporting
friends of my younger days, he must long since have
paid the debt of nature.

" How many a girl I loved is dead, how many a man grown old !
And as the lesson strikes my head, my weary heart grows cold."

Mr, Girdlestone had been brought up to the bar,
was an active magistrate, but was considered an eccentric
character, living in a very retired way. The family of
the Grirdlestones had been long established in Norfolk.
The magisterial room of my friend might be considered
as the model of a sportsman's apartment. On the
walls were wooden racks, containing double and single
barrelled guns, amongst which might be seen two or
three with long Grerman barrels; in other parts rods
for trolling and fly-fishing with all their appendages
which were displayed on shelves; books containing
artificial flies and baits for trolling, and curious old
powder-horns. In the corners of the room, landing

* It rarely happens that woodcocks are foimd in this country so early
as the month of September ; perhaps this bird might not have migrated
in the spring ; I know a person who saw a woodcock sitting on her nest,
in a wood in Oxfordshu-e, and the young were hatched.

A SPORTSMAX OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 39

nets, a small casting net with close meshes for catch-
ing bait, and fishing krails in the intermediate spaces.
Some good engravings on sporting sul^jects completed
the embellishment of the walls. On a table might also
be seen a stuffed martin cat, and a variety of foreign
birds. The Squire's library was not large, but displayed
his predominant passion for field sports. I recollect
taking a cm'sory view of some of the books, amongst
which were Isaac Walton, "Instructions to Young
Sportsmen how to Shoot Fl3'ing," "The Old English
Forest Ranger," " The Exploits of Robin Hood and Little
John in Sherwood Forest," and old ballads, amongst
which was that of Chevy Chase, &c. some law books
and works on agriculture. This sanctum sanctorum
looked into a small but well arranged flower garden.

I took leave of JNIr. Girdlestone with much regret,
for I enjoyed my visit exceedingly. At the age of two
or three and twent}^, with vigorous health, everything
is coideur de rose. We never met again, for soon after-
wards I got a staff appointment in Ireland, and was
employed on active service in the Mediterranean, Spain,
and with the army in France, till the spring of 18 14^
when peace was ratified. The country between JNIr.
Grirdlestone's house and the small town of Holt, distant
about three miles, was generally a wild heath and un-
cultivated, but for seven or eight miles along the coast
to the eastward, towards the small sea-bathing town of
Cromer, the country is hilly, well wooded, and the most
picturesque part of this county. The soil of Norfolk is
mostly sandy and gravelly, and particularly salubrious,
better adapted for the growing of barley than wheat.

Norfolk can boast of having given birth to many cele-
brated men, churchmen, statesmen, lawyers, military

D 4

40 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOETSM.iX.

and naval men — Matthew Parker, archbishop of Canter-
bury, Sir Eobert Walpole, Sir Edward Coke, judge,
founder of the Earl of Leicester's family, Sir John
Fastolf *, a famous general, Marquis Townsend, brigadier-
general in the army when Greneral Wolfe was killed in
the battle fought on the plains of Abraham near Quebec,
and the immortal Nelson and his eleve Sir William
Hoste, K.C.B.f Though last of all, yet not least in fame
as a military man, stands Major-Greneral Windham, who
so highly distinguished himself in the attack of the Eedan,
at the siege of Sebastopol. In the early part of this
century I had the pleasure of being introduced to the
veteran Lord Townsend at his residence, Rainham, in
Norfolk, by a friend of mine. He was at that time a
fine looking old soldier, about eighty years of age, and hi^
address and manners were extremely courteous. There
are few people now living who can say they have seen
the companion in arms of the celebrated General Wolfe.
Some most atrocious characters have also been natives

* Sir Jolin FastoliFe obtained considerable reputation as a general in
the loth century. He served in Ireland imder Sii- Stephen Scrope, and
on his death, 1408, inarried his widow, heii-ess of the Tibbot family, of
•whose rich estates in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire he consequently
became possessed. He soon after obtained the honour of knighthood
and order of the Garter. He was woimded 'at the battle of Agincoiu-t.
In 1429 he defeated 6000 French with only ] 500 English, and brought
relief to the army before Orleans. He was buried with his wife in
the church of Oulton, near Lowestoft. A sacrilegious robbery was
committed ia this chui'cli, February 1857, in which the thieves carried
off the brass effigies of this general and his wife, which, being large,
were of considerable value. The male figure, represented in a standing
attitude, clothed in armour, head uncovered, and in an attitude of
prayer ; the female shows the fashion of her time by her drapery and
fantastic head-dress. The date of the brass of which the figures were
made was stated to be about the year 1479.

t Sir Wm. Hoste was a particular friend of mine.

MORTALITY AMOXG rARTRIDGES. 41

of this county — Thomas Paiiie, the infidel political
writer, author of " The Eights of Man ; " Eush, who
shot Mr. Jermy and his son, wounded Mrs. Jermy and
fired at the lady's maid, who fortunately escaped unhurt.
Eush w^as hung at Norwich. Thurtell, who had been
an officer in the militia, and was executed at Newgate
f(jr the murder of his friend Mr. Weare, was aLo a
native of Norfolk.

Eecently on the estate of the Duke of Portland, the
Nottingham papers mention, a " great mortality prevails
among the partridges, and hundreds have been found
dead in all directions, without any reasonable or ap-
parent cause. AMien dissected, there is something in
the intestines similar to the tape worm ; but the breed
itself has not latterly been so numerous, supposed to
arise from their breeding ' in and in.' In consequence,
on many of the detached estates, as at Elksley and
other places, the keepers are netting all they possibly
can, in order that they may be set at liberty in the
preserves around Welbeck, which we hope may stay
the fm-ther progress of the mortality."

42 EEMIXISCENCES OF A SPOETSMA^^.

CHAP. V.

KED-IEGGED PAETEIDGE. — SIEGE OF ST. PHILIPPE. — CIVIL GROAVL
OE AS OLD SP0ETS1IAN-.

" Tho' tropic birds boast painted plume,
Aiid no bright birds our groves illume,

A sweeter Yoice is theirs ;
The red-legg'd partridge too must yield
To that of Britain's wood and field,

Though gayer rest he wears.
For bon vivants and sportsmen say
Superior far the British grey." — J. P.

The red-leg partridge is wilder than the grey partridge ;
it is found in woods, rocks, and cornfields. They
run faster than the common partridge, and very fre-
quently change their ground ; it is certainly a much
finer bird in plumage than the grey one ; it is harder
to kill, and swift in its flight. The male is known by
certain small protuberances which appear on each foot.
The red -leg (caccalis rubra), called the French partridge,
is well known in the eastern counties. The red-leg is not
only a distinct species from the common partridge, but
belongs to a separate genus. On the continent, besides
that of which we are now speaking, a smaller species is
found called the rufus-breasted partridge.

This partridge was introduced into Suffolk, by the late
Marquis of Hertford : forty years ago, one of them was

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 43

shot in this county and it was regai»ded with as much
curiosity as if a ptarmigan had been shot there. Its
plumage is olive-green on the back, ashy-biue breast,
rufus belly, white throat, set off by a black spotted
necklace, and bright red legs and beak, which render it
a most attractive looking bird ; the fifth primary quill
feather is the longest. The old cock is furnished with
blunt spurs ; the eggs, generally eight or nine in number,
are each larger than those of the common species, and
are very different in colour, closely resembling in that
particular those of the guinea-fowl ; they commence
laying and hatch about the same time as the grey par-
tridge; the nest is generally exposed, the top of a bank
being a favourite nesting place. The flesh is white, but
when roasted it is dry and flavourless compared with
the English bird; served like a boiled fowl they are
much more palatable. Though very wary, it can scarcely
be called a shy bird, for it does not attempt, like the
common partridge, to conceal itself.

Enter a field where there is a covey, and provided the
cover is not too high you will see them set off running ;
walk after them, and they will continue to run, until
you approach nearer than they consider safe, and over
they pop, two or three at a time, into the next field,
scattering in all directions ; stand still, and you will
hear them all directly begin calling, chuck-chuck-
chuckar, chuck-chuck-chuckar, and if left alone, if ever
so much dispersed, they will get together in a very short
time. They avoid high cover, and if driven into it, will
get up in all parts of a field immediately a gun is fired ;
or perhaps one or two birds will run down a furrow
before 5"ou and get up against the hedge, just out of
shot. They seem more partial to fallows and baidey

44 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSiLlX.

stubbles, and are particularly fond of pulse ; indeed, all
the birds in the neighbourliood will generally be found
in a field newly sown with pea and tare. They are
easily driven together, and I once had them so well
managed that I bagged two brace at two shots.

Sportsmen in general tlislike having the red-legged
partridge on their estates * ; for, from their great pro-
pensity for running, they are sure to spoil young dogs ;
therefore every means are taken to keep them down,
or to get rid of them altogether ; and to accomplish
this they should be closely pursued after a fall of
snow, when there are several inches of it on the
ground ; they then quite lose their self-possession, and
immediately take to the hedges and lie very close.
Fifteen brace have been known to be killed in one day by
a pair of guns. They may sometimes be seen sitting on
gates or walls, sunning themselves, but they are never
known to perch on trees, like the American spruce-
partridge. WTien they find themselves surrounded by
horses and hounds they become so alarmed that you may
knock some down with your hunting whip. They have
the character of being very pugnacious, and driving the
grey partridge from the fields they frequent. When
there are several guns out, the best way is to enter a
field at different points and press the birds towards the
centre ; some of them will lie or go off within shot to
almost a certainty. A gentleman once saw an entire

* A friend of mine who had just returned from visiting a gentleman
residing a few miles from Brandon in Norfolk, told me a few days
ago that he complained much of the annoyance of the red-legged par-
tridge, which had increased so much as to have nearly driven away from
his estate the grey partridge, the former being so pugnacious ; in conse-
quence of this he had given orders to his gamekeepers to destroy their
nests, and even to shoot them in the breeding season.

RED-LEGGED rARTEIDGE. 45

covey of nine birds shot in as many minutes by pursuing
this plan in a field of mangold.

There are rarely more in a covey than from nine to
twelve birds.

^^^len I Avas shooting in the island of Sardinia, many
years ago, in the months of November and December, I
was able to kill sometimes five or six brace of the red-
legged partridge, having the advantage of a variety of
low covers where the birds would occasionally lie close,
and in some parts of this island the red-legged partridges
were numerous. In two respects the red-legged differs
from the grey partridge. The former rarely or never
flock together, whilst in the latter part of the season I
have seen fifty brace get up in one field. They take
the precaution to secure themselves from the sudden
attacks of polecats, stoats, &c. by never remaining during
the night in coverts, but nestle together in the midst of
large fields far removed from hedges and coppices,
where they delight to haunt during the day. So far
back as the time of Charles the Second, several pairs of
the red-legged partridge were turned out at Windsor to
obtain a stock, but they are supposed to have mostly
perished, although some of them or their descendants
were seen for a few years afterwards. The late Duke of
Northumberland was in hopes of their increasing on his
estate ; but the late Earl of Rochford and the Marquis
of Hertford were at the most expense and trouble to
establish them in this country.

Both these noblemen had not only numbers of the
birds sent over from France, but also imported a vast
number of their eggs, which were hatched under hens
and set at liberty at a proper age ; Mr. Daniel tells us,
that "in 1777 he found within two miles of Colchester,
a covey of fourteen ; they were in a very thick piece of

46 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

turnips, and for half an hour baffled the exertions of a
brace of good pointers to make them take wing, and the
first that so immediately perched on the hedge, was shot
in that situation, without its being known what bird it
was. A leash more was at length sprung from the
turnips and shot, and two days after a brace more
was killed by another person. From that time until
November 1799 he never shot one. He was then out
at Sudbourn, with a gentleman who was particularly
anxious to kill some of the red-legged partridges, and
hunted with a brace of capital pointers for them only.
The instant the dog stood the red-legged birds ran, and
always took wing at such distances as to be out of the
laage of the shot from any fowling-piece. Upon the
same grounds and on the same day they lay until the
springing spaniels almost touched them before they rose,
and in a short time he killed two brace and a half."

They had one peculiarity, that when wounded they
will go to ground in the rabbit burrows.

"WTiilst on the subject of red-legged partridges, I may
mention a curious circumstance witnessed by me in the
summer of 1813. I was sent, as second in command, by
the late Colonel Prevost to receive the sword of the
French colonel who commanded the fortress of St.
Philippe, which surrendered to us after a seige of ten
days. I afterwards walked with the French commandant
about the place, and to my surprise I saw several large
wooden cases, placed in a secure situation, filled with red-
legged partridges, fattening for the colonel's table. But
" there is many a slip between the cup and the lip," and
I strongly suspect he never tasted one of them, as the
officers and soldiers of the garrison were very soon sent
off on board our transports as prisoners of war. This
proved to me that had I been there a month later, I

CIVIL GRO>YL OF AX OLD SPOETSMAX. 47

should have had good sport with the red-legged par-
tridges. WTien the colonel gave me his sword he
appeared very dejected, and said, " L'Empereur ne me
ixirdonnera jamais." I inquired his reason, to which
he replied that Napoleon had given a positive order
that no place should be surrendered until it had stood
one assault. But fortunately during the night one of
our shells blew up the magazine, which left him no
alternative but that of hoisting the white flag. I had
been ordered by Colonel Prevost to take the command
of the detachment that was to storm the breach at day-
light and to say the truth, I was not sorry to see the
white flag hoisted, as it saved an effusion of blood. A
friend of mine, a general officer, at that time a captain
43rd light infantry, told me that after the capture of
Badajos by the Duke of Wellington, the country
being very open and corn lands, the officers amused
tliemselves on sultry days, when there w^as little or
no wind, in riding down the red-legged partridges,
which, when tired, they wounded wdth their w^hips,
and frequently captured several brace of them. This
I can readily imagine, for when much alarmed they
become stupefied.

The civil growl from an old sportsman in the
" Pleld " newspaper I have found so amusing I cannot
help inserting it : —

" Ay, a}^, ay ! It's all very well, your days of breech-
loading and patent cai'tridges, machines for killing birds
at a hundred yards off, and capable of firing off as much
ammunition in an hour as a man can carry, so that ere
long you will want three or four men to carry j^our
powder and shot for you. But your guns, 3^our breech-
loaders, and all that, don't make a bit better target, as

48 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSM.iN",

you call it, if as good, as that old steel and flint Man-
ton of my father ; so you a'n't much advanced in that
respect, for I doubt if your workmanship is one bit
better, or that your gun shoots closer or harder than
ours did, though in mechanism, I give in. To be sure,
the flint and steel took a long time going off, particu-
larly in wet weather, when it might not go off at all ;
and although the percussion was a great innovation, yet
after all, it was beneficial, and the percussion upon trial
answered ; but I stop there. The percussion muzzle-
loading double is my Eubicon. In all conscience, my
dear boys, what can you want more? Can't you kill
your twenty to twenty-five brace a day with it comfort-
ably, and what d'ye want more ? Ain't twenty-five
brace a day enough for sport and satisfaction to any
man who is a sportsman and isn't a butcher ? Why,
d — n it, sirs, here's Lord B. and Lords S. and W. killing
their 160 and 190 brace a day! By the Lord Harry,
sir, it is murder, sheer murder, and slavery likewise !
Why a man might as well be a steam gun at once, as
go hammering away from morning to night in this way ;
it's a mere pigeon match. What room either for walk-
ing, for dogs working and finding ? for expectation,
healthy excitement, or shoAving good sportsmanlike
acquirements, when its nothing but kill ! kill ! kill ! one
continued bang ! bang ! bang ! all day long as fast as
you can fire? To my notion there's no sport in it, and
it completely defeats the entire object and end of sport.
Now, look you, I can understand the use of your breach-
loading system, were your object to exterminate; and
no doubt in military matters, when one man had as well
be half a dozen men as not, and where there may occur
moments where two or three shots may save his life, it's
all very well ; and for cavalry carbines too, of course, the

CIVIL GROWL OF AX OLD SPORTSMAX. 49

advantage of not being bothered with ramrods and all
that's enormous. But, confound it, sir, you don't want
to exterminate the partridge, do you ? and if so, why
not take and net 'em at once, and done with it In my
days, we treated the partridges with gentlemanly and
sportsmanlike consideration ; we did not shoot at 'em
over thirty yards, over which you sometimes kill, but
more often wound and maim a feathered sufferer, which
going away to some secret place pines and dies miser-
ably. Partridges then got up at a deliberate and
respectable distance from twelve to twenty yards rise,
and we had ample time while the flint was going off, to
pick our bird before he got out of distance. We never
used to talk of seventy yards then, because we never
shot at it. We kept our partridges for our sport,
pleasure, and healt^j, not simply for a morbid love of
killing. Confound you ! who would ever have thought
that you would have brought that infernal, unsportsman-
like French gimcrack of a word ' battue,' to bear on our
poor modest little partridge ? But so it is, more 's the
pity I Well, well ; the country's going to the devil
with all these new- fangled notions ; what between the
butchers on the one side, and the snivelling tub-thum-
pers crying out against the game laws, and all that, on
the other ; what wth the great ' I am,' the leading
journal, as you call it (small credit in leading folks who
liave left off judging for themselves), sneering at, and
running down every sport, from hunting to prize fight-
ing, and wanting to reduce the nation to a parcel of
cheating money grubbers, without one sentiment of fair-
play or manliness, in order that it may be the sooner
used up, — the country, I repeat, is going to the devil.
Hang me such journals, I say, in my day had any such

E

50 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

ventured to attack fox-hunting, and its chief and
honoured supporters, and pitched into those sort of
sports, that make us the manly people we are, we'd
have bm-nt it, sir, have burnt it along with the editor's
efifigy in every country town and market-place in the
kingdom ; aye, d — n me, we would, even if some twenty
couples of stout hunting whips weren't anxiously seeking
to make the acquaintance of the writer. And see what
comes of your go-a-head progress, march of intellect,
and the Lord knows what. Look at your dogs again ;
what's become of the steady, double -nosed Spanish
pointer, who never made a mistake, eh ? Wliy you've
done away with him for a racing, tearing, galloping
steam engine, who hardly makes anything else. Even
where you pretend to preserve, as in everything else, you
over do the thing. And what do you know of partridge
shooting as a sport ? what can you care about it when
the birds are like flocks of rooks, not coveys. Is it
worth your while to study the habits of this wily bird,
when you have only to enter a field to find seven or
eight coveys ? Not a bit ; and, look you, a partridge is
a wily bird, and has more cleverness than you give him
credit for, and many a time has an old hen carried
her covey away from me, out of harm, in spite of all
my experience. But what do you care about that ?
' Let's find another covey,' that's your motto. Not mine
though ! . . .

" Well, well ; I only know that what with your new-
fangled notions of farming ; and what with your grub-
bing up the hedgerows and spinneys, and your pot-
hunters, and game sellers, battues, and breech-loaders,
the country, I maintain, is losing its sportsmanlike ways,
and going right away, sir, to the very devil."

51

CHAP. VI.

PHEASANT SHOOTING. — OEDEAL FOR YOUNG SPORTSMEN. — SHOOT-
ING IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE AND WINDSOR. — CAMP ON BAGSHOT

HEATH. THE POET BOWLES. — BATTUES AT COL. ADEANE's.

BATTUE AT GENERAL BULWER's. — GOLD PHEASANTS AT BLENHEIM.

" Not so the pheasant on his charms presumes,
Though he, too, has a glory in his plumes ;
He, Christian-like, retreats with modest mien,
To the close copse, or far sequestered green,
And shines -without desiring to he seen." — Cuwper.

Welcome October I This I consider altogether the
most agreeable month in the year for field sports. The
rays of the sun are now moderated, and occasion less
fatigue both to the sportsman and his dogs. You have
also a greater variety of game, for as the partridge
shooting is still very good, more particularly in the
counties where turnips and cole seed are much cultivated,
you find occasionally pheasants in these fields, and fre-
quently in the hedge-rows. The days are still suffi-
ciently long for a good day's sporting, and the weather
warm enough to induce the game to lie well.

It is generally asserted that there are more fine days
in this month than in any month in the year, and I
believe it to be the case. Charles the Second said that

52 KEMINISCENCES OF A SPOKTSMAN".

ours was the best climate iu Europe, for that a gentle-
man might take exercise, either on horseback or on foot,
any day in the year. This I cannot admit, for certainly
this cannot be done without much discomfort, and on
some occasions not without risk. Torrents of rain fall
sometimes for twenty-four hours, and the gales of wind
from the south-west so violent as nearly to blow a man
off his horse, or even off his legs ; and we know from
accounts in the newspapers that travellers on foot in
the north perish in snow-storms or sometimes in drifts
of snow. These, I think, are sufficient proofs that King
Charles looked with too favourable an eye on the climate
of England.

The sleepless nights which I passed before the com-
mencement of grouse and partridge shooting, I never
experienced on the last day of September. A month or
six weeks' previous shooting had to a certain extent
cooled my sporting ardour, and both men and dogs go
to their work with less excitement ; independently of
which, I think pheasant shooting is not thoroughly
enjoyable before the middle of November, when the
covers have been deprived of their foliage*, the brambles,
briars, and long grass probably subdued by the frost,
and walking less fatiguing for the sportsman in the low
fells of three or four years' growth ; although when the
woods have been shot in for some time you must make
up your mind to beat patiently the fells of ten or twelve
years" growth, into which the game then takes refuge.

* " But see the fading many colonred woods.

Shade deepening over shade, the country round
Imbrown ; a crowded umbrage, dark and dim,
Of every hue, from wan declining green
To sooty dark." — Thomsox.

PIIEASAXT SHOOTING. 53

To be sure, in these high fells, you have the annoyance
of hearing the game rise and rarely getting a shot ;
but generally you are amply compensated for this
penance, by getting some good shooting in the low cover.
Sportsmen who are shy of undertaking this task will
rarely make a good bag in large woods. This, I feel
confident, all old sportsmen will admit. I do not
include in this class your decided battue shooters.

In young plantations, particularly of larch, where the
grass grows strong and high from being exposed to the
sun and air, I have had good pheasant shooting in
October, as the birds lie well there, also in thick hedge-
rows and willow beds ; for the hedgerow shooting there
should be two guns, a brace of strong steady spaniels,
and a retriever. Pheasants are very fond of lying in
willow beds and moist situations during the warmth of
the day, for it is a bird that requires much water. * In
the middle of the day in this month, the sportsman fully
enjoys a glass of old October ale.

" Nor wanting is the broMTi October clra-mi,
Mature and perfect, from its dark retreat,
Of thirty years, and now his honest front
Flames in the light refulgent, not afraid
Even with the vineyard's best produce to vie."

Thomsox.

The pheasant, which is now found in most parts of
the kingdom, was brought from the country through
which the river Phasis takes its course, and from which
it derives its name. This river pursues its rapid course
from the Iberian Caucasus, the most lofty and craggy

* " The Bristol Times" states that a party of gentlemen, shooting on
Mr. Ward's Manor of Fern Park, killed, in one withy bed, the extra-
ordinary number of fifty -three brace of pheasants.
E 3

54 KEMIN'ISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

mountains of Asia, and falls into the Black Sea about
700 miles from Constantinople. Amongst our game
birds we have none that can rival the cock pheasant
for the beauty of his plumage and the elegance of his
shape *, and when they have been hung a sufficient time
in the larder f they are esteemed a great delicacy for
the table. In my younger days, when pheasants were
scarcer than they are at present, when one formed part
of the second course, one or two of the tail feathers
were fixed in the bird.

Since battue shooting has been so generally in fashion
for the last six or seven years, pheasants may be found
in abundance in most parts of England and in some
counties of Scotland and Ireland. I believe it is not
many years since pheasants were bred in the latter
country : my reason for stating this is that I resided for
two years in the south of Ireland, and shot much in the
counties of Carlow, Waterford, and sometimes in Wex-
ford and Wicklow, and I am quite certain I never once
saw a pheasant. At the present time some of the covers
in Ireland are well stocked with them, and we read in the
newspapers of sixty or seventy being killed at one day's
battue.

"VMien you have decided on what part of your estate
you intend to shoot, on the 1st of October (usually the

* "Ah ! -what avails his glossy varying dyes,
His purple crest, and scarlet circled eyes ;
The vivid green his shining plumes unfold,
His painted wings, arid breast that flames with gold."

Pope's Windsor Forest.
t A friend of mine would never send a present of game, until he had
kept it the proper time for dressing, that justice might be done to it.
If he was alive what would he have thought of what I heard a lady say
to her gamekeeper, " Go out and shoot a pheasant for dinner to-day I "

DIRECTIONS FOR THEASAXT SHOOTING. 55

outskirts), make your reconnaissance quietly over the
corn fields, without a dog, about foiu: o'clock in the after-
noon, when you may be almost sure of seeing the phea-
sants feeding. If the adjacent woods have full grown
oak trees, and the season for acorns be good, you may
then fairly calculate that some pheasants are still in the
wood to feed on the acorns, which are a favourite food
of these birds. Should you have a wood in your neigh-
bourhood, part of which belongs to you, and the remainder
to other proprietors, if you should not have obtained the
exclusive right of shooting in it, and the cover being the
property of several individuals, and therefore difficult to
preserve, then I recommend you should be at the wood
with pointers or spaniels (the latter if the underwood
is strong) at six o'clock in the morning ; and although
at the end of the last season it was cleared of game, if
corn fields are adjacent to it, two or three guns will most
likely bag four or five brace of pheasants and some hares
and rabbits.

On the 1st of October, if you know of one or two
nides of pheasants being bred on the outskirts of your
estate, or on neutral ground, you should of course take
the field early in the morning for the attack of the
young birds. We find in " The Spectator," that the
favourite character of Addison, Sir Eoger de Coverley*,
adopted the system of going " Some distance from his

* Wheu covers have been -well beat in eveiy pai-t, it is advisable to do
the same on the outside, and if there should be any thick hedgercfw-s,
small patches of furze or brakes, these also should be closely beaten, as
the pheasants, particularly cocks, frequently leave the -wood to take
shelter there. Nothing is more detrimental to pheasant shooting, than
wild spaniels that chase hares and rabbits, as they cbive the pheasants
away.

E 4

56 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

house, and gets into the frontiers of his estate before he
beats about in search of a hare or partridge, on purpose
to spare his own fields, where he is alwa5's sure of finding-
diversion. For this reason, the country gentleman, like
the fox, seldom preys near his o\vn house."

A connection of mine has a wood within two or three
miles of him, of about fifty acres, a divided property ;
by his adopting the above plan, I have had, some years
ago, on the 1st of October, a good day's pheasant shoot-
ing, according to my taste as a sportsman of the old
school, for what we bagged was acquired by fagging
hard, and contending with brambles, briars, and other
strong impediments, which are found at this season to
impede your walking. When the plantations are young
and the country intersected with large turnip fields, as
in Norfolk and Suffolk, I give the preference to pheasant
shooting with pointers ; and to recover wounded birds,
as they run with much speed, it is desirable to have a
steady retriever in a slip. The late Colonel Gillon, of
the Greys, an old friend of mine, when pheasant shoot-
ing in cover, had generally a leash of pointers, with
small bells attached to their collars, in order to ascertain
where they were, and when a dog was making a point.
This answered well in October, for then many of the
pheasants being young birds lie well, but later in the
season, when they are on the qui vive, or ready to make
use of their legs at the least alarm, the tinkling of the
bell makes them run, and when they rise are mostly out
of shot.

Colonel Gillon* was a first rate sportsman of the old

* Thirty years ago he died at Wallhouse, his residence about twenty
miles from Edinburgh, -vrhere he had an estate of 2000^. per annum. His
late son inherited a very large property in England.

ORDEAL FOR YOUNG SPORTSMEN. 57

school, an excellent shot, indefatigable, no day too long
for him, and no cover too strong. He might boast of
having as steady dogs as any in the kingdom, for they
were well kept, had plenty of work, and abundance of
game killed to them. This gentleman had what he
called his October grouse gim, with which I have heard
him say he could kill them at forty or fifty yards.

The ordeal that I should like a young sportsman to
imdergo, to prove whether he was likely to turn out a
persevering and zealous sportsman of the old school in
cover shooting, would be this. There are in Oxfordshire
a chain of covers of about one thousand acres, known by
the name of the Quarters. They consist of three large
woods, two of these between three and four hundred
acres *, separated by a few fields of cultivated land. The
soil of these woods is a stiff clay, in some parts of a very
moist nature ; and to effect the drainage for the benefit
of the trees and underwood, rather deep and wide open
drains have been cut in various directions, mostly
covered with long grass, until a sharp frost destroys the
herbage, and exposes them in some degree to the view
of the sportsman, who has also to contend with a
phalanx of blackthorn, bramble, briar, thick underwood,
and in some parts long sedgy grass. The underwood
consists of fells of different ages, from one to twelve
years' growth. The trees are almost all oak, and gene-
rally rather stunted. These woods f belong to a connec-

* It was in one of these woods, called Waterperry, that one of the
woodmen came in the spring to announce to tlie family, that he had seen
a woodcock sitting on its nest in the low cover. My sister-in-law went
with him to the wood, and approached cautiously to the spot ; she told
me she had plainly seen the brilliant black eyes of the bird ; she was sit-
ting close, and the young ones were hatched a few days aftei'n-ards.

t In these woods some years ago, the martin cat was occasionally shot

58 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN".

tion of mine, who, being more partial to fox-hunting than
shooting, preserves with care the foxes, and feels rather
indifferent about the preservation of the game. The
result to the sportsman's shooting is sometimes very
disheartening, for he may perhaps beat parts of these
extensive covers without hardly getting a shot.*

I would give the young sportsman a week's shooting
in these woods in the latter end of October. He should
have two or three brace of strong spaniels, like the
Clumber breed f, and a good retriever. If he displays
in the six days' shooting, patience, perseverance, and a
determined resolution to overcome all the formidable
obstacles of the Quarters, including now and then a
rattling fall into one of the open drains, at the time
when excited and anxious to keep close to his dogs,
watching their movements, and in momentary expecta-
tion of getting a shot, then I declare he is worthy of
belonging to the class of old-fashioned sportsmen, and a
worthy disciple of St. Hubert. Hereafter I shall enter
into some details of the great exertions, fatigue, and
patience required by those sportsmen who, during the
winter, are devoted to battue shooting: the contrast I
suspect will be striking.

Large covers that contain three or four hundred acres,

and trapped, but none hare been seen for some years. The biLzzard or
kite has also totally disappeared.

* About two or three years ago, on the 1st October, two guns bagged
five brace of cock pheasants in the low cover of one of these large woods,
besides hares. Such success as this rarely occurred.

t I gave one of these dogs three or four years ago to a young sports-
man, a connection of mine, who has the shooting in the Quarters. He
told me Dash was the best spaniel he had ever had ; that he fetched
his game tender-mouthed, and that if any other dog attempted to touch
it, he instantly fell on him, and di-ove him off. These dogs are red and
white, strongly made in the chest and hind quarters, and have an intel-
ligent countenance. They are in general not good tempered.

SIIOOTIXG IX CAMBEIDGESTIIRE. 59

should, to insure tolerable success in shooting, have wide
rides cut in various parts, equalising the divisions as
nearly as the shape of the wood will allow. If the party
consists of four or five guns, one or two of them should
keep along the ride, to fire at any game crossing the
opening, more especially hares and rabbits. If the
openings are narrow, then let the best snap shots com-
mand the pass. Young sportsmen, from an over-anxiety
to get shots, sometimes advance out of the line of
shooters ; in doing this there is much risk, and I have
known several men who have had their legs well pep-
pered, especially if rabbits and hares are numerous in
the cover.

Some years ago, I was shooting with a party at
Babraham near Cambridge, the residence of the late
Mr. Adeane. The Eev. J. Stanley, uncle to Mr. Adeane,
and afterwards Bishop of Norwich, was of the party. It
was a battue. We arrived at a thick fir plantation on
the side of a steepish hill. The spot where I was to
take my station was pointed out to me by the game-
keeper : I had been there but a short time, when a shot
was fired at a pheasant above me, when my right side
received a greater part of the discharge, which fortunately
only penetrated through a thick velveteen shooting jacket,
as Mr. Stanley, who had fired the shot, was about seventy
yards above me. Had he been forty yards nearer, I have
little doubt my career would have ended. I instantly
called out, not knowing who it was that had fired, that if
I received a second salute of that kind, I should return
the compliment with two barrels.* Mr. Stanley in-
stantly came running much alarmed, to find out whether

* The late liishop was an excellent and good tempered man, I had met
him Lefoi'e at Bagneres de Bigorre in the Pj-renees.

60 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

I had been wounded. I soon made him easy on this
point, but jokingly told him he must purchase me a new
shooting jacket.

I think you generally find that pheasants are more
on the alert, and rise quicker in the afternoon than
in the morning ; which may be accounted for by their
feeling a desire to go and feed in the stubbles. Phea-
sants after they have been frequently shot at, become
fully aware that their safety is better secured by their
legs than their wings, and if the covers are open at bot-
tom, as the beech woods in Buckinghamshire and Oxford-
shire, they then run like greyhounds, and your only
chance of getting shots, is to have men or boys to drive
them towards you. I hardly know a more wily bird
than an old cock pheasant, who on many occasions dis-
plays skilful manoeuvres to save his life. The hen bird
is rather stupid when compared to the male, lies much
closer, and if allowed to be shot, you soon find that you
have less difficulty in getting shots at them than at the
male birds. For the dinner table, the hens have a decided
advantage, being more tender and delicate. I recollect
once being out with a party pheasant shooting, when
we marked down an old cock pheasant in a small shaw^,
and when we had taken our stations round it we put a
brace of spaniels in to make him rise ; although the
spaniels were hunting him backwards and forwards in
this small cover it was more than ten minutes before he
took wing, when his fate was sealed.

It is a good plan, in order to prevent the pheasants,
hares and rabbits running out of the wood, to have
some white feathers tied to twigs a foot or two from the
ground, which blowing about, scares the game, and
keeps it in the cover. This is frequently done on the

SIIOOTIXG IX CAMBRIDGESHIRE. Gl

continent. This is preferred in Germany to having men
and boys 2:)laced on the sides, who from their talking or
noise of their footsteps, cause the larger game, more
especially the wolves, who are at all times on the alert,
instantly to leave the forest or wood. The precaution
of feathers is particularly necessary to be adopted when
the side of the cover is adjacent to another person's
property, for on these occasions your kind neighbours
are sometimes keeping a sharp look out to convey to
their own larders all stragglers. A rather curious in-
stance of this kind occurred to me many years ago when
I resided in Cambridgeshire. I invited some friends on
the last day of shooting to a battue, for though contrary
to my usual ideas of shooting, one must sometimes
comply with the sporting fashions of the day ; amongst
the number the late Lord Maryborough, brother of the
Duke of Wellington. He inquired of me how many
guns there would be : I told him five or six, upon which
he observed they were too many, and he must decline
the invitation, as there is some chance of a man getting
shot with so numerous a party.

On the day of this battue, after we had beat some of
the plantations round the park, we heard two or three
shots fired on the outside, and very near. I sent the
gamekeeper to make quietl}'' a reconnaissance in the
direction we had heard the shots, as I suspected it was
Lord Maryborough, who rented the shooting on that
side, and some of the fields of this manor were very
near the plantation. The keeper soon returned telling
me it was his Lordship with his head gamekeeper, keeping
a sharp look out to bag all game that escaped us in that
direction. On another side I had two more enemies
to my game. A farmer who possessed two or three

62 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

hundred acres of open field copyhold land in the parish,
a thorough pot hunter, who shot hares in their formes.
The other a coal merchant, was much the same style of
sportsman. They must have bagged several brace of
my fat pheasants, for I fed them well. These are
some of the annoyances to which game preservers are
liable unless their estates are very extensive.

To say the truth, I could not help feeling rather sur-
prised when I was informed that it was my noble
neighbour who was picking up the stragglers, as he
rented very extensive shooting, well stocked with game.
"Mais Vappetit vient en lyiangeant,''^ particularly as
regards shooting. In other respects he was an excellent
neighbour, and kept a princely table.

Of the other party, I fully expected they would be on
the alert on this occasion, as I was not on good terms
with the farmer, on account of his being an unfair
sportsman. There were about eight hundred acres of
open field land ; this we both shot over, as the lands of
the various proprietors were intermixed, and only divided
by balks of green sward. Fortunately I had about three
hundred acres, enclosed fields, wood, and plantation,
independent of five hundred of the open field, which
enabled me to keep up a good head of game. At that
battue, I dare say we shot forty brace of pheasants, for
being the last day of shooting no quarter was given
to the hens. The soil of this parish was particularly
favourable to the breeding game. I could go out any
fine day in September, and bag my eight or ten brace
of partridges, as there was much turnip and cole seed.*

* 111 the paper called " The Field," it is stated that in the beginning
of 1859, Lord Stamford and a party of seven guns, shot in one day

niEASAXT SIIOOTIXG AT WINDSOR. G:3

With respect to the party that were at tin's battue, I
have the same melancholy report to make. They are
all ill their graves ! Two of them died in the prime
of life ; one, a baronet, of consumption in the island of
INIadeira. I feel most grateful to Providence that, not-
withstanding all the vicissitudes of my life, I have been
spared so long, and in the enjoyment of good health,
surrounded by my children and grandchildren.

The pheasants belonging to royalty require to be
well fed, as well as those of noblemen and gentlemen, to
prevent their going to feed on the farms adjacent, be-
longing to private individuals, who, in consideration that
the birds feed on their stubbles, may fairly feel justified
in shooting some of them. This opinion, with some
others, I must own I entertained when I was quartered
at Windsor, in 1817, with a battalion of the Guards.
There was an arable farm, between one and two hundred
acres, situated very near Windsor Park. The property

belonged to the Hon. Colonel K , whose son was a

captain in the regiment, and was fond of shooting as
well as myself. Now as the royal pheasants had, I sus-
pect at that time frequently, un jour maigre, they
came in the afternoon from Windsor Park into the
fields of this farm. The Captain and myself often
manoeuvred with our dogs to cut off their retreat, and I
recollect on one occasion killing a brace right and left

2000 pheasants. Monstrous slaughter ! Half or two thii-ds of these birds
were brought up under hens. In the coiu'se of the week the party shot near
7000 head of game. The only shooting this can be compared to are the
great battues in some parts of Austria and Hxmgarj% in the extensive
forests of those countries. But then ^vild boars, -wolTes, and stags form
part of the animals slaughtered : noble game when compared to the poor
pheasants.

64 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

when tliey were steering their course to the park,
and we saw at the same time a gamekeeper watching
us through the park paling. This anecdote shows that
to retain pheasants in your wood and pla,ntations you
must not be niggardly of food, and nothing attains this
object so well as giving them occasionally in troughs,
placed in the covers, white peas, of which pheasants are
immoderately fond. By the combined exertions of the

late Greneral C , Captain K , and myself, all keen

sportsmen, our regimental mess was well supplied with
royal pheasants, snipes, and occasionally woodcocks and
hares. The snipes we shot on the swampy parts of
Bagshot Heath, the hares and woodcocks on a small
property belonging to a friend of mine near Windsor, on
which there were two or three small covers, but no
pheasants.

Just nineteen years from this period, I had been
encamped on Bagshot Heath with the Gre3^s (1798) in
which corps I was then a lieutenant. We had a force
of from 8000 to 10,000 cavalry under the command of
the late Sir D. Dundas, who was then in high favour
with George the Third, and at that time looked up to
as the most skilful general in the movement of a large
body of cavalry. But, as in the case of the great Duke of
Marlborough, that vile passion, avarice, made him con-
temptible, which was carried so far as even to have
patches of scarlet sown on old uniforms.

An anecdote which I know to be true is related of
him, which occasioned much disgust at the time. In
one of the charges of cavalry, made at Bagshot Heath,
the horse of a private of the 7th Light Dragoons fell, and
the rider sustained a compound fracture in one of his
legs. Whilst the surgeon of the regiment was giving

CAMP AT BAGSIIOT HEATH. 65

directions to cut open the boot of the poor feUow, to
prevent the great pain of drawing it off, Sir D. Dundas
came up to inquire what was the matter. On being told
of the accident, and that it was thought necessary to cut
the boot, he exclaimed to the Doctor, " Sir, they are my
boots ; they are my boots, and they shall not be cut."
To explain this order Sir David was colonel of the 7th
Light Dragoons, and supplied the privates with boots.

What a sad contrast Windsor Castle between the year
1798, when I first knew it, and when I was quartered
there with the Guards in 1817. In the former period
it was the residence of the finest royal family in Europe.
How Avell I recollect when 5^ou might see numerous
officers of every corps riding from the encampment in
their splendid uniforms (at that time ornamented with
much gold and silver lace) to walk on the terrace at
Windsor. Here the king and queen, the handsome
princesses, some of the princes, a numerous suite of
courtiers, and the nobility and gentry of the neighbour-
hood promenaded on the Sunday evening. 0 tempora
mutantur ! In 1817, not any branch of the royal family
resided there, excepting the good old king, who was
then deranged. A small table was kept for equerries in
waiting, and everything appeared gloomy and silent
around this noble edifice. Death about this period had
begun to thin the ranks of the royal family ; and what
a solemn and melancholy scene I witnessed the winter
of that year, when it was my duty as Colonel of the
Guards at the Castle to receive the body of the Princess
Charlotte, escorted by a detachment of the Blues from
Claremont. It was about one o'clock, a fine moonlight
night in the month of November, when the cortege
arrived, and when I saw the coffin taken out of the

F

66 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

hearse, how strongly this scene impressed upon my mina
the vicissitudes and vanities of this world. Here was a
princess that death had suddenly snatched from us in
the midst of youth and happiness, the idol and hope of
the nation, and married to the husLand of her affections.
WTien the body lay in state, one would have supposed
that the whole population of London had come to take
a last farewell of this beloved and popular princess, from
the immense crowds that arrived, who were allowed to
walk round the chamber of death. It is with sincere
and heartfelt satisfaction that I find in my old age a
revival at Windsor Castle of the happy family scenes of
1798, and I hope and trust their blessings of health and
happiness may long continue.

Mais revenons a nos moutons.

When the wind is very high, and the cover on the
side of a steepish hill, and you are posted at the bottom
on the sides of the wood, with the wind blowing towards
you, the gamekeeper with dogs, or two or three men
beating down the slope of the hill towards you, you will
find it no easy matter to bring down the pheasants, fly-
ing like hawks over your head ; at least I always did. I
recollect when, many years ago, I obtained a day's
shooting at Lord Arundel's, Wardour Castle, at the re-
quest of Mr. Charles Bowles of Shaftesbury. His agent,
the head keeper, a very knowing fellow, by way of saving
his pheasants, placed me in a low situation, the cover
being on the side of a steep slope, and the wind blowing
great guns, and entering the cover with his dogs at the
top of the hill, drove a considerable number of pheasants
over my head, going with the wind, and apparently tra-
versing the air with almost the swiftness of the golden
eagle, which ornithologists calculate at the rate of 140

THE POET BOWLES. 67

miles an hour.* The result was anything but satisfac-
tory, for I wasted my powder and shot, and seldom put
a pheasant into the bag. On the keeper joining me, I
told him plainly, that as his lordship had given me only
one day's shooting, I had come with the full expectation
of returning to Shaftesbury with well-filled game-bags,
which I had a slight chance of doing, in having covers
beaten, situated as that he had just gone through on
such a windy day, that he must take me to covers well
sheltered and well stocked with game, and unless he did
this, his fee would be silver instead of gold. This had
the desired effect, and I returned to Mr. Bowles entirely
satisfied with my day's sport. I have not mentioned
the gentleman who attended me as my sporting com-
panion, although he had not been idle. It was the
Eev. J. Bowles, better known as the poet Bowles,
author of " The Sorrows of Switzerland," and many
other excellent poems, and subsequently canon of the
Salisbury Cathedral, where I believe he died. I met
this gentleman for the first time at the house of his
brother, Mr. Chai-les Bowles, solicitor at Shaftesbury,
with whom I was staying for a few days, for the object
of having some shooting in the neighbourhood. On the
morning appointed for my shooting at Lord Arundel's,
to the great astonishment of Mr. C. Bowles and myself,
the poet proposed going to shoot with me, if his brother
would lend him a gun. " What ! " exclaimed my host,

" you go out shooting with Captain H (I had

then a troop in the Oreys), " why you have never in
your life had a gun in your hand ; " adding, " it is very

* The svriSt is siipposed to fly at the rate of 180 miles au hour, and
the swallow at 150.

68 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

likely lie will shoot you Captain H instead of a

pheasant, for he is very absent." I langhed heartily,
and said I would take good care to give his brother a
wide berth. As the poet persisted in his desire to ac-
company me, his brother lent him a single-barrelled
gun, and we gave him a few lessons how to prime and
load. Off we started in my dog-cart, the place for
appointment being four miles distant. My poetical
companion fired away at hares, pheasants, and rabbits,
but they all escaped uninjured ; at last he came to me
rather excited, to let me know that he had seen a
pheasant sitting on the branch of a tree, and to ask if
he might shoot it. The gamekeeper being near, I
referred his request to him, who acceded to it, saying as
he had had the bad luck not to kill anything, he might
have a shot at the pheasant. On hearing this, Mr.
Bowles cautiously approached within about twenty yards
of the tree, and taking aim for at least two or three
minutes, he fired, and down dropped the pheasant,
which he brought with much exultation to us. The
keeper, touching his hat said, " Sir, the usual fee paid
for shooting a hen pheasant sitting is a guinea ; but as
you are brother to his lordship's agent, I shall let you off
for half a guinea," which sum he willingly paid.

The late Mr. Charles Bowles, the solicitor, was a very
eccentric character, well known in all that part of Dor-
setshire as Charley Bowles, the honest and generous
lawyer. I became acquainted with him, having been
quartered with ni}' troop for three or four months, the
preceding summer, at Shaftesbury, where he would
sometimes pay me a morning visit in his slippers and
dressing gown, without a hat, and to arrive at my lodg-
ings, he had to pass through one of the principal streets

BREEDIXG PHEASAXTS. 69

and across the market-place. No one was surprised at
seeing him in this singular costume, having been long
accustomed to his eccentric habits. As an antiquary,
Mr. C. Bowles's reputation stood high. He devoted
much time to antiquarian researches, and was often
applied to by families to elucidate abstruse and difficult
points in genealogy and heraldry. He was also a col-
lector of ancient coins. The father of these gentleman
was a clergyman and had the living of Donhead near
Lord Arundel's, Wardour Castle.*

Both pheasants and partridges are very partial to
making their nests in clover fields, and as these are
mown sooner than the natural grass, many nests are
frequently destroyed, and there are instances of old birds
sitting so close as to be actually killed by the scythe.
Gramekeepers who well understand their busiuess, in the
early part of the breeding season, disturb the clover
fields with their dogs, to prevent the pheasants and
partridges nesting in them. JNIany gentlemen keep
bantam hens, some of which are ready to sit in the
breeding season, and the mowers for a small reAvard will
bring the eggs they may find, to be hatched by the
bantams. They are very careful in rearing the young
birds : but on this subject, I shall dwell more largely in
treating on the best mode of rearing pheasants and
partridges.

* Lady Blanche, daughter of the Earl of "Worcester, and wife of Lord
Arundel, celebrated for her brave defence of Wardour Castle, against the
parliamentary army, which consisted of 1300 men; and although the
little garrison mustered only 45, yet she maintained the place for six days
and then capitulated. She died in 16-19, aged 66. In the modern resi-
dence of the Earl of Anmdel, is a fine collection of paintings, chiefly of
the Italian School, which was open to the public at the time I was
quartered at Shaftesbury.

70 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

The cock pheasants generally begin to crow early in
March, which can be heard at a considerable distance at
this season. They have sometimes been known to come
into farm yards, and produce a breed with the common
hen, known by the name of pied pheasants, which are
a degenerate breed of birds when compared with the
wild pheasant. I have seen them in woods, now and
then, but was always requested by the owners not to
shoot them. You may therefore conclude that these
variegated coloured pheasants are only preserved to look
at. The ring-necked pheasant is a very handsome bird.
The old Duke of Marlborough and the late Lord
Berkeley had many of them in their covers, the latter
on his estate at Chunford Bridge. I have seen them in
other preserves, and shot them ; I also shot in Essex * a
very handsome mule bird, which I had stuffed and sent
to my father-in-law. The hen bird, when it has ceased
to propagate its species, gradually assumes the plumage
of the male, and at this period the gallantry of the
cock pheasant ceases, and she is treated with all the
indifference and coolness which old maids now and then
experience in this unfeeling world.

Gamekeepers have a decided enmity towards these

* In the montli of November 1859, the Marquis of Bristol enjoyed the
sports of the field in Doveton Hall Wood, with Earl Jermyn, Lord Alfred
Hervey, and Lord North. The supply of game being ample, the noble
marquis, though in his eighty-ninth year, quickly brought dovna. eight
and a half brace of pheasants in twenty shots, and after a long walk
over the farm, viewing past improvements and ordering fi-esh ones,
finished the day by relieving with his usual liberality, the aged and
deserving poor of the neighbourhood. The pleasure of the day was
much increased by the company of ladies visiting at Ickworth, with a
portion of the venerable marquis's fail- and amiable forty-five grand-
children.

PROrORTIOX OF COCKS TO HEXS. n

mule birds, for they assert that they are very pugnacious
and troublesome to the younger hens, and are supposed
to derive much satisfaction in destroying their eggi^
whenever they discover their nests ; whether this is the
case I will not pretend to say, but I know that this opinion
prevails amongst gamekeepers.

Latham supposes that the male bird does not always
change its plumage from age, and Daniel, in his " Eural
Sports," states that he once shot a fall grown young
pheasant with the variety of plumage. The general
opinion which prevails amongst sportsmen is that it is
age which produces the change of the plumage of the
hen pheasant. Some years ago, it was sujjposed by
gentlemen preserving pheasants that one cock was
sufficient in the breeding season for a dozen or more
hens ; this has been found by subsequent experience to
be fallacious, and in the battues that now usually take
place on the two or three last days of pheasant shooting
the hens are shot. I have been at several of these
battues in Norfolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, and Oxford-
shire wdiere this was the case. It is difficult to say
what should be the proportion of cocks to hens. If I
might venture to give an opinion, from long experience,
I should say about one cock to four or five hens. I am
ojiposed to the male pheasants having too numerous a
seraglio. A cock may be frequently found with a nide
of young pheasants ; from this circumstance I cannot help
suspecting that he is assisting the hen in some of her
maternal duties.

The pheasant makes her nest on the ground, and lays
from ten to fifteen eggs. The young ones follow the
mother as soon as out of the shell, like a breod of young
partridges.

F -1

72 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

The pheasant and its brood continues in the stubbles
and young thick hedgerows for some time after the corn
is carried, provided they are left quiet, but, if disturbed
or shot at they retire into the woods. Pheasants are very
fond of salt, and are particularly partial to alder cars,
willow beds, and marsh lands, with sedgy covers that are
situated near the sea. The woods or covers in which
you may have small stacks of buckwheat, or in which
the pheasants are occasionally fed with white peas or
oifal corn, should be kept as quiet as possible. One
cover, especially, should never be shot in excepting on
the last day or two of the season, when no quarter
is given to either sex, and the gamekeepers should
keep a sharp look-out in the wood or woods where
the buckwheat stacks are placed, to prevent the
poachers setting their snares for pheasants; and in
order to discover if any persons had visited the stacks,
the keeper should fasten across the approaches to
them some fine threads of worsted of a darkish green,
and if he finds any of them broken, he may conclude
that some poaching had been going on. If these buck-
wheat stacks cannot be narrowly watched on accomit of
having to preserve an extensive manor, I think it is
better not to have any, but to feed the pheasants at
certain times. In Cambridgeshire, my keeper used to
call the pheasants of an afternoon to feed, with a whistle.
It was in an alder car of about an acre and a half near
the park, and was surrounded by a wide ditch, in some
parts nearly six feet in depth of water, and the entrance
was by a plank laid across the ditch. Many of the
alders were large and high, on which the pheasants
could perch at night, and in some parts the ground was
sufficiently dry for the pheasants to feed on. If the

PLAXTIXG IX S-WAMPY GROUXD. 73

poachers get into the alder car they would find much
difficulty in escaping if found by the keeper and his
assistants, the only retreat open to them, being the
plank across the ditch. Whilst I resided on this pro-
perty, I believe no poacher had the hardihood to attack
the pheasants at night in this fortress. I had then in
my service, a sharp vigilant gamekeeper, who, like a
Bristol merchant, slept with one eye open. He told me
that he had never heard a shot fired in this alder car.
Adjoining to it were about five or six acres of an Irish
boggy soil of a dark colour, into which you might drive
a stake with great facility five or six feet. I had wide
and deep trenches made in various directions, and
planted it with alders, black Italian poplars, and willows,
and other trees of this species ; in some parts which had
become tolerably dry, I planted blackthorn and other
dwarf shrubs. The trees in this ground, owing to its
having been well trenched grew surprisingly fast, and in
four or five years it became a good pheasant cover.
^Yhat puzzled me exceedingly was, that I could never
find any snipes in this swampy part of the property,
although there was a nice trout stream running through
one side of it on a gravelly soil. The only snipe I ever
saw was a jack, w^hich I shot. I suppose there was some-
thing in the soil which when the snipe bored was un-
palatable.* When I first went to reside in Cambridge-

* A gentleman meeting a friend one clay returning from shooting,
inquired what sport he had? he replied, "Very bad indeed, I have only
shot an imfortiinate jack snipe," pointing to a swampy place not far
distant from them. " 0 dear ! hare you ? " said the gentleman, " why that
jack snipe has afforded me amusement for the last month, and probahly
would for the remainder of the winter, for I am a desperate bad shot,"
which made his friend laugh heartily.

74 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

shire, 1820, Mrs H. at that time had never seen a
battue, which I mentioned to my neighbour, the late
Colonel Adeane, the proprietor of the Babraham estate.
He replied, " I am going to have a battue in two or three
days, and if Mrs. H. will come on that day, I will place
her in a situation on the Cambridge road where she will
have a good view of the pheasant shooting." The invi-
tation was accepted, and the lady stationed by the
colonel to have a full view of om' proceedings. The
plantation we were going to beat might be about a
quarter of a mile in length, of breadth rather narrow,
and composed chiefly of larch, fir, and beech of foiu- or
five years' growth. To deter the pheasants from attempt-
ing to escape on the sides of the cover, boys kept
walking in advance of the keeper, beating the fences
with long sticks, and making a noise. One party, con-
sisting of four guns, was stationed at the opposite end
of the plantation from where the keeper entered with
his beaters, distant from the road about two or three
hundred yards. Our directions from the Colonel were
to kill cocks and hens, but on no account to remove
from where we were placed after wounded birds. As
the beaters began to approach towards the end of the
plantation, the pheasants began to rise, two or three at
a time. Of these not many escaped who came within shot,
but when they arrived within about sixty yards of the
end of the plantation, the pheasants rose in all directions,
and in such numbers that they might literally be com-
pared to a flock of rooks, for I suppose at least for ten
minutes the sportsmen were employed (having no second
gun) in priming, loading, and firing as quickly as pos-
sible, and it frequently happened when you were taking
aim at one pheasant, another rising at the instant near

BATTUE AT COL. ADEANE'S. 75

you, distracted your attention from the first, and induced
you to fire in a hurry at the second. It requires a
sportsman to possess . considerable and good nerves to
withstand tlie excitement and confusion at the rapid
firing, and noise of so many pheasants rising at once.
]\Iany pheasants were killed, but I think full as many
escaped as were shot at, when men who were steady shots
would seldom have missed one in the old mode of shoot-
ing. The head gamekeeper then came with his retriever
to the scene of slaughter. The dog had an excellent
nose, and recovered several brace of winged birds. The
keeper said that he should be with his retriever at day-
light the next morning to find some more wounded
birds. Colonel Adeane's pheasants were particularly
well fed ; two or three of them that were shot high in
tlie air, burst when they fell on the ground from their
weight. We saw few hares, and no rabbits.* Mrs. H.
was much gratified by the view of the battue, but could
not help pitying the fate of the beautiful pheasants.

The Colonel adopted a very efficacious mode to prevent
the Cambridge men from sporting on his estate, which
was only six miles from Cambridge. He erected a
telegraj^h on a hill, from which they could see over his
estate in all directions. During the season, a man con-
stantly resided there during the day, in order to give
notice by the working of the telegraph to the head
keeper in what part of the estate the party were coursing
or shooting. The keeper, who had a pony constantly

* At the last shooting excursion in the preserves at Versailles, the
Emperor Napoleon -was accompanied by Prince Napoleon, Lord Co^^'ley,
&c., making in all nine giuis. The day's sport commenced at 10.30,
and lasted till five. The result— 19 deer, 797 hares, 65 rabbits, 1081
pheasants, and 5o partridges, or 2017 in all.

76 EEMIXISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

saddled, instantly started off in the direction pointed
out, and if the intruders did not immediately give up
sporting, took their names, and they were reported to
the heads of their colleges, but this seldom occurred, as
they generally made off when they saw the keeper
coming.

There are events in the early part of our lives, which
when brought to our recollection at an advanced age are
certainly a source of much pleasure and satisfaction, more
especially if they throw no dark shades on the picture,
and leave no trace of regret or remorse. The account I
am now about to give of my first battue at Greneral
Bulwer's at his residence, Heyden, which lasted three
days, combines every circumstance that could prove most
gratifying to the taste of some young sportsmen. Our
host, the Greneral, had always treated me with the greatest
kindness. The shooting party consisted of Colonel Har-
bord, afterwards Lord Suffield, Colonel Peter, his brother-
in-law, Mr. Merry of the War-office, and a barrister,
whose name I have forgotten. These were all good
sportsmen and agreeable companions. The shooting
was first-rate of that period, and the bonne chere and
excellent wines of our host, and pleasant conversation
of the party, made the evenings worthy rivals of our
day's enjoyment.

The game was in great abundance, particularly phea-
sants, and I think we killed on the average, each day,
about one hundred and forty head of game, mostly hares
and pheasants (the rabbits were kept down on account
of the young plantations), and six or seven couple of
woodcocks. This shooting would have exactly suited the
taste of sportsmen who have a decided aversion to the
fatigue of beating strong covers, as most of the shooting

BATTTE AT GEXERAL BULWER S. 77

was in the plantations of the above description, mostly
of four, five, and six years' growth. The walking also
was extremely pleasant, the soil being in general light and
sandy. The general was too infirm to shoot, but came
out to us on a pony, in the middle of the day, and re-
mained two or three hours to see the sport, and we had
the good fortime to have the weather propitious during
the whole time we remained at Heyden. The game
was spread out every evening in the hall for our inspec-
tion. In this hall, I recollect, was a large and fine
picture, by Schneider, of deer and a variety of dead
game. Of this party, I regret to say, there is not one
but myself alive. Mr. Merry who had been a con-
siderable time in the War-office, was a keen and good
sportsman, and an excellent shot; and, on this occa-
sion, he was highly gratified at having killed more
woodcocks than any one of the party. I had not met
him for nearly fifty years, and concluded he was dead ;
when, about four years ago, being on a visit to Lord
de S. at Cheltenham, I was not a little surprised when
I heard that a Mr. Merry was coming to dinner, to find
that it was the Mr. Merry who had been of our shooting
party at Greneral Bulwer's in 1807. I gave him a hearty
shake of the hand, and we talked over all the events of
our battue, which he still retained in his memory. At
a subsequent year I also met him at his Lordship's table
and again together drank a glass of chamjDague. Mr.
Merry died at Cheltenham about two years ago, at the
great age of ninety. He retired from the War-office
when about fifty years old, and being high in the
department, had a pension of 2000/. per annum for
forty years; the aggregate sum amoimting to 80,000/.
Do the officers of the army and navy receive such

78 EEMIXISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

pensions as these, although exposed for several years
to every climate and all the risks of war ? Colonel Peter
died at the age of eighty-two, about the same time as
Mr. Merry ; I was to have met him about six years ago
at Major-Greneral Sir E. Harvey's, near Norwich, with
whom we were staying a few days, and much regretted
that the Colonel was prevented accepting the invitation.
Two of the sons of Greneral Bulwer, who have so highly
distinguished themselves, one as a diplomatist, the
other as an author, were little boys when I was Brigade
Major to the General in 1803; we were great friends,
and many a game of romps we had together. I also
experienced much kindness from the late Mrs. Bulwer,
who was some years younger than her husband.

On the breaking up of the large cavalry camp on Bag-
shot Heath in 1798, the Grreys received a route to proceed
to Birmingham and Coventry. During this march we
halted one night at Woodstock, and soon after our
arrival we were anxious to visit Blenheim, raised by
a grateful nation for the residence of the great Duke of
Marlborough at an expense of 500,000^.* The architect
employed was Vanburgh. The paintings, consisting of
the works of Eubens, Teniers, Kneller, &c. were cer-
tainly much to be admired, but at that period of my
life my thoughts were more fixed on field sports than
on the fine arts. At a more advanced age I should
have been more observant of these treasures, having

* About the middle of the grand approach is a magnificent bridge of
three arches, under one of -which runs a small stream, which forms a large
lake in a valley below. Alluding to the fii-st duke's avarice, these two
lines were -written : —

" The bridge his high ambition shows,
The stream an emblem of his bounty flows."

GOLD PIIEASAXTS AT BLEXIIEIM. 79

been a great amateur and collector to a certain extent
of paintings. But I must confess that my curiosity
was then much more excited by the account I had
heard of the gold and silver pheasants which might be
seen flying wild in the plantations near the house.
When I was gratified with the sight of those beautiful
birds, how anxiously I wished to have had a few shots
at them. Daniel (in his " Rural Sports") says, " It is sup-
posed at that time 300 or 400 brace of each of these
species are to be found at large within the park wall."
I do not recollect seeing any of these pheasants when I
revisited Blenheim in 1834.

The Duke of Marlborough, great grandfather of the
present duke, was very fond of shooting. His Blenheim
spaniels were small, red and white, with large black
eyes, black nose, legs and tail well feathered, a spot on
the forehead, and altogether very pretty dogs.

The duke of that day beat with these spaniels the
plantations and woods that were not too thick at bottom,
and I have heard that it was a very pleasing sight to
see four or five brace of these beautiful well trained
dogs hunting so close near the duke, that you might
almost throw a cast net over them.

A puppy of this breed, which is now almost extinct,
was given to one of my daughters by a grandson of the
duke. He was handsome, most intelligent, and had an
excellent nose. Poor Bijou was a great favourite %nth
all the family. He travelled with us in Holland, Grer-
manj^, Switzerland, and Italy, and died at the good old
age of fourteen 3-ears. He was a thorough aristocratic
dog, and would never take his meals in the kitchen, or
go down a back stair.

I conclude this article on pheasant shooting by

80 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

quoting a passage from the " Quarterly Review " on
« English Field Sports : "

"We wish all hearty English Lords and Squires a
good bag, and, if possible, a hard day's exercise in
filling it."

' See how with emulated zeal they shive,
Thread the loose sedge, and tlirough the thicket drive !
No babbling voice the bosom falsely warms,
Or swells the panting heart -with vain alarms.
Tin all at once their choral tongues proclaim
The secret refuge of the lurking game.
Swift is their course, no lengthen' d warnings now
Space to eoUeet the scatter d thoughts allow,
No weary pointer shows the cautious eyes
Where from his russet couch the bird shall rise.
Perhaps, light running o'er the mossy ground.
His devious steps your sanguine hopes confoimd ;
Or by the tangled branches hid from sight,
Sudden he tries his imexpected flight.
Soon as the ready dogs their quarry spring,
And swiftly spreads his variegated wing,
Ceas'd is their cry, with silent look they wait
Till the loud gun decides the event of fate ;
Nor, if the shots are thrown with erring aim.
And proudly soars away the unwounded game,
Will the staunch train pursue him as he flies
With useless speed, and unavailing cries.
No open view along the uncumbered field
To the cool aim wiU time and distance yield ;
But the nice circumstance will oft demand
The quickest eyesight and the readiest hand.
Swift as he rises from the thorny brake.
With instant glance the fleeting mark to take,
And with prompt aim the transient moment seize,
'Mid the dim gloom of intervening trees,
His gaudy plumage when the male displays
In bright luxuriance to the solar rays,
Arrest witli hasty shot his wizzing speed
And see unblam'd the shining victim bleed ;

A NARROW ESCAPE. 81

But when the hen to thy discerning view

Her sober pinion spreads of duskier hue,

The attendant keeper's prudent warning hear,

And spare the offspring of the future years ;

Else shall the fine which custom laid of old, •

Avenge the slaughter by thy forfeit gold." — Pte.

I forgot to state, after tlie surrender of Fort St.
Philippe, the particulars of a narrow escape that the
late Admiral Sir C. Adam, Colonel Provost, two officers,
and mj'self, had of being made prisoners by a detach-
ment of French cavalry :

The military corps of the army, and the officers and
crews of the line-of-battle ships commanded by Sir
Charles Adam, were all in high spirits at our capturing
the fort of St. Philippe, and having made the whole
garrison prisoners of war. A day or two afterwards,
Sir Charles Adam proposed our having a pic-nic to
the mouth of the Eiver Ebro, where it emptied itself
into the Mediterranean, and was considered the finest
and largest river in Spain. Our party consisted of Sir
Charles, Colonel Prevost, Captain Arabin, E.A., and an
Engineer officer and myself. Sir Charles very kindly
undertook to provide all that regarded the commissariat,
for on shore we had only our rations. A mule was
provided for the conveyance of the eatables, &c., which
fortunately did not start till sometime after us, or, as
the sequel will show, it would have fallen into the
hands of the French. I lent Sir Charles a strong grey
horse, as he was a large heavy man, and another horse
to Captain Arabin. I rode a very handsome Arab
stallion. We started early in the morning, anticipatmg
much pleasure in this excursion to the banks of the
Ebro, distant about twelve miles. But the Camiuo
Eeal, or royal road, which led to Saragossa and Valencia

G

82 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

passed through a wild and sterile country totally unin-
habited. The weather was all we could wish in the
month of July. We had proceeded not more than
three or four miles when to our surprise we saw four or
five Spanish hussars galloping full speed towards us,
and they called out lustily as they passed us, "Los
Franceses vienen," the French are coming. However,
not having had any intelligence of the French having
crossed the Ebro, and putting little faith in this report
of the Spaniards, we decided on continuing our route
till we ascertained the truth. Two or three hundred
yards further brought us to a sharp turn of the road to
the left, when we found the Spaniards had spoken the
truth, for a detachment of French dragoons was pur-
suing at full speed the Spanish hussars. We instantly
halted, and the French officer who led on the dragoons
did the same to reconnoitre the strength of our party.
I advised Sir Charles, as we were no match for them,
to be off immediately, sailors not being the best horse-
men ; in two or three minutes we heard the French
officer call out " En avant ! " when we thought it high
time to retire as fast as. our horses' legs would carry
us. The pursuit lasted for about a mile and half, but
as the horses of the French were rather blown by their
gallop after the hussars, their speed began to slacken,
and the fire from their carbines proved fortunately
harmless. At no great distance behind me was an
orderly of the 20th Light Dragoons, mounted on an
old English horse, and I soon heard the poor fellow call
out, " I shall be taken prisoner, sir, as my horse is com-
pletely knocked up," and shortly after on looking back,
I saw a French dragoon had captured him, and we
heard afterwards that he had received a sabre wound in

END OF A riC-XIC. 83

the shoulder. At last we arrived near a large shed
occupied, as an advanced post, by a sergeant and fifteen
men of the 20th Light Dragoons, who on hearing the
fire of the carbines turned out and were mounted.
The appearance of this party had the effect of stopping
our pursuers, who faced about and retired towards the
Ebro. Sir Charles had a very narrow escape of being
made prisoner, for his horse threw a fore shoe Avhen
about fifty yards from our advanced guard. INly Arab
slipped on the surface of a piece of flat rock in the
middle of the road, but by his great activity recovered
himself. Thus ended our pic-nic.

84 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOKTSMA]S'.

CHAP. VII.

GKOUSE SHOOTING. — DISEASE IN GEOTJSE. — MAN OE KOSS.
CARMAKTHENSHIKE SHOOTING.

It's up Glenbarchan's braes I gaed,
And o'er the bent of Killiebraid,
And mony a weary cast I made
To euittle the moor-fowl's tail."

Sportsmen look forward with infinite pleasure to the
12th of August, when, satiated with the gaieties of
London, they once more breathe the pure air, and
hasten to the moors and mountains to enjoy grouse
shooting in Scotland and the northern counties of
England. The late Duke of Eutland had some very
good shooting on his moors in Derbyshire, which were
strictly preserved, and the most southerly county in
which grouse are found.

The species of grouse which I am now going to de-
scribe, known as red grouse, I have never found in other
parts of Europe where I have shot, and from every
inquiry I have made respecting the red grouse, I en-
tertain the opinion that this species is only found in the
United Kingdom. I have also the authority of the

GROUSE SHOOTIXG. 85

learned ornitliologist. Dr. Latham, that the red grouse
is peculiar to the British Islands. The male weighs
about nineteen ounces, and is in length about fifteen
inches. The bill is black, the inside hazel coloured.
The throat is red. Plumage on the head and neck of a
light tawney red. The back feathers are of a deep red,
and on the middle of each feather is a large black spot.
The breast and belly are of a dull purplish brown. The
wing feathers are dusty; the tail consists of eighteen
feathers of an equal length, all black, except the four
middle, which are barred with red. The thighs are of
a pale red ; the legs and feet clothed to the very claws,
with thick soft white feathers. The claws are whitish,
very broad and strong. The female weighs * about fifteen
ounces ; the colours in general are duller than those of
the male. The breast and belly are spotted with white,
and the tips of some of the covers of the wings are of
the same colour. These birds pair in the spring, and
lay from six to ten eggs. The young broods follow the
hen through the summer ; in the winter they pack, and
are sometimes found forty or fifty together, and are
then so shy and wild that it is extremely difficult to
get a shot at them. They are mostly found on the tops
of the hills, being rarely on the sides, and scarcely ever
found in the valleys. Their food is the mountain berries
and the tops of the heath.

To thoroughly enjoy grouse shooting, a sportsman

* Prince Ed'ward, of Saxe Weimar, when grouse shooting in 1858,
killed on the moors of Glen Tiddick a most curions specimen of a
grouse, which had. for two years been well known to the foresters as
" the blue grouse." The plumage is of blue silver grey, interspersed
with fawn or dove coloured feathers.
G 3

86 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

should be master of a pair of legs that never tire, more
especially in Scotland where the heather is higher than
in the English moors, and frequently a pack of grouse
on rising, direct their course across a valley to a neigh-
bouring hill, which if the sportsmen follow obliges them
to descend and ascend considerable heights, which under
a broiling summer in the month of August is no easy
task. There are some moors where sportsmen may
ride, and others where it would be difficult to do so
without the risk of the animal falling from the natural
obstacles of the country, such as bogs, morasses, rocky
ground, &c. A strong sure-footed pony about fourteen
hands high which stands fire well is a real treasure to
any sportsman whose physical powers are unequal to the
fatigue of walking. I adopted the same system of walk-
ing in grouse shooting for the reason I have already
stated in partridge shooting — that I had a better com-
mand over my dogs, and get more shots when on foot,
as you are then enabled to beat swampy parts of the
moor, in which the grouse frequently lie during the
heat of the day. Some sportsmen prefer the old English
spaniel or setter for grouse shooting; the reason as-
signed for this preference is that their feet are better
protected by the long hair from the ling, which in dry
weather cuts acutely. They are also supposed to hunt
with more spirit, and better able to go through a hard
day's work, but they require more water than jiointers.
Some sportsmen are of opinion that they have finer
noses than the pointer. In this I cannot agree, more
particularly if the latter is well bred. In grouse shoot-
ing I always shot with pointers, with the exception of
one dog, which was a first cross between a setter and a
pointer. She possessed all the good qualities that a

GROUSE SHOOTING. 87

sportsman could desire ; no day was too long for lier,
and dm-ing the many years I jiursued field sports, I
never had her equal. I have an excellent likeness of
her in an oil painting, by a skilful animal painter, Avith
an old favourite hunter.

The old cock grouse sometimes rises with the pack ;
endeavour to shoot him ; he is easily distinguished by
his cackling ; very frequently he rises forward making
the same noise, with the object of leading the sports-
man away from the brood. He is also their pilot in in-
ducing them to take longer flight, and to increase their
shyness. Grrouse, like other game, lie best on a warm
sunny day, and if the heather is high, and your dogs
steady, a tolerable good shot may calculate on bagging
on a well preserved moor in Scotland, in the early part
of the season, his five and twenty or thirty brace of
grouse, which I really think ought to satisfy the most
voracious appetite for slaughter. I am aware that more
than treble thirty brace * were shot by a gentleman in
Ai'gyleshire in one day. His name was Campbell ; he
was a first-rate shot. He killed one hundred brace of
grouse in one day. He had three or four sets of fresh
dogs, and one or two keepers to supply him with guns,
as soon as he had discharged his two barrels. This
extraordinary sporting exploit was, I believe, performed

* In the moutli of March grouse, generally speaking, quit the low
grounds, and go to the high grounds in pairs. Sportsmen desirous of
renting moors, should now send an intelligent gamekeeper with good
dogs, to ascertain if there is good breeding-stock left. If the moor is
extensive, the groimd should be divided into beats, and if the keeper
sees about twenty or thirty brace paired, from ten o'clock in the morn-
ing imtil the afternoon, good sport may be reasonably expected ; this
precaution is particularly necessary, as the person renting the moor
pays beforehand.

G 4

88 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

on the 12th of August, and I cannot help suspecting
that in order to make up the hundred brace, a fair
proportion of squeakers were included. It was sup-
posed at the time that Mr. Campbell's object in making
this great slaughter amongst his grouse was to obtain a
good annual rent for the grouse shooting on his moor,
and as this singular day's sport found its way into the
newspaper, it is probable Mr. Campbell obtained a good
sporting tenant from the south. In 1856, 1 heard from
a friend whose son was shooting in Scotland that it was
the worst season that had been known for a great many
years. In the spring, the weather had been so severe
as to destroy many of the young birds ; and at a more
advanced period of the summer some epidemic disease
had destroyed a vast number of the old and young
birds, and that a considerable proportion of those that
were shot were not fit for the table.* To obviate in
some measure this evil, it was considered absolutely ne-
cessary by some of the best sportsmen to give the grouse
a jubilee in the season of 1857. If this was not done,
many of the gentlemen who rented moors, intended to
give them up, for to continue their destruction might
be compared to killing the goose to get the golden eggs.
I have heard that the grouse on the moors f in the
northern counties of England had escaped the disease.
At the table of families where I visited, grouse coming

* By the perusal of the following note, it will be seen that there was
excellent shooting in Caithness, when on 60,000 acres, of which 10,000
were kept as a deer forest, in 17 days with usually 4 guns, 1000 brace
of grouse, 60 brace of black game, besides some hares, were shot.

t On the farm of Conybovdd, Corgaff, Strathdon, in April 1858, a
grouse dropped her eggs in a corn-field, opposite the farm house. So
near an approach to cultivated fields and human habitation is rery rare
in this wild bird of the moors.

THE DISEASE IX GROUSE. 89

from those parts were perfectly good. I am not aware
that any naturalist has, as yet, given a satisfactory ex-
planation of the cause of the disease in grouse ; however,
to judge from the numbers killed in most of the seasons,
one would conclude that a fair stock of birds was left
for breeding.

Various schemes have been proposed by sportsmen
and gamekeepers as remedies for getting rid of the
disease in grouse. Some have proposed to procure the
eggs from the moors where the grouse were healthy, and
endeavour to have them hatched on the moors where
the birds had suffered from disease. This sounds well
in theory, but I suspect the greatest difficulty would be
found to put it in practice, as grouse cannot be reai-ed
like pheasants or pai'tridges, under hens. A gunmaker,
who appears to be conversant with the moors in Scotland,
recommends that the gamekeepers should not destroy
the peregrine falcon, for this reason, that as the weak
and diseased birds are unable in their flight to keep up
with others, the falcon is certain to pounce on him, and
thus the healthy grouse would escape. Now as the
peregrine falcon is known to be a remarkably swift bird
on the wing, he would certainly find no difficulty in the
choice of his bird, and it is natural to conclude that
these sharp-sighted and keen birds of prey know well
by instinct to "pick the plums out of the pudding."
As an instance of this, when trying my dogs, on one of
the moors in Caernarvonshire, a peregrine falcon rose
from the heath, within a few yards of me, and on going
to the spot, I found he had just killed a fine full-grown
young grouse, and was feasting on his brains. As his
body was not mangled I had him for dinner, and much
regretted that I had not my gun to have shot this for-

90 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

midable enemy to game.* The material distinction
between the old and modern sportsman, is that the
former, in a day's shooting, was satisfied with a moderate
quantity of game, whereas the latter is a perfect glutton
in this respect, and as I believe I before remarked, their
vanity is much gratified by seeing their names in the
newspapers with the list of game killed at these battues.
And what a temptation this is to poachers.

" 'Tis an old maxim in tlie schools,
That vanity's the food of fools ;
Yet now and then your men of wit,
Will condescend to take a bit." — Swift.

Some sportsmen entertain an opinion that the red
grouse have degenerated of late years, and the reason
they assign for this, is their having bred from the
same stock for many years ; but I confess I have my
doubts about the theory, for on moors, sometimes several
himdred acres in extent, I see no obstacle to the grouse
bred on one moor breeding with those of other hills,

* These peregrine falcons were, some years ago, brought over from
Germany by the late Captain C. Sturt, R.N., who was fond of falconry,
and turned out in the Isle of Purbeck to breed on the high cliffs of that
coast. Captain Sturt was at that time owner of Brownsea Island, and
resided in the castle. He had Germans to train and feed his falcons.
I shot diu'ing one season in the isle of Purbeck, and a gamekeeper of
the late ]VIr. Calcraft told me that it was a sad job for the game when
Captain Sturt turned out the peregrine falcons. I purchased a young bird
of him ; it had a brilliant and beautiful eye, and had been prociu-ed by
a boy, who, with ropes fastened about his body, had been let down over
the cliff, and got the young ones out of the nest. Montague asserts,
that the peregi'ine falcon can fly at the rate of 150 miles an hour. I
beHeve no bird but the swift can exceed this rate of flight. The late
Colonel Thornton who made use of these birds in hawking, states that a
peregrine falcon in pursuit of a snipe, flew nine miles in eleven minutes,
without including the frequent turns.

GROUSE SIIOOTIXG. 91

where tliey may be healthy and strong, and we know
that when the grouse pack, generally in the month of
November, they are extremely wild, and take long flights.
The most plausible reason for grouse diminishing in
size, may, I think, be accounted for when they have
suffered severely from one or two winters, during which
they have found much difficulty in procuring a sufficiency
of food, and the spring of 1856 was most severe, and
therefore tends to corroborate this theory. Partridges
suffer sometimes from a rigorous winter. I recollect
shooting a brace near Windsor, about Christmas, they
were in the most wretched condition, as the term is,
" as light as a feather," from starvation. I threw them
away. I have never heard that either pheasants or
partridges have degenerated, although they are so nu-
merous in Norfolk and Suffolk ; I have heard sportsmen
say, indeed I have found it myself, that in preserves the
former are sometimes so well fed and become so fat
that the beaters and dogs find some difficulty in making
them rise. On my property in Cambridgeshire par-
tridges were numerous, large, and of an excellent
flavour, so much so, that on my coming to England
from Gfascony, where we resided, Mrs. H. requested me
on my return, to bring her three or four brace of these
partridges, which I did, by having them potted, and
they were found very superior in flavour to those in that
part of France. I mention this circumstance to controvert
the opinion that game degenerates from a coimtr}'-
being well stocked with it.

In the short peace of 1802, Baron Hompercli's regi-
ment of Hussars, in which I was major, was disbanded,
in consequence of which I found myself for the first
time for several years out of harness during the summer.

92 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

and althougli half-pay is not altogether so agreeable as
regards the pocket, I felt as much gratified in obtaining
my liberty as a bird that escapes from his cage, and
certainly soldiers and sailors are sure to welcome a
change of any kind. I determined during this summer
to make a tour in South Wales, and visit a family in
Cardiganshire, entertaining a hope I should have some
good trout fishing and moderate grouse shooting on
the Welsh hills. In pursuance of this plan, I made an
arrangement with my old Rugby school-fellow, INIr. K.
(afterwards Sir C. K., Bart.) to leave London the middle
of July, and I verily believe that when T found myself
seated alongside of my friend in his tandem, and in
our rear our two servants in my dog cart with the
dogs, never did happier or lighter hearts leave the
metropolis, for at that early period of life everything
in this world is cauleur de rose.

On our arrival at Eoss we determined to remain there
a day, to see the house where John Kyle, "the good
man of Ross," resided. The house at that time was an
inn. In a niche, in the front, is a statue of Mr. Kyle
in the dress of the time of Charles II. He was a tall,
robust man with prominent features. This excellent,
generous, and kind-hearted man was born at Dymock in
Herefordshire, in 1637, and died 1724. He was interred
in the church the spire of which was built at his expense ;
and the fine elm trees, which we saw in the extensive
churchyard, were planted by his own hands. The pro-
spect from the churchyard is particularly fine, and when
you view the old Gothic church, and see around you the
monuments and tombs of so many of the dead, a feeling
of a melancholy natiure is impressed on the mind even of
youth, which at that age, however, is transient. Near

THE MAX OF ROSS. 93

the churchyard is a place called " the Prospect," which
gives a full view of the serpentine course of the river
Wye, and the exquisite scenery of the surrounding
country. We also went to see the favourite walk of the
good man of Eoss, which is at some distance from the
church, to which you are conducted by a gravel walk
across the fields. It is situated on a rocky eminence
near the Wye, and is shaded by the foliage of the beech
and a variety of forest trees.

There is a curious story related that, after the death
of Mr. Kyle, some persons were so thoroughly unfeeling
as to cut down some of the elms which he had planted
in the churchyard, and that immediately afterwards
three young elm shoots made their appearance in the
pew he occupied in the church, which from reverence to
his memory have been allowed to remain, and now form
a canopy over the seat of this excellent man. Amongst
the charitable acts of this good man, is an almshouse
built at his expense for a few deserving poor people. He
also had an aqueduct constructed to convey water from
the river Wye to the town, and Pope tells us, in the
following verses, that all these noble and charitable acts
were performed with an income of 500/. per annum.

" Who hung with -woods yon mountain's siiltry bro-w?
From the dry rock who bade the waters flow ?
Not to the skies in useless columns tost,
Or in proud falls magnificently lost,
But clear and artless, pouring through the plain
Health to the sick, and solace to the swain.
Whose causeway parts the vale with shady rows ?
Whose seats the weary traveller repose ?
Who taught that heaven-directed spire to rise ?
' The Man of Eoss ! ' each lisping babe replies.
Eehold the market-place with poor o'erspread !
The Man of Ross divides the weekly bread :

94 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPOKTSMAX.

He feeds yon alms-house, neat, but Yoid of state,
Where age and want sit smiling at the gate,
Him, portion' d maids, apprentie'd orphans blest,
The young who labbiir, and the old who rest.
Is any sick ? the Man of Ross relieves.
Prescribes, attends, the medicine makes and gives.
Is there a variance ? enter but his door,
Balked are the courts, and contest is no more.
Despairing Quacks, with curses fled the place.
And vile attorneys, now an useless race.
Thrice happy man ! enabled to pursue,
"WTiat aU so wish, but want the power to do,
Oh ! say what sums that generous hand supply ?
What mines to swell that boundless charity ?
Of debts and taxes, wife and children clear,
This man possest — five hundred pounds a year."

On our road to Caermartlien, through Abergavenny
and Crickhowel, the bold and grand scenery of moun-
tains and craggy rocks, and here and there verdant and
fertile valleys well watered by small rapid streams, are
most gratifying to the lover of the picturesque. On our
left we had for many miles the river Usk, in which are
caught excellent salmon and good sized trout. In
rocky and commanding situations you occasionally be-
hold the ruins of old castles, some built by the ancient
Britons as a defence against the encroachments of the
Saxons and Normans, and others chiefly by Edward the
First to retain his conquest and keep in subjection his
newly acquired subjects. The Welsh, like the Swiss, are
strongly attached to their native country, and resisted
with success, under their princes, all efforts of the
Saxons and Normans to subjugate them, until the reign of
Edward the First*, who at last fairly starved them into

* The conquest of Wales was finally achieved by Edward the First
in 1223, soon after the battle between the Welsh Prince Llewellyn, and

CARMARTIIEXSIIIRE SIIOOTIXG. 95

submission. The Welsh are a brave and hospitable people,
choleric, but their resentment soon subsides ; they have
the character of being litigious, and fond of law, and
most people who indulge in this passion find it a very
losing game. The old Welsh families are very proud
of their genealogies. From what I observed in the
character of the lower classes, they appear to have
rather a dislike to strangers, looking on them with a
suspicious eye.

On the road we frequently met pretty young Welsh
girls on their ponies, daughters of small farmers, going
to market ; their head dress was at that time a small
black hat, which we thought very becoming. This
national part of their dress is, I have heard, now ex-
changed for a bonnet — tant pis! as the former was
characteristic of the country, and gave the wearer a
coquettish look. On our arrival at Caermarthen (the
native place of the late gallant G-eneral Sir Thomas
Picton, Bart.), my friend left me, steering his course to
Flintshire on a visit to Sir Thomas Hanmer, whose two
sons had been at Rugby with us : I proceeded to my
friend's house in Cardiganshire, who gave me a hearty
welcome, and with whom I remained a month which ap-
peared to me a week from the kindness I experienced
and the delightful rides I took with the young ladies
of the family in that beautiful country. The river
Tivey produces excellent salmon and a species of white

Mortimer, Ed-«-ard's general. The former was slain, and 2000 of his
followers put to the sword. The character of King Edward the First
is thus described by Hume : " that he was the model of a politic and
warlike king. He possessed industry, penetration, courage, vigilance
and enterprise. He was frugal in all his expenses that were not ne-
cessary; he knew how to open the public treasures on a proper occasion."

96 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAN".

trout called the souen*, which when in season is a rival
to the trout. As there was no grouse shooting within
some miles of my friend's residence, he recommended
that I should go with Mr. B., who was also a sportsman
and an inmate of his house, to the village of Lampeter,
distant about twenty miles in Caermarthenshire. He
informed us that we should meet with a small inn there,
in which we should find ourselves comfortably lodged,
and the host and hostess attentive and obliging, and in
the neighbourhood a considerable extent of moors and
grouse hills, on which, although not preserved, we
should have some tolerable shooting, and good trout
fishing in the Tivey. We accordingly started for Lam-
peter a day or two before the 12th, in order to obtain
some information about the shooting, and to reconnoitre
the hills. On our arrival at our quarters at Lampeter,
we found ourselves very comfortably lodged, and the
character given of our landlord and landlady was fully
verified. Excellent Welsh mutton, salmon and trout
from the Tivey, and mild home-brewed ale, were some
of the good things which the hostess provided for our

* Tlie way of catching salmon in the riyer Tivey, some miles above
Cardigan, was rather curious, and peculiar to these parts. Two fisher-
men, each seated in the middle of his corricle, and being at a distance
of some yards from each other, the rope of a net is fastened to the side
of each corricle, and with a paddle the fishermen direct their course
down the stream. As soon as they feel they have a salmon in their net,
they close, and paddle to the banks of the river to land theu- fish. The
corricle was in shape like a large tub, the framework which is of wood
is light, and covered with the hide of an ox. Much skill and practice
is required to prevent their being upset when you get into them, which
I found from experience, for on endeavouring to get into one, it instantly
upset, and I got a ducking to the no small amusement of the ladies and
bystanders. When the men leave off fishing, they take their corricles
out of the water, and carry them home on their backs.

SHOOTING OX THE MOORS. 97

table. For rather more than half a century ago tra-
vellers rarely frequented this retired village ; but mac-
adamised roads and steam have made a wonderful change
in this respect, and travellers- now really appear to
ferret out every obscure hole and corner of the United
Kingdom.

On the day after our arrival, we were all impatience to
make a reconnaissance of the moors, taking a guide
and our dogs. After beating about the hills for two
or three hours and finding a pack of nine or ten grouse,
we returned to our quarters. Early on the morning of
the 12th we commenced our shooting, and when it is
taken into consideration that the hills were not pre-
served, we had no reason to complain of our day's
sport in having killed" seven or eight brace of grouse
and a mountain hare,*

This, I doubt not, will be called a very contemptible
bag by sportsmen of the present day, who, in the pre-
served moors, return home dissatisfied if they have not
shot with their own gun, fifteen or twenty brace of
grouse. The French proverb says, " L'appetit vient en
mangeant,'' and so it may be said of those sportsmen
who have such a voracious appetite for slaughter. For
the first week four or five brace of grouse were about
the average of what we bagged, and when we found
grouse scarce, we got some snipe shooting in the bogs

* To prove how destructive hawks are to the grouse, Robert Briggs,
who was gamekeeper to Lord Abojne (now Marquis of Huntly, iia
Perthshire, relates, " that he found a nest of a blue-falcon hawk, having
six young ones, and for curiosity I let them grow ; every morning and
everj- evening I visited the nest, to pick up the legs and wings of the
yoimg grouse, and I calcidated that in bringing up those young ones,
the pair of old birds destroyed about 800 gi-ouse. These blue-falcon's
nests are on the ground." I think there must be an exaggeration in
H

98 KEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAJS".

on these mountains, where these birds breed. Every-
day we had our dinner brought out to us at two o'clock,
which consisted of cold Welsh mutton, grouse, salad,
and a good allowance of home-brewed ale. This repast,
with keen appetites, was thoroughly enjoyed by us,
seated on the tops of the hills with the grand and ex-
tensive prospect around us. At the end of the week
my sporting friend left me ; his physical powers were
far inferior to my own, and he declared he was quite
done up with the great fatigue of walking over the
Welsh moors. I persevered in shooting for another
week, with alternate success, having, as I before said,
always the resource of some snipe shooting ; but at the
expiration of that time, a most determined rain set in,
night and day, which I bore patiently for eight and
forty hours, in the hope of a favourable change in the
weather. But in this I was disappointed, and what in-
creased my ennui was, that I could get no books from
my landlady but a Bible and " Hervey's * Meditations
among the Tombs," which had the effect of making me
so melancholy, combined with the weather and the want
of a companion, that I felt half inclined to jump into
the river Tivey ; so the next morning I ordered my dog

the number of grouse destroyed, although there can be no doubt they
must have destroyed a great number as food for their young ones. If
Mr. Briggs had been my gamekeeper, and I found out he was indulging
his curiosity at the expense of the lives of such a number of grouse, I
should have dismissed him from my service.

* James Hervey, a clergyman of exemplary piety, was born in 1714,
and succeeded his father in the living of Weston TurviUe and Colling-
tree, in Northamptonshire. This excellent divine died on Christmas
Day 1758, lea%'ing the little he possessed to buy warm clothing for the
poor in that severe season. No works are more generally known than his
" Meditations " and " Contemplations."

TO ArrROACII GEOUSE WIIEX WILD. bO

cart, aud returned to my friend in Cardiganshire. My
chief object in mentioning this sporting expedition in
South Wales was to show that a moderate and reason-
able sportsman might, at that period, get shooting in
many parts of the country without being molested some-
times by a rude gamekeeper to give his name and show
his game license. Probably at this time those grouse
hills in the neighbourhood of Lampeter are preserved,
and let by the proprietor to sportsmen for 200 or 300/.
per year. That is the present system with a vast
number of landowners.

A recent occurrence was read to me of two gentlemen,
who being desirous of getting grouse in the month of
November, w^hen they are generally packed, and so wild
and shy that it is most difficult to get a shot at them,
went to consult a small farmer, who had resided many
years near some moors, if I mistake not, in Yorkshire,
on the best w^ay to accomplish this object. The farmer
said it would be fruitless to go on the moors wMth dogs,
for they would then not have the slightest chance of
getting within shot of the grouse; but he observed,
"when I have been driving my cart and horse recently
across the moor, I have sometimes seen the birds at no
great distance from me, and under no alarm at my
passing by them, therefore if you get into my cart, and
let me drive you, and conceal yourselves as much as pos-
sible, and particularly not to look at the grouse until
witbin shot, I am pretty certain you will have some
sport." This scheme was carried into execution, the
sportsmen having large single barrelled guns loaded with
large shot, which killed at sixty or seventy yards, and
the day being favourable the plan answered admirably,
as they managed to bag seventeen and a half brace of

100 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

grouse, three partridges, a cock pheasant and a rabbit.
Grrouse at this season are rather .dry unsavoury birds,
but of course very desirable as part of the second
course, from its being a vara avis. A thorough old
sportsman recommends that the best time for shooting
grouse in August or September, is from eight A. m. until
five in the afternoon, and from eleven till two o'clock at
a later period of the season. At this latter period, you
should shoot with what sportsmen call their grouse gun,
a single barrel that will take a heavy load, and the shot
should be two or three ounces. An old pointer, who
knows his business well, and will manage to head them
when they are running, is most valuable.

The best chance of getting a few brace of grouse the
latter end of October or November is on a warm day,
for they will then sometimes lie tolerably well, parti-
cularly if the heather is strong.

In 1800, a gentleman shot in Inverness-shire fifty-two
brace of grouse in one day, having never killed more
than one bird at a time.

A system of catching moor game with nets, in the
same way as partridges are netted, has been practised
within these few years on the moors in Scotland, and
it is very certain that many grouse are ready for the
London market, taken before the 12th of August.*

* One reason recently assigned, and I believe a substantial one, for
the scarcity of grouse in many parts of the Highlands is that deer-
stalking is now become a fayoiu'ite sport of so many of the sportsmen
who visit Scotland annually in the autumn. The chief object of the
gamekeepers who look after these deer forests is to keep them as quiet
as possible, that these animals may not be distui-bed. To accomplish
this, they set no traps to destroy vermin, and it is strongly suspected
that they employ unla^vful means to keep down the breed of gi-ouse
in these forests, that there may be no inducement for grouse shooters to
beat these districts.

SCOTCH rOACHEK. 101

Mr. St. John, in his very entertaining book " The Wild
Sports of the Highlands," draws the character of the
Highland and English poacher, greatly to the dis-
advantage of the latter ; and much of this descrip-
tion may perhaps be correct. He says " the life of
a Highland poacher is far different from that of an
Englishman following the same profession. Instead of
a snealdng night-walking ruffian, a mixture of cowardice
and ferocity, as most English poachers are, and ready to
commit any crime that he hopes to perpetrate with
impunity, the Highlander is a bold fearless fellow,
sporting openly by daylight, taking his sport in the
same manner as the laird or Sassenach who rents the
ground." The English night poachers who go out to
shoot the pheasants on the perch are certainly men
of desperate character, but not in general cowards,
of which the bloody conflicts they sometimes have
with gamekeepers is a decided proof. In an enclosed
highly cultivated country like England with a nume-
rous population, it would be almost impossible for the
poachers to shoot in the day time with impunity ; not
so in the highlands of Scotland, where there are thou-
sands of acres of forests, moors, and mountains, where
few or no inhabitants are seen, excepting shepherds,
who are mostly on amicable terms with the poacher,
and connive at his unlawful proceedings. By St.
John's account, Eonald is a noble specimen of a
Highland poacher of herculean strength. The story
of his having defended himself successfully against
five men who were sent to apprehend him for
poaching is well told and very interesting. He appears
to have had on this occasion the strength of a

H 3

102 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

Samson and the courage of a lion — "Si non e vero, e
ben trovato." *

In the early part of the season, when the heather is
strong and the birds sit close, a fair shot ought seldom
to miss a grouse, for they are at that time slow in their
flight, and I think more easy to be killed than a full
grown partridge, but to enjoy this sport in real per-
fection, go to the moors six weeks later, when the
grouse are become strong and rather shy, and then if
the sportsman succeeds in making a good bag by quick
and long shots, he must feel far more gratified in such
success than in having killed on the 12th his five and
twenty or thirty brace of young grouse, many of which
had not arrived at their full gi-owth. If grouse shooting
were not to commence till the 20th of August, the day
fixed for the shooting of black game, the eight days
gained by this postponement, would, I conceive, be of
much benefit to the grouse in respect of their growth. f

I never had any good grouse shooting in Ireland. I
went one year with a friend to the Wicklow mountains.
In this expedition we had two serious evils to contend
with which it was impossible to overcome — constant bad

* I consider Mr. St. John a eoiTect model of the old sportsman ; his
physical powers seem to be equal to any fatigue, and he does not mind
roughing it in his night's lodgings in the Highlands. He is thoroughly
au fait in the most delightfid and exciting of all shooting, wild field
sports. How exhilarating are the feelings of a keen sportsman when
ranging with his dogs and gim in a wild country, with such bold and
picturesque featixres as that of the Scottish Highlands, and when,
perhaps, in a day's shooting a dozen different species of birds and
animals^ for example, here is what Mr. St. John bagged one year on the
21st of October : grouse six, partridges thirteen, woodcock one, pheasant
one, wild-duck one, snipe four, teal one, ciu'lew three, plover four, jack-
snipe two, hares fire, rabbits two.

t Grouse shooting does not commence in Ii-eland tiU the 20th.

GROUSE SHOOTING IN IRELAXD. 103

weather and a scarcity of birds, and we returned to
Carlow thoroughly disgusted with the Irish climate and
the Wicklow mountains. I have been told that at the
present time in Ireland the moor game is much better
preserved, and for this object, poison for dogs is laid in
the mountains before and immediately after the shoot-
ing season.* The burning of the heather is much prac-
tised in many of the grouse districts, and this operation
is supposed by sportsmen to be beneficial to grouse,
when it is performed at the proper season, and not
injurious to their breeding.

* A case was heard before Sheriff Earclay at Perth, against a game-
keeper of the Lord Kinuaird, for poisoning a shepherd's dog. It ap-
peared that the keepers were in the habit of laying hares and rabliits that
had been saturated with nux vomica in the hedge-rows, by which a
shepherd's dog had been killed. But as the charge could not be proved
against the keeper, he was acquitted. The sheriff, pronouncing judg-
ment, laid it down, that even supposmg a dog were to trespass upon
covert where game was kept, and was poisoned, the person who laid it
down, and even the proprietor of the grounds, if he was aware of the
practice, would be liable, in civil law, for the value of the animal.

104 KEMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

CHAP. VIII.

THE PTARMIGAN. — "WHERE FOrXD. — PEEIOl^ OF BREEDING.
TAKEN^ BY GKEENLAKDEES. — DESCRIPTION OF PTARillGAN.

Ascending now the craggy rocks,
Where Ptarmigan are found in flocks,
These birds, possess'd of little sense,
To nature trust for their defence ;
Their summer plumage scai-cely shewn
Amongst the grey surroimding stone.
In winter, changed to dazzling white
'IVIidst snow, almost concealed from sight.

The ptarmigan or wliite grouse is a bird that carefully
avoids the rays of the sun, which animals and birds
in general enjoy; they are only found towards the
highest parts of the mountains, and in the winter form
holes and burrows in the snow, where numbers lie close
together as protection from the excessive . cold. The
ptarmigan are found but in small numbers on the
Keswick hills in Cumberland, and some in the moun-
tains in North Wales ; but on the summits of the highest
hills in the highlands of Scotland, and in the Hebrides
and Orkneys they are numerous. They are also found
on the hill of Ben Lawers, and on Benmore mountain.

THE PTAEMIGAX. lOo

near Loch Tay. Amongst these almost inaccessible
heights you find them perched amongst the grey stones,
and in the summer they so nearly resemble the colour
of these stones, so as to make it rather difficult to dis-
tinguish the birds from them. Their flights are short
a»d circuitous, and they never fly high. There is no
difficulty in getting shots at the ptarmigan, as they lie
close amongst the rocks and stones. As regards its
own safety, it certainly may be considered as a stupid
bird, for you may sometimes approach within three
or four yards of it before it will take to flight.
When the weather is unsettled with wind and rain, the
ptarmigan are frequently shy and wild, and when
disturbed, instead of lying closer, take quickly to flight,
and by crossing some almost inaccessible ravine secure
their safety. The ptarmigan is in my estimation rather
an inferior bird to the grouse for the table. As I before
stated, we frequently had them at the table-d'hote at
Bagneres de Bigorre, in the Pja-enees. I never had
them at the hotels in Germany.

In the winter the ptarmigan * T;\dll pack like the
grouse. They derive their principal safety from the
obstacles wnth which they are surrounded, for vigour and
agile limbs and caution are absolutely necessary in the
pursuit of these birds, and many young sportsmen, when
they are satiated with killing grouse have recourse to
this arduous exercise for the sake of variety in field-
spoi'ts, and to send some of these birds as presents to
their friends in the south. I have three stuffed ptarmi-

* It is mentioned in "Daniel's Eural Sports," that a friend of his shot
in one day forty-tliree ptarmigan, above Loch Loggan, which lies be-
tween Daliwinnie and Fort Aiigustus ; in this district he also found tlu-ee
whistling plover and dottrel.

106 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

gan sent to me by a friend from the north. One of
them is in its summer plumage, another half changed,
and the third a brilliant white. You at once see in the
ptarmigan and the mountain hare, which change their
colour in winter, the goodness of Providence in order to
protect them from their enemies; for by their becoming
white in the winter, and remaining during that season
in the sno'wy regions, they are not conspicuous objects
for the large birds of prey which hover over these
mountain heights. The female lays from eight to ten
eggs, about the size of a pigeon's, spotted with a reddish
brown. These are deposited in the earth amongst the
stones. The period of their breeding is about the
end of May, or beginning of June. Their food consists
of berries, buds of shrubs, young shoots of the pine and
heath which grow in these elevated situations. The
ptarmigan is found in great numbers in some of the
northern countries of Europe. The Greenlanders have
a singular way of taking the ptarmigan ; they catch
them in nooses hung to a long line drawn by men, who
drop them over the necks of old birds. Of their skins,
with the feathers placed next the body, a warm shirt is
made ; and the Greenland women used the black feathers
of the tail formerly as ornaments to their head-dresses.
In Eussia, the feathers of the ptarmigan were formerly
an article of commerce. This bird is fifteen inches in
length, and weighs about nineteen ounces. The plumage
is of a pale brown, or ash colour, elegantly crossed or
mottled with small dusky spots, and minute bars. The
head and neck are marked with broad bars of black, ash
colour, and white. The belly and wings are white, but
the shafts of the greater quill feathers black. In the
male the grey colour predominates, except on the head

DESCRIPTIOX OF PTARMIGAX. 107

and neck, where there is a great mixture of red, with bars
of white. The tail consists of sixteen feathers, the two
middle of which are ash colour, mottled with black, and
tipped with white. The two next black, slightly marked
with white at the ends. The feathers incumbent on the
tail are white, and almost entirely cover it. Their feet
are clothed with feathers to the claws. The nails are
long, broad, and hollow. The first, guards them from
the rigour of- the winter, the latter enables them to
form a lods^e amono: the snow.

103 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

CHAP. IX.

THE black; GPvOrSE. — MY FIRST SHOT AT A BLACK COCK:.
HABITS or THE BIRDS.

"If up a bonny black cock should spring,
To whistle him down wie' a slug in his wing,
And strap him down to my hengie shing.
Eight seldom would I fail." — Bl'ens.

The black grouse or black cock is found in various
parts of Scotland, both in the highlands and lowlands,
also in the southern counties of England and Wales, in
Staffordshire, Sussex, and in the Xew Forest in Hamp-
shire, and in the Western Counties. The male black
cock when at its full growth and plumage is a noble
bird, and weighs about four pounds. His length is
twenty-two inches ; the bill is dusky, and the plumage
of the whole body black, glossed over on the neck and
rump with a shining blue. The covers of the wings are
of a dusky bro^vn ; the inner covers white ; the thighs
and legs are covered with dark brown feathers ; the toes
resemble those of the red game. The tail consists of
sixteen black feathers, and is much forked ; the exterior
feathers bend gently ovitwards, and their ends seem as
if cut off. The female weighs only two pounds, and its

THE BLACK GROUSE. 109

length is one foot six inches. The head and neck are
marked with alternate bars of red and black, the breast
with dusky black and white. The back covers of the
wings and tail are of the same colour as the neck, but
the red is deeper. The tail is slightly forked ; it consists
of eighteen feathers, variegated with red and black.
The feathers under the tail are white, marked with a
few bars of black and orange.

This bird hatches its }" cfung rather late in the summer.
It lays from four to eight eggs, of a dull yellowish-white
colour, marked with numbers of very small ferruginous
specks. The black cock was formerly considerably
more numerous than at jjresent in the New Forest, and
was then strictly preserved as Tojal game. When the
Chief Justice in Eyre grants his warrrant to persons to
kill game in the Forest, the red and fallow deer and
the black game are excepted. The Marquis of Anglesea
has the wild and heathy part of his estate of Beau-
desert, well stocked with black game. The first old
black cock I ever shot was in Sussex, not more than
five and thirty miles from London, and I really derived
as much pleasure at looking at this fine sj)ecimen of
game as I had felt when, a young sportsman, I shot
my first partridge. In August 1820, I went with a
gentleman, a friend of mine, who was a land agent, into
Sussex, to the late Lord Somerville's, who had a con-
siderable estate in that country, where the black game
was preserved.* The tracts which come under the

* It is quite iaipossible to preserve black game unless you have a
large and wild extent of country. This was in some degree the situation
of this part of Sussex in 1820. The large tracts of ground that are now
covered Avith gentlemens gi'ounds and farm-houses, and fields now under
cixltiyation, were then -wild heath covered plains, and afforded a safe

110 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOKTSM.iX.

description of mere wastes, however, are very extensive.
They occupy the northern side of the country. It is
computed that these deserted tracts contain not less
than 110,000 acres, some parts of which, are as wild
and picturesque as some of the moors in Scotland, and
it is in this tract of land, parts of which have been
brought into cultivationj and in these heaths and valleys,
the latter of which are well watered, that the black
game is found. Lord Delaware, who resides at Buck-
hurst, has a paramountship or right of sporting over a
great extent of this wild district, excepting on those
parts which are private property. We remained for a
few days at the house of my friend's sister-in-law, and
during this period, I had some very tolerable shooting ;
but we found the black game shy and wild, at which we
were much surprised, as we were the only sportsmen
who commenced shooting on the above estate on the
20th of August. On the first day I counted eleven
black cocks that were together, out of shot, and took so
long a flight that we could never find them again, and
if we had not found some young birds the last day or
two, we should have felt much dissatisfied with our ill
success. The first shot I got was at the black cock
mentioned above. He lay well to the dogs in some
high and rough sedgy cover. I think the black cock
flies much like the wild duck, and therefore is an easy

refuge for the black game which were not introdiiced until about seventy
years ago. Besides, at that time, the covers were quiet, there being no
fox-hounds in the country. Eut as soon as gentlemen took a fancy to
tliis country and began to enclose, black game began to decrease and
are now scarce. They are very shy birds, and if much disturbed, forsake
their haunts. If you have not extensive fir plantations, and a large part
of heath tract, as the Earls of Liverpool and Abergavenny, that are sel-
dom disturbed, you cannot preserve these birds.

HABITS OF THE BLACK GROUSE. ill

shot. Neither the Llack game nor the ptarmigan are
found in Ireland.

The food of the black game is various, such as the bil-
berry and otlier mountain berries, and in winter, the tops
of the heath. During the summer they may sometimes
be seen feeding in the corn fields, and if there are any
stone walls near the cultivated land some may be seen
perched on them keeping a sharjD look out to avoid
danger.

The black game never pair, but in the spring the
male birds collect together in elevated situations on the
heath, when at this time they crow and clap their
wings. On the females hearing these signals, they
attend the summons. In this season they are very
quarrelsome, and will fight together like game cocks,
and he who proves himself strongest and gains the
victory keeps off his rivals from the female birds.
When engaged in these love affairs, they lose sight of
danger, and will allow persons to approach them. The
hen takes little pains in making. the nest on the ground,
but when she goes to feed covers her eggs with great
care. The male poults quit their mother at the beginning
of winter, and may be seen during that season in flocks
of eight or ten. During that time they resort to the
woods, if there should be any, but always give a pre-
ference to wild uncultivated grounds, where there is
a good cover of heath sedges and a variety of low
under-cover. They are also partial to moist situations
in the summer. In their early plumage they resemble
the female, not acquiring the black colour until the end
of autumn, which they then always retain. An old
sportsman makes the following remarks respecting black
game : " The broods of black grouse are not found in

112 EEMIXISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAX.

tall ling, but chiefly in marshy ground mixed with the
candleberry myrtle (sweet gale). In these places are
also found snipes, and between the two the dogs and
the shooter are often deceived. From thence they run
into the ling, and then along the edges of fir or birch
wood or corn ground. The old black cocks are fre-
quently found by the side of the hills in the long ling,
at some distance from cover, and we once found seven
together in very deep ling on the edge of the beautiful
lake Loch- Awe, belonging to the Earl of Breadalbane ;
six of these birds were killed. Another time, when
shooting in company with the Marquis of Lorn, eighteen
were seen together, but were so wild that there was no
possibility of getting near them." These birds will live
and thrive in menageries, but have never been known
to breed in a confined state. It is a curious fact that
cherries and pease are fatal to black game.

113

CHAP. X.

CAPERCAILZIE. — DESCRIPTION OF CAPERCAILZIE. — MALE BIRD
EASILY APPROACHED IN THE PAIRING SEASON. — ONE SEEN BY
ArTHOR IN GERMANY.

" Eeturn to our woods, capercailzie, again
E'en their snows* could once form thee a bed.
The sportsman may seek thee, but seek thee in vain.
Ah ! why are the golden times fled,
From the pine's gloomy crest, when thine amorous lay
Low murmm-'d at dawning or setting of day." — J. Pitman.

As the capercailzie or cock of the wood was formerly
found in some parts of the United Kingdom, and has
within a few years been again introduced into Scotland
by the Marquis of Breadalbane, into his extensive forest
and fir plantations in Perthshire, I think it will be proper
to give some account of this large and noble bird, whicli
is found in considerable numbers in the forests of
Grermany, Sweden, and Eussia. INIany of them may
be seen in the winter for sale in the poulterers' shops
in London, imported from these countries — formerly
in ice, which is not now required, in consequence of
the passage being made more rapidly by steam vessels.

* Mr. Lloyd observed that when the snow is loose and soft the caper-
cailzie not iinfi-equently buries itself beneath the surface during the

night.

I

114 REMIXISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

The cock of the wood feeds chiefly on the cones of
the fir trees, and on plants and berries, more especially
that of the juniper : at certain seasons this food renders
the flesh too strong to be palatable, and as regards the
table, it is certainly an inferior bird to the black cock
or the grouse, but it has this advantage from its size, that
it makes an important figure on the dinner table. The
capercailzie is nearly the size of the turkey, is 2 feet 8 or
9 inches in length; 3 feet 10 inches in breadth, and
weighs from 12 to 15 lbs. The bill of the male is of
a dusky brown colour, very strong, and convex ; the
irides of the eyes are hazel, and over the eye is a naked
red skin ; the nostrils are small and covered with short
dusky feathers, which extend under the throat, and
these are black and much longer than the rest ; the
head and neck are ash colour, elegantly marked with
transverse narrow blackish lines ; the feathers at the
setting on of the wings are white ; the breast of a very
glossy blackish green ; the rest of the under parts black,
but the belly and feathers over the thighs and vent are
marked with a few white spots ; the tail consists of
eighteen black feathers, which in the outward ones are
marked with a few white spots ; the sides are marked
as the neck ; the legs are very strong, covered with
brown feathers, and the edges of the toes pectinated.

The female differs widely in its plumage, and excels
the male in the beauty and variety of its colours, rarely
found to be the case in birds ; it is only 26 inches
in length. The bill is dusky, and the tliroat orange-
red ; head, neck, and back are marked with transverse
bars of orange-red and black; the breast has some
white spots upon it, and the lower part is of a plain
orange colour, the belly barred with plain orange colour

DESCRiniOX OF CAPERCAILZIE. Uo

ami l)lack, and the tips of the feathers white ; scapuhirs
bhiek, the edges of the feathers mottled with black and
pale reddish-brown ; the scapulars tipped with white,
the inner Aveb of the quills dusky, the exterior mottled
with dusky and pale brown ; the tail is of a deep rust
colour, barred with black, tipped with white, and con-
sists of sixteen feathers, and when the bird spreads out
its tail the white forms a circle round it. This bird,
when feeding on the cones of the fir-tree, will sometimes
strip one fir of all cones, and leave the adjacent fir
untouched, which evidently proves that it is an epicure
in the choice of this kind of food.

The males and females are not found together except
from the beginning of February, the time of pairing,
when the male morning and evening places himself on
an eminence, or perches on the branch of a tree, when,
with tail spread, the wings trailing almost to his feet,
the scarlet patch on each side of the head assuming a
deeper dye, his neck protruded, and the head feathers
ruffled, he makes a noise not unlike the whetting of a
scythe, which he repeats every now and then so loud as
to be heard at a considerable distance. This call the
females attend, and he continues it to the end of
March. At this time he is so unguarded about liis
safety that he is easily approached within shot, and
many of them are then killed by the German Jiigers.
It has been said that both males and females are so
negligent of their safety during this amorous season,
that peasants have been kno^vu to take them in
their hands. This I can hardly credit. When a cock
has been shot, the female has been heard to issue
the most plaintive notes for its loss. The female lays
from eight to sixteen eggs, eight at first, and more as

116 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

they grow older; they are of a white colour spotted
with yellow, bigger than those of the common hen, and
are esteemed greater delicacies than the eggs of most
birds. These are deposited upon moss in some dry
spot upon the ground, where she can sit in security,
the female alone sitting the whole time of incubation, and
when obliged to leave her nest covering the eggs
cautiously with leaves. She sits so close that, after
being approached, she can hardly be induced to quit
her eggs. The young run after their mother as soon as
hatched, the mother leading them most carefully into
the woods, where she feeds them with ant eggs, small
insects, blackberries, &c. As they grow older they feed
upon the tops of heather and the pine cones, and being
a hardy bird, and usually finding abundance of food,
they soon come to their full strength and vigour. They
continue imited, more particularly the young males,
until the end of the year, when the season of love
inspiring them with new inclinations and appetites
the family disperses.

In the countries where they abound, if taken young,
they may be easily tamed, and thrive well on corn ; and
the males, when in this domestic state, emit the same
amorous note all the year round, which, when wild, they
only use in the season of love.

The Goshawk is their most formidable enemy ; they
succumb to its attack, although they are much larger
birds.

When I resided in Grermany I was never so fortunate
as to -get a shot at the cock of the wood; but on one
occasion, when walking through a forest in the Duchy
of Brunswick with some Germans, they pointed out to
me one that was perched on the branch of a pine-tree,

CArERCAlLZIE IX GERMANY. 117

not distant more than forty yards. Unluckily we had no
guns, and I suspect that he would not have allowed
us to approach so near to him had we been armed.

A brace of capercailzie may be considered a capital
day's sport, and a tolerably heavy weight to carry for
six or seven hours.

Pennant, in his " Tour in Scotland," says that " in the
Chisholm's district, that rare bird the cock of the wood
is still to be met with, probably in those near Castle
Grant; " and he speaks of one, a male, which he had seen,
which was killed in Mr. Chisholm's wood north of
Inverness was the last bird of this kind found there,
and of the nest being placed in a Scotch pine. This
must be a mistake, as naturalists all agree that this bird
makes her nest on the ground. The capercailzie was
formerly found in Ireland, but is now extinct there.

118 EEMIMSCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

CHAP. XL

THE HAEE. — FOEM OF EYES AND EAES -WELL PLACED FOE ITS
PEOTECXION. — FASCIN^ATED -WHEN PTJEStTED BY STOAT OE WEASEL,
— WEIGHT OF HAEES. — HAEES TEEY PEOLIFIC. — E:ffEMIES OF
HAEE, — CUEIOFS OLD FRENCH EECIPE FOE DRESSING A HAEE.

" One slielteretl liare
Has never heard the sanguinary j-ell
Of cruel man, exulting in her woes,
Innocent pasture of my peaceful home,
Whom ten long years' experience of my care,
Has made at last familiar ; she has lost
Much of her ^"igilant instinctire di'ead.
Not needful here, beneath a roof like mine.
Yes — thou mayest eat thy bread, and lick the hand
That feeds thee ; thou mayest frolic on the floor
At evening, and at night retire secure
To thy straw couch, and slumber unalarmed ;
For I have gained thy confidence, have pledged
All that is human in me to protect
Thine unsuspecting gratitude and love.
If I survive thee, I -will dig thy grave.
And, when I place thee in it, sighing say,
I knew at least one hare that had a friend." * — Cowper.

I SHALL not enter into a general description of tlie
hare, which is so well known, but merely point out

* Memorandum found among Mr. Cowper's papers : — " Tuesday,
March 9th, 1786 : — This day died poor puss, aged eleven years, eleven
months. She died between t^^elve and one at noon, of mere old age, and
apparently without pain."

THE HARE. 119

those parts of his frame bestowed on him by Providence
to secure him from the dangers by which he is surrounded
both from man, birds of prey, and vermin. The ears of
this animal are formed for conveying sound at a great
distance, and whether the sound comes sideways, straight,
before or behind, these useful organs give timely notice
to this timid animal. Another great advantage which
tlie hare has in running, is the muscular strength of his
legs, particularly the hind ones, which are considerably
longer than the fore-legs ; and I have often seen, on tlie
dowTis in Dorsetshire, a hare in the month of i\Iarch run
up a steep hill, without being once turned b}^ a brace of
well-bred greyhounds. This animal is so fully aware
of this advantage, that on being started, it will instantly
make for any rising ground that may be near him. The
eyes of the hare are large, and situated in the upper
part of the head, and so protidjerant as to enable her
when in her form to see all around her ; they are kept
constantly open when awake or asleep, the lid being too
short to cover them. There is little doubt, that, although
the hare possesses considerable expanse of sight, they are
not able to enjoy an equally distant one. When hunted
by harriers, or coursed by greyhounds, this general
vision of the eye is most useful to her, particularly when
pursued by greyhounds, as it warns her to make the
various twists and turns, by which she frequently escapes
being seized by the dogs, and at last reaches some hedge
or cover, secure from danger. The feet of the hare are
well protected by a thick hairy covering, which in veiy
dry or frosty weather gives her a considerable advantage
over the dogs pursuing her, from its having less scent ;
as young hares tread heavier than those that are full
grown, the scent is stronger. Hares during the daytime

I 4

120 EEMINISCE^TES OF A SPOETSMAN.

rarely quit their forms ; but in the evening, and at night,
come out to feed, and generally return to the usual
haunt through the same runs. When pursued by a
stoat or a weasel, the hare appears in some measure
fascinated by fear, and does not betake itself to its best
means of escape — its fleetness of feet — from its great
enemy, and which it always has recourse to when pur-
sued by greyhounds or harriers, or even a fox ; on the
contrary, it hops in a sluggish sort of way on the near
approach of the stoat or weasel, which seems possessed
of a sort of charm, like that of the rattlesnake and
other species of those reptiles, who exercise the same
over birds and small animals, by keeping their eye
steadfastly fixed on their victim. One can only account
for this extraordinary feeling in the animal by attri-
buting it to extreme terror. The constant terror and
alarm which haunts the hare, will sufficiently account
for its being always lean, and in this state best adapted
for escaping from many of its formidable enemies by its
fleetness. The colour of the hare being a near approach
to the soil, conceals her from the sight of her enemies ;
and the hare trusts much to this concealment, for
they sit so close in their forms that a person may fre-
quently walk within two or three yards of them without
their moving. Providence has protected the mountain
hare of Scotland, and those of Northumberland and
Cumberland, by changing, in the winter, the fur from
brown to white; thus whilst they lie in their forms,
surrounded by snow, they escape the vigilant eyes of
the birds of prey, more especially those of the eagle and
the larger species of falcons.*

* In the winter of 1 856 a black hare was shot on Sir Edward Kerrison's
estate in Suffolk, which he sent to the Ipswich Museum.

WEIGHT OF HARES. 121

Mr. Daniel mentions a curious instance of a hare
being killed in Sandpit Wood, in the parish of Terling,
Essex, In one of the paths, by directing all her attention
and sight towards some foxhounds that were drawing
a cover, a hare at full speed met and ran against a
terrier, who was hastening to the cry with equal velocity.
Both animals were apparently killed. The dog Avith
some difficulty was recovered ; but the hare's skull was
fractured to pieces. The general weight of a hare is
about seven or eight pounds and a half, but the}- are
sometimes met with in England, particularly the wood
hares, weighing ten pounds. Whilst at Frankfort on the
]\Iaine, I had one sent me as a present that weighed nearly
eleven pounds. It is generally considered that hares are
larger and stronger in proportion to the coldness of the
climate they inhabit. Hares are very destructive to
flower gardens, and are particularly fond of pinks and
parsley. In the county of Suffolk, a gentleman found
that his hares were so destructive to some of his new
plantations, that he gave an order to have them de-
stroyed, and the number which was known to be killed
amounted to 1084.* Hares do not pair, but the
male pursues the female by his acute sense of smelling;
and, as I before mentioned, the gamekeepers should be
careful to keep down the jack-hares, as they fight
furiously, and torment the female. In a mild winter,
they breed nearly the whole year. The female brings

* At Sir ]Maiirice Berkelej-'s manor at Cranford, Lord Panniure shot
in January 1858, standing in the same spot, and within the space of five
minutes, t-vrice killed a brace of hares at one shot, and on each occasion both
hares had quitted the covert, and were running at the top of their speed,
but in close proximity, down a ride. A double event which has rarely
happened to any sportsman under similar circumstances.

122 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SrOKTSMAX.

forth her young in one month, in number generally two,
sometimes three, but rarely four. The mother suckles
them about three weeks : after that period they procure
their own nouiishment, making their forms near each
other. Daniel says — " As a proof of the great increase
of hares, a male and female, the doe pregnant, were
shut up in a walled garden, and proper plants supplied
for their sustenance ; at the exj)iration of twelve months
the garden was examined, and the produce was fifty-
seven hares, including the original parents." Hares Jive
seven or eight ^^ears, and come to maturity in less than
one. A young hare may be easily known by the facility
with which the under jaw-bone is broken : when the ears
tear easily that is also a proof of its being young.

Most sportsmen are aware of the many doubles which
the hare cunningly makes before she enters her form
early in the morning. Hares, when closely pursued, will
take to tlie water, and there are instances where they
have been seen, on these occasions, to take to the sea.
Wood hares have a stronger scent than those that are
found in the fields. They never drink, but content
themselves with the dew.

The English are sometimes far too anxious to adopt
the customs and habits of our continental neighbours,
and this, I think, peculiarly applies to the present
mode of battue shooting. But in the extensive forests
and Avoods abroad, many of which are well stocked
with wild boar, wolves, stag, fallow-deer, roebuck, and
small game, there can be no doubt that this battue
shooting is the only course to be adopted to ensure
success in the killing of the above game. In some
parts of Gfermany, the Lord Paramount, or Lord of the
Manor, has still the feudal right of calling out at certain

ENEMIES OF IIAEE. 123

times, two or three hundred of the peasantry to beat his
forests and woods. I have been at these battues many
years ago in the kingdom of Hanover. In France where
all the feudal rights have been abrogated by the national
convention, the proprietor of a wood or forest is able to
have his battue by paying the peasants a small sum,
although I believe the Prefet has the power of calling
out part of the population of the communes to beat the
forest for the destruction of wolves when they become
too numerous and destructive to the farmer's cattle.

For the table, I consider the mountain and hill hare
preferable to the wood and field hares. They are cer-
tainly not in general so large, but as they travel a consi-
derable distance for their food, their flesh is more firm
and of a better flavour. \Yhen hares and rabbits feed
in pastures which have been recently flooded, they are
very apt to die of the disease called the rot. A friend of
mine has lately found in such a moist situation, a consi-
derable number of hares and rabbits dead of this disease.

There are two very formidable enemies of the hare —
jjoachers and vermin. A gamekeeper must keep a sharp
look out on the former, especially examining the runs
of the hare in the hedgerows and other frequented paths
in the woods, where the poacher is most likely to set his
snares, as in many villages there are found men of this
description, who are au fait at this part of the poaching
system, but who do not venture to shoot pheasants on
the perch at night. The gamekeeper should also con-
stantly keejD his traps set, especially during the breeding
season of the vermin, when the jDolecat, stoat, and weasel,
are diligently employed foraging for their young ones.
I am fully aware it would be high treason against pvig,
whoj from his cunning and agility, and excellent nose.

124 KEMIXISCE^TES OF A SPORTSMAX.

takes uncommon care to have his larder well supplied
with food for the sustenance of his young family ; hew-
ever, I really think, as an old sportsman, that a gentle-
man may have a sufficient stock of game both for the
amusement of himself and friends, and at the same time
may ensure to the foxhunters that they would scarcely
ever have a blank day in his covers. The domestic cat,
whenever he has imbibed a taste for the fields and woods,
destroys a great number of leverets in the breeding
season. To cure him of this propensity, the owner
should have his ears cut close when young, as that animal
has a great dislike to water getting into them.

In an old French book on sporting, written by a
French nobleman, the following curious recipe for dress-
ing an old hare is thus given : — " The dish is one which
I invented after having killed a hare one day in Lent,
which hare was so old and so dry, that it was impossible
to separate the ears with the hand, although we endea-
voured to do so several times. In order to make it
tender, the idea struck me only to paunch it, and
immediately afterwards to put it on the spit without
skinning it, heating two shovels red hot ; and to econo-
mise the bacon, I cut two slices of it as if for larding,
and fastened them with thread to two laths, passing the
thread between the rind and the fat of it, in order that
it should not burn, and when my hare's skin was dry
enough, I set it on fire with a firebrand. The fur being
burnt, I took one of the heated shovels, and put the
bacon against the hare, making it drop upon it, and
continued with the shovels, which were heated one after
the other, till I saw that the skin was separating from
the body, and then I could take it off easily with the
tongs, (which may also be done by the hand,) and after

OLD FRENXII RECirE FOR DRESSIXG A HARE. 125

having detaclied it, I basted it again witli the bacon,
and afterwards with strong vinegar, and seeing it roasted
enough, I made a sauce, which may be made sweet, or
a la poivrade, according to taste. This hare, old and
hai'd as it was before being roasted, was more tender
than a leveret kept three days, from which on cutting
it, gravy ran out as from a leg of mutton, for being tough
and dry are two things which cause roast hare to be bad.
And after being thoroughly experienced in this cooking
the late king, Louis XIII., ordered me one Twelfth-
night at Versailles, to dress him a hare, which had just
been taken, and fit to make the trial, being very old
and very tough. He was also cvirious to see it roasted
in tlie kitchen. His Majesty found it so tender and
excellent, as also did those who had the honour of dining
with him, that nothing remained but the bones. I give
this recipe," continues the Frenchman, " that sportsmen,
when they have taken a hare in the country, and go for
their refreshment to a poor public-house, where nothing
is to be had, may speedily prepare a dinnerj and return
immediately to their sport.''

12G EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAX,

CHAP. XII.

BABBITS. — BOG TAX IN IRELAND. — BREEDING OE RABBITS. — WORM
IN R.iBBII. INJURY TO FARMERS. FARMING IN CAMBRIDGE-
SHIRE,

" From rabbits young, fi'om rabbits old,
From rabbits hot, from rabbits cold,
F:fom rabbits tender, rabbits tough,
Thank you, my lord. I've had enough."

Grace of a 2^obIeman's Chcq)Jahi,

I WILL now speak about a small animal wliich has been
the cause, I verily believe, of more bad feeling and
disputes between landlord and tenant than all the game
put together — I mean the rabbit. Its habits are very
mischievous to the agriculturist and to gentlemen's
woods and plantations, more especially in a severe winter.
I wish to be understood that this great mischief to cul-
tivated lands and woods, takes place only, when gentle-
men, by means of their gamekeepers, allow these prolific
animals (or indeed they almost deserve the name of
vermin) to overstock the woods and fields, and most
gentlemen know well that when a keeper receives
encouragement from his master to keep up a great stock
of rabbits, he is never backward in doing this. For, as
I have observed in another part of this work, these men
are very apt to consider the rabbits as their perquisite.

RABBITS. 1-27

to contribute to the fund of their ftxniily, or to sell
them.

The material difference between the hare and rab-
l)it is, that the former usually takes a wide range for
his food, whilst the latter is local, and excepting when
asleep, is actively employed, both with his feet and
teeth, in burrowing in hedgerows and other elevated
grounds, and at times doing considerable mischief to the
drainage, and the barking of trees in the woods. The
rabbit is an animal that cannot bear the extreme of
cold, therefore, in the northern parts of Europe, in
Sweden, Poland, and Eussia, they are kept in hutches,
or barges, and fattened for the table. The Germans
have a great dislike to the flesh of this animal ; they
consider it tasteless and insipid, and although I have
lived several years in Germany, I never recollect seeing
a rabbit brought to the table-d'hote. In the western
parts of Europe, rabbits generally abound, and there is
certainly no scarcity of them in the United Kingdom,
which is fully proved by the vast numbers killed at
some of the battues. In many parts of England,
particularly in Lincolnshire, Xorfolk, Suffolk and Cam-
bridgeshire, where large tracts of the land are sandy,
they are very numerous, and the proprietors of war-
rens in these parts of England derive a considerable
annual profit from the immense numbers sent for the
supply of the London market. In Yorkshire there are
also many w^arreus, from which York and other consi-
derable towns of the vicinity are supplied with rabbits,
and the skins sold to furriers, who furnish the hat manu-
factories with their fur. There are also some rabbit
warrens in the west of Ireland, belonging to the Marquis
of Coningham and M'Connolly and others in the neigh-

130 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAX.

bourhood of Londonderry, who supply the Liverpool
markets ; now that steam communication is established
between Belfast and this port, rabbits at Londonderry
are sold for one shilling a couple. What is rather
singular, I shot for two years in the counties of Carlow
and Waterford, about forty-five years ago, and to the
best of my reollection I never saw a wild rabbit during
that period, rarely a hare, and very few partridges, but
I had excellent woodcock and snipe shooting. However,
this is not to be wondered at, as at that period the Irish
game laws were not enforced, and every man who pos-
sessed a dog and gun went out shooting — little notice
being taken whether or not he had a game certificate,
the price of which was inconsiderable compared to that
paid in England. There is no dog tax in Ireland,
and it is stated by a gentleman, that when the curs
become too numerous in his neighbourhood, he gives
orders to his gamekeeper to diminish the number by
some doses of strychnine. The Irish gentlemen now
take a greater interest in the preservation of their game,
and in some counties the sportsman will find no scarcity
of pheasants, partridges, or hares.

To accomplish this object the gamekeepers are well
paid, the head keeper being sometimes a native of
Norfolk or Suffolk, who is skilful in the destruction of
vermin. Some gentlemen, who preserve their grouse
on the mountains, have poison laid for the purpose of
destroying the dogs of poachers ; this I think rather a
dangerous expedient, as the gamekeeper may sometimes
forget where he has placed the poison, in consequence
of which his master may lose some valuable dogs ; be-
sides, the lower class of Irish are very revengeful, and
if any of their dogs become the victims of this poison

BREEDlXii OF RABBITS. 129

they will probably retaliate by doiug the same on these
grouse preserves. Within the last few years the great
diminution by famine and emigration of the popvilation
of Ireland, will, if I mistake not, contribute much to
the increase of game. ]Many noblemen and gentlemen
have removed from their estates squatters who rented
an acre or half an acre as potato ground, and have
adopted the same system as in England, in getting re-
spectable tenants who have a sufficient capital to stock
a farm of 200 or 300 acres. In short, it is fair to calcu-
late that in the course of twenty years, with railroads,
the general system of drainage, and the rajsid com-
munication by steam between England and Ireland,
the face of this fertile island will be greatly im-
proved, and the lower class of Irish become more en-
lightened, and less under the control of their priests.
There can be no objection to a gentleman keeping up a
moderate stock of rabbits; for in cover and in furze,
where small rides are kept open and in hedge-rows, the
shooting of them is exciting and enlivening. The
speed with which a rabbit runs for a short distance re-
quires, on these occasions, that the sportsman should
take a quick aim, and wuth much practice in this sort of
shooting he usually becomes an excellent snap shot.
There is another and no small advantage to be derived
from having a moderate stock of rabbits in the woods, the
slaughter of pheasants and hares is considerably less,
and they tell well in a day's sporting. A late connexion
of mine who was a first-rate shot at rabbits in cover, told
me that he frequently shot them without seeing the
object when he fired, by getting a glimpse of the
direction they took, and firing into a small bush or low
cover.

130 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAX.

Eabbits breed at about six months old, aud usuall}'
bear seven times annually, if the winter has been mild.
They generally have about five young ones at a time,
which shows plainly how soon an estate would be over-
stocked were they not constantly kept down by shooting
and trapping, ferreting, and by their various enemies,
both of the feathered and four-footed tribes, amongst
the latter particularly Eeynard.*

The buck rabbits in the Avarrens will kill the young
ones if they can get at them ; but, to prevent this, the
does cover their stocks or nests with gravel or earth,
which they close so artificially with the hinder part of
their bodies, that it is difficult to find them out. The
same plan is adopted when they have their burrows in
hedge-rows. The female frequently makes a hole in a
ploughed field, which is termed a rabbit stop ; a warm
nest is made from the fur pulled off from her breast,
and when she quits her stop she carefully covers over
the mouth of the burrow, and this is performed with
such skill, that it is no easy matter to discover the
opening. They never suckle their young at any other
time than early in the morning and late at night, and

* A eomplaiut was made to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives
from the inhabitants of La Hiilpe, praj'ing the Government to adopt
some measure for the destruction of the rabbits in the Forest of Soignes,
belonging to the State, which are represented to be so numerous as to
cause considerable injury to the persons having property in the neigh-
bourhood. The ]Minister of Finance said that applications had been
already made on the subject, and that Government woxild take measures
to prevent the increase of the evil complained of. The breeding of
rabbits has, during the last five or six years, assumed a great extension
in Belgium. Every week not fewer than 50,000 are sent to England
from Ghent, Eccloo, Thielt, &c. In Ghent also an extensive business is
done in preparing rabbit-skins for exportation to France, Russia, and
America.

WORM IX RABBITS. 131

always for ten or twelve days close up the hole at the
mouth of the nest in the above manner, when they
leave their young ; after this they begin to leave a small
opening, which they increase by degi-ees, till at length,
when they are about three weeks old, the mouth of the
hole is left wholly open that they may go out, as they
are then of sufficient size to take care of themselves.
Eabbits, both wild and tame, are subject to two diseases ;
one called the rot, the other is a sort of madness ;
this may be known by their wallowing and tumbling
about ; the tape worm also is sometimes found in their
inside. A friend of mine has some rich pasture lands
on the banks of the Thame in Oxfordshire, which are
frequently flooded by this river. After the water has
subsided the grass grows in the spring, summer, and
autumn with increased fertility. When the hares and
rabbits feed on these fields so submerged many of them
are found dead from the rot. This was the case in the
winter of 1857, when I was staying at this gentleman's
house. This, I think, may be easily accounted for by
the grass having imbibed too much moisture from the
flood, as it is well known that this disease is very general
in wet summers, and fatal to these animals, excepting
in very light and gravelly soils. A gentleman writes in
"The Field" newspaper in 1857, "That when paying a
visit to a respectable farmer near Tedworth, in the
county of Hants, there is a considerable extent of waste
ground in the immediate neighbourhood, known as Bal-
ford Lea, and the above sheep walk was intersected by
a belt of furze in which rabbits abounded. ]My friend,
the owner of a farm abutting on the spot, proposed to
me his intention of shooting off and otherwise destroy-
ing the rabbits in the vicinity, observing that they did

K 2

132 EEMIXISCENCES OF A SPORTSilAX.

incalculable injury to his crops, more particularly so to
the corn when in the young blade. We, accordingly,
entered upon the adventure, which afforded us ad-
mirable sport, and in the course of three successive
days, with double-barrelled guns, we managed to kill
upwards of six dozen of the furry nuisances ; but the
most remarkable fact connected with this event was,
that upon opening a dozen of the above animals Avith a
view to paunch them, to render them lighter to carry,
in no less than ten cases out of twelve, I was surprised
to discover the internal organs affected with a peculiarly
looking parasitical worm of a white complexion, which
adhered with some degree of tenacity, to the exterior
surfaces of the liver, spleen, paunches, and intestines
of the rabbits. The form of this worm was similar to
that of a small leech when quite contracted. I counted
fifteen of these unseemly looking vermin in the ventral
portions of one single rabbit." '*

Some persons course rabbits with small beagles. I
once went out in my younger days, on foot, with a pack
of rabbit beagles, belonging to some farmer in Dorset-
shire ; the meet was on a large furze common, and most
of the burrows had been stopped up during the night.
We had excellent sport, and killed a considerable num-
ber of rabbits. We had about ten couples of these
handsome little hounds, and it was quite gratifying to
see how they stuck to the scent of a rabbit which
they had started, although in the chase, which generally
lasted ten or twelve minutes, other rabbits had crossed

* There was a field of -white turnips growing on the confines of the
lea ; might not this cii-cnmstanee have had some effect on the consti-
tutional system of the rabbits. They were not emaciated, or in bad
condition.

IXJURY TO FARMERS BY RABBITS. 133

the scent. On this occasion one of the farmers treated
us»most hospitably, and we talked over the day's sport
with as much glee and mirth as would old foxhunters
after an excellent run. I had at this time a troop in
the Scots Greys, and was quartered at Dorchester.
There is no pastime that boys are more partial to than
going ferreting during the holidays. This is done with
ferrets and purse nets. The ferret's mouth should be
muzzled to prevent his killing the rabbits. The ferret
is then sent into the hole to drive them out, but the
purse nets being spread over the opening of the holes,
the rabbit, to avoid his dangerous enemy, plunges into
them, and is made captive; a bag net may be placed at
a short distance from the burrows, so that very few will
escape. I have heard that in some warrens the war-
reners have resorted to the cruel practice of sewing up
loosely the mouths of the ferrets before they turn them
into the rabbit burrows, but I believe the more general
way of taking rabbits is by trapping.

Eabbits will occasionally, if much alarmed, take to
the water. As a proof of this, a gentleman w^as shoot-
ing near Biddeford, in December 1857, on the banks of
the Torridge, when the spaniels drove a rabbit out of a
plantation, but did not chase it; still bunny was alarmed,
and, under this fear, braved the perils of the deep, by
deliberately swimming into the river, and gallantly going
a distance of 200 yards to the other side, when she got
into safe quarters. The Prefect of one of the depart-
ments of France, in 1857, authorised the proprietors of
woods, and the lessees of the right of sporting in the
royal forests and the communes, to make two battues per
week for the destruction of rabbits, and other animals
that do injury to the crops, and permitted the sale
B 3

134 KEMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

of them up to April 15th. A similar permission in all
the departments would be of great benefit to the French
farmers, and perhaps something of the same kind may-
be sanctioned by the legislature of this country, from
the vast increase of game on the large estates of noble-
men and gentlemen. It is really fearful to think of the
damage that must be sustained on the estates of the Earl of
Stamford and Warrington, when we learn that his lordship
and eleven of his friends shot in six days 3636 rabbits.* It
is fair to state that Lord Stamford is most liberal of his
game, and that his friends and tenants are amply sup-
plied with it, and a great number of the poor in the
neighbourhood have the rabbits distributed to them. I
would defy any land surveyor, or first rate farmer, to be
able to make a just estimate of the losses sustained by
the tenants from this enormous quantity of game, when
it is left to arbitration to fix the amount of compensa-
tion to be allowed to the tenant for the serious damage
done to his crops. I verily believe that in nine times out
of ten both parties are dissatisfied by the arbitration, the
landlord thinking it too much, and the tenant too little,
for money will scarcely compensate a good, zealous,
and active farmer for the deterioration of his crops,
chiefly by hares and rabbits; but when we find 2461
pheasants have been shot in a week, it is fair to conclude
that these birds must have had a tolerable share in the
injury of the crops of wheat, barley, and oats ; for all
sportsmen know that they frequent the standing corn in

* Subjoined is a list of tlie game killed by this party in the abore
period. Total of pheasants, 2461 ; partridges, 17; hares, 349 ; rabbits,
3636; woodcocks, 81; snipes, 23; wild ducks, 12; various, 81; total,
6660 ! In no preserve in England has, I believe, so large a quantity of
game been killed in six days.

OLD STYLE OF SIIOOTIXG. 135

the summer time, and help themselves pretty freely to
the gi'ain, and as they are large birds, trample down
much of the corn.

I mentioned the other day to a keen sportsman,
who prefers the old fashioned style of shooting, the
great quantity killed on Lord Stamford's property,
on which he remarked, " You may go there with
a double-barrelled gun, shut your eyes, and fire off at
random, and you would be almost sure to bag a brace
of some sort of game." A gentleman, that I am most
intimate with, a shrewd, and particularly well-informed
man, observed to me, that he considered that the present
English nobility generally w^ere now their own land-
agents, and that the characteristic hospitality and
liberality which formerly distinguished this aristocratic
class, is not, in these times often found to exist.

Noblemen and gentlemen of large fortunes now
sell their venison, their game, and their rabbits, and
some send the produce of their hothouses, such as
grapes, pine apples, melons, peaches, and other rare
fruit to Covent Garden and other markets; and it is
well known that a nobleman of immense fortune sends
in the summer time most of his common fruits and
vegetables to a fruiterer in a county towm. These
dealings were cei'tainly never practised formerly by men
of rank and fortune. Multa jyetentibus desunt multa.

Many years ago I had some excellent shooting with a
gentleman in Oxfordshire ; the estate was small, chiefly
pasture land, with thick liedge-rows. The rabbits were
numerous, and our shooting was nearly confined to this
sport, as he had only one small cover near his house, in
which he had a few pet pheasants, held sacred, except
on the last day or two of pheasant shooting; but I

136 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAX.

enjoyed much this rabbit shooting, although there was
little variety, excepting that we now and then got a hare.
We were constantly kept on the alert by the lively
spaniels bolting the rabbits from each side of the hedge,
and affording capital shots, as they scampered over the
grass, and my friend, who was a most hospitable man,
crowned our day's shooting with an excellent dinner and
wines of the finest quality.

Some years after the long protracted war with the
French republic and the Emperor Napoleon, I sheathed
my sv\'ord and retired to some landed property in Cam-
bridgeshire, and, like many unwise military and naval
men*, took to farming ; and this at a very unlucky time
for agriculturists, as a considerable change for the worse
had taken place in the price of the products of the land,
which had fallen from war prices to those of peace.
The farm I cultivated might certainly be termed rather
a large one, consisting of 700 acres, all arable, except
between seventy or eighty acres in the park. With a
full conviction, that with the little knowledge and ex-
perience I had in farming, and my fondness for field
sports, I should be certainly unable to manage so large
a concern, I took into my service a very honest and
respectable old bailiff, who Avas so fat that I was obliged
to keep a horse for him. His salary was 100/. per

* I once sailed in the flag-ship of an admiral who had been appointed
to a considerable command, and hoped that he might retrieve his fortime,
having, by the building of a country house and farming for several
years, managed to get rid of 25,000/. prize money, which he had made
during the war. I was much pleased to hear afterwards (for he was an
excellent, good-natm-ed man) that by his share of the fi-eight of money,
caiTied by men-of-war at this period, he had made 20,000/. diu-ing the
time he had this command. Now aU these freights are conveyed by
-steamers to foreign parts and our colonies.

FAEMIXG IX CA.AIBRIDC^ESIIIEE. 137

annum, and during harvest time lie lived at tlie house,
and on this occasion was allowed a pint of wine a day,
which were the terms on which he had formerly been
employed as bailiff. This, of course, would considerably
diminish the profits of the farm, and the balance at the
end of two seasons was not by any means in my favour,
and I got thoroughly tired of my farming speculation.
Perhaps this may be a wholesome lesson to naval and
military men whose minds may be seized with an
ardent taste for turning their swords into i3loughshares,
and I certainly had not the satisfaction of feeling Labor
ipse voluptas. Mais retournons a nos laptins. My
bailiff came to me one day with a long face, to complain
that the rabbits were doing great damage to a piece of
wheat of forty acres. They were certainly numerous on
about four acres of sand hills, covered with large furze,
which I preserved to have occasionally a day's rabbit
shooting with my friends. This was a few hundred
yards from the wheat, and as it was during the night
that the rabbits committed these ravages, a council of
war was held between the bailiff, the head ploughman,
and myself, when it was decided that some of the furze
should be cut, and small fires made every night at
certain distances along the side of the field towards the
rabbit warren. This had the desired effect in scaring
the enemy from the wheat. I now entertained a
sanguine hope that I should have my four quarters an
acre from the field ; but, alas ! I was sadly disappointed
in this expectation, for a blight or smut attacked the
ears of corn, and I got little or nothing but the straw
as manure. Such was the sweet solace for all my old
bailiffs labour.

There are three pej'sons in a country establishment

133 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

who each have some degree of interest in keeping
up a plentiful stock of rabbits on the estate. The
gamekeeper I consider the first of the class, the
lady of the house the second, and the third the cook.
I have ah'eady stated convincing reasons why the game-
keeper is unwilling to shoot or trap these mischievous
animals, except for himself. The lady of the house* is
anxious to have them, as they contribute so greatly to
the supply of the family; and the cook, for the sake of the
skin, which, in the season, are worth three pence each.
But the gentleman's wife has a very faint idea of the
damage done by the rabbits to her husband's woods and
plantations, more especially in a severe winter, when
they bark the trees.f

Having, described the mischievous effects of having
a landed estate overstocked with rabbits, I will, as
I think I am bound to do, say something in their
favour. The manure of this animal, when collected in
sufficient quantities, has been favourable to the crops

on some lands. The late Mr. F , who was esteemed

one of the best practical gentleman farmers in England,
and who, with the late Lord Somerville, introduced
the merino sheep into this country, on account of
the fine quality of their wool, had a large barn, every

* Excellent white soup is made from rabbits. Boiled rabbits vrith.
onions, or made into a curry, are favourite dishes ; a roast rabbit
comes in -well for a second course, and rabbits, half-grown, cut up and
fried with parsley and butter, are particularly palatable, to say nothing
of rabbit pies for the parlour or the servants' hall.

t The tarred rope, which should be put round the lower part of the
tree, would not require to be so high as that to protect them from the
hares, particularly if there are few of the latter.

In a small property, Wheatley, in Oxfordshire, during the winter
of 1857-58 one thousand rabbits were killed.

SILVER-GREY RABBITS. 139

side of which was filled with raljLit hutches from top
to bottom, all of them inhabited by silver-grey rabbits.
A man was constantly employed in feeding and cleaning
them, and the manure was found very beneficial, and
several dozens were sent for sale every week to London,
and that sort of skin being valuable, they fetched a
good price in the market.

I have been rather prolix on the subject of rabbits,
and perhaps, in my younger days, as a sportsman, I was
not so zealous for their destruction. But I have heard
on various occasions from farmers such bitter com-
plaints of the mischievous tendency of rabbits, that
I am become a decided enemy to their being protected
in such numbers as to be a serious nuisance. Some
sportsmen who are very fond of this sort of shoot-
ing -^nll sarcastically remark, " Now the author is old
and blind, and can no longer enjoy the sport, the poor
rabbits fall under his lash."

"Honi soit qvii mal y pensp.

140 KEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAX.

CHAP. XIII.

AVOODCOCK SHOOTING IX IRELAXD, WALES, AKD THE ISLAND OF
TERCEIRA. — DESCRIPTION AND HABITS OF THE "WOODCOCK. —
BREED IN ENGLAND.

" 0 joy ! the redwings now appear,
The harbinger of sport ;
Sure sign the woodcocks will be here,
And to our woods resort.
Prepare your guns, ye sportsmen keen,
Straight powder good and dry.
For if a woodcock can be seen,
'Tis certain he must die." — J. P.

I AM now entering on a sporting subject which may be
considered peculiarly interesting to the English sports-
man. I come to this conclusion from my own feelings
and the opinion of others, that with the exception of a
good run with foxhounds there is nothing more exhi-
larating than in cover-shooting to hear the beater cry
out, " jMark, cock ! " and an instant afterwards making a
successful shot at him. Independently of his being so
excellent a bird for the table, there is something of
wildness and excitement in woodcock shooting which is
certainly not experienced to that degree in the slaughter
of pheasants and hares and other game bred on your
estate. The woodcock during the summer inhabits the
alps of Norway, Sweden, Polish Prussia, and the northern
parts of Europe. They retire from these countries at
the beginning of winter, as soon as the frost commences,

DESCRIPTION OF THE WOODCOCK. 1-11

wliich forces them to migrate into milder climates,
where the ground being soft enables them to bore with
their bills for worms and other insects, which form their
chief nourishment.

The woodcock is about fifteen inches long, the breadth
with the wings extended twenty-six inches, the bill three,
dark towards the end, reddish at the base, and hollowed
lengthways ; the upper mandible hangs over the lower,
and forms the round point of its bill, and nature has
given an additional organ at this extremity, adapted to
the mode of procuring its sustenance. The tip is rather
flesh than horn, and appears susceptible of a sort of
touch, calculated for detecting its prey in the moist earth.
The tongue is slender, long, sharp, and hard ; the eyes
large and of a brilliant black colour, and placed near the
top of the head, to j)revent their being injured when the
bird thrusts his bill into the ground. From the bill to
the eye is a black line ; the forehead is a reddish ash-
colour ; the crown of the head, the hind part of the neck,
the back, the coverts of the wings, and the scapulars
are prettily barred with a ferruginous red, Ijlack, and
grey, but on the head the black predominates. The
under eyelid is white, the chin ash-colour, the forepart of
the neck yellowish, the under part of the body dirty-
white, barred with numerous transverse dusky lines.
The quill feathers are dusky, marked on the outer web
with triangular rufous spots, and the same on the inner
web close to the shaft. The tail consists of twelve
feathers, dusky or black on the one web and marked on
the other with red, the tips above ash-colour, below
white, which to the full black eye gives to this bird a
very pleasing appearance. The legs and toes are a pale
flesh coloured brown, the latter divided almost entirely.

142 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

having only a very small web between the middle and
interior toes.

Woodcocks generally arrive in flights in this country
about the latter end of September or the beginning of
October, but in much greater numbers in November,
taking advantage of crossing the sea in a thick mist
during the day, or at night.

It is the wind and not the moon which induces them
to commence their flight. If the wind continues fa-
vourable when they arrive on the coast, their stay is
very short, and they frequently continue their flight the
next night, but if in crossing the sea they experience
adverse winds, they generally remain a few days to rest
themselves. They then separate and disperse. It has
been observed by gamekeepers in Suffolk, that when the
redwings and fieldfares arrive on that coast they are cer-
tain harbingers of the woodcock's arrival.

Frequently a considerable number of them are shot
in different parts of our coasts on their first arrival, and
before they have taken their various flights into the in-
terior of the country. One cannot help regretting their
being shot at this period, as they are then in poor con-
dition, and not the fat plump bird which they become
about Christmas, and it is curious that the taste of
the woodcock on its first arrival is not so highly
flavoured.

A woodcock, entirely white, was shot in Sussex by the
gamekeeper of Sir John Lade ; another, with the wings
white, was shot by Mr. Goodyear, at Box, in Somerset-
shire.*

* On the 31st October 18-17, Mr. George Gibbs of Bristol killed
t'wo woodcocks at one shot, both birds being on the wing.

My son, a captain in the Canadian Kifle Corps, saw a white wood-
cock shot by a Frenchman in the neighbom-hood of Montreal.

HABITS OF THE WOODCOCK. 143

When woodcocks first arrive in this country, )'ou may
sometimes find them in hedge-rows, furze, heath, and
among small clumps of bushes, and two or three times
I have found them in turnip fields. But they soon re-
tire to the woods, and may at this time be frequently
found in the low cover of one or two years' growth ; but
if the covers are often disturbed by sportsmen they take
shelter in the high fells of ten or twelve years' growth.
If the winter is mild, woodcocks remain in the moun-
tains or high ground amongst the heath, and towards even-
ing take their flight to their feeding places ; but if the
weather becomes severe they then descend to the low and
marshy ground, where they are sometimes found in great
numbers. The first time you flush a cock he flies lazily,
and is an easy shot ; but after they have been flushed two
or three times, their flight becomes rapid even through the
high cover, until they have arrived above it, and are en-
abled to fly horizontally. In their sharp twists and turns
to accomplish this, the sportsman must be a quick and
good shot to kill them. • They are partial to lying near
the outside of the high fell, and when found there they
generally take their flight outside, and you get a clear
good shot. If you have marked a woodcock down in ?
wood where the bottom is dear, you may be pretty cer-
tain that as soon as he has alighted he will run, and a?
these birds, as well as snipes, almost always fly agains'
the %\ind, get a few yards to the windward of the bird,
and when you have reached the position, whistle as a
signal to the keeper or marker who is with you to flush
him, when nine times out of ten he will fly towards you,
and his fate is sealed. Woodcocks prefer lying in dry,
clear covers, where they are able to run.

In Germany the jagers or gamekeepers kill a con-
siderable number of woodcocks, by waiting iu the even-

144 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

ings in tlie avenues or openings of the forests or woods,
at which time these birds are on their flight seeking for
their food in marshy or swampy places. If spaniels are
well trained and under good command, I prefer shoot-
ing with them, but if this is not the case, men or boys
to beat the cover, who keep close, are preferable, but
there is certainly something exhilarating in shooting
with spaniels.

During two years that I was on service in the south
of Ireland as inspecting field officer of Yeomanry, with
the rank of lieutenant-colonel, in 1805, 1 had some ex-
cellent cock shooting in the county of Carlow, in the
woods of Mr. Kavanagh of Burris, whose extensive
covers lay on the left bank of the river Barrow with a
south-west aspect. In these woods the arbutus, holly,
and other evergreens flourished luxuriantly, and in those
covers I am confident I have seen thirty or forty couples
of woodcocks in a day ; but Mr. Kavanagh was not much
of a sportsman, had seldom shooting parties, and went
out late, but I managed sometimes to bag my ten or
twelve couples of woodcocks ; three or four good shots
would have brought home three times as many.* On
these occasions beaters, or boys as they are called in
Ireland, though some of them may be sixty years of
age, are employed. Mr. Kavanagh possessed large
landed property in the counties of Carlow and Wex-

* Tlie celebrated sculptor, Sir Francis Cliantrey, when shooting ^rith
Mr. Coke, at Holkham, 1829, killed two woodcocks at one shot, and
Chantrey made it remarkable by sciilpturing the birds in a graceful
tablet, which he presented to his host. A nobleman shooting, in De-
cember 1857, at Kinmount, killed a woodcock and bagged it; shot
immediately at a rabbit, and on going to it found a second woodcock
had been killed by the shot taken at the rabbit. The bird must hare
been on the ground in the line of the shot.

WOODCOCK SIIOOTIXG IX IRELAXD. 145

ford. He was descended from one of the kings of Ire-
land. He showed me in . his hall the iron crown used
at the coronation of his ancestors, and he told me he
had sent a small gold crown, used for the same purpose,
to a museum in Dublin. He had become a proselyte
to the Protestant faith, and had consequently become a
marked man amongst his Roman Catholic neighbours,
and even at that time, seven years after the rebellion of
'98, he had all the lower windows of his large mansion
blocked up with deal boards, two or three inches thick,
as a defence against a night attack, and he always dined
in a room on the first floor. He was an extremely well
informed man, and possessed the usual Irish charac-
teristic— great hospitality. His corps, which I went to
inspect monthl}^, consisted of 100 light infantry, all
Protestants, mostly mountaineers, and he generally had
three or four of his men in his house to defend the
place. His corps was particularly well disciplined by
Mr. Kavanagh, who had Dundas's movements at his
fingers' ends.

In 1806 I was removed to the county of Waterford,
and had the monthly inspection of all the corps in the
county for a twelvemonth, to the south as far as Lismore
and Capoquin. In the latter place I used to remain for
a few days in the -winter for cock shooting in the woods
of Sir John Keane, which had all the charms of ro-
mantic scenery and -wildness, and in. these covers I shot
several couple of the small woodcock mentioned by
Latham. They have the plumage* about the head dif-

* On tlie 2nd Noremlier 18o8, a fine -svoodeoek, in full plnmage, flew
into a room in the hoiise of ]Mi\ Sturmey where a portion of the family
were at dinner. He was taken alive, and is now in the posse.¥sion of
Mr. Sturmey, Bath.

L

146 KEMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

ferent from that of the large woodcock. The largest
kind generally arrive before the small ones. Their
flight is not so quick as that of the latter. They
have more small feathers about the head, especially in
the lower part. The small ones reach this country in
the middle or latter end of November ; their heads
have a darker plumage, and the bill not so long.
They do not lie so well as the large, and in high cover
make quick and sharp turns, like the snipe, amongst
the boughs, and are therefore more difficult shots.

I scarcely know a more beautiful country than that
situated on the banks of the Blackwater, in which river
there is one of the best salmon fisheries in Ireland, the
property of the Duke of Devonshire, which at that time
was rented to the serjeant of a yeomanry corps at 1200?.
per annum. On one occasion I remained at a small inn
at Capoquin in the spring for six weeks, having been
sent there by the late Greneral Sir John Floyd to search
for arms, as several atrocious murders had lately been
committed in the mountain districts. During this time
the yeomanry corps in the district were put on perma-
nent duty ; bvit notwithstanding all our researches we
seldom found any, as the peasantry never had them
concealed about their houses or premises. Salmon might
be purchased at Capoquin at fourpence per pound, and
in a fortnight or three weeks I got thoroughly satiated of
this delicious fish. The cider made in this district is
excellent, and is the common beverage of the peasantry.

Half a centur}^ ago woodcocks were far more nume-
rous in Ireland than at the present time. This may be
accounted for in various ways. It is well known that
in the northern parts of Europe where these birds breed,
the eggs are considered a luxury hj the higher classes.

WOODCOCKS' EGGS A DAINTY; NORTH OF EUROrE. 147

and fetch a good price; consequently the peasantry
seek woodcocks' nests to procure their eggs for sale.
But there are other reasons, for Sportsmen have become
more numerous in Great Britain, and generally more
skilful shots, great improvements have been made
in the manufacture of guns, and to which must be
added the universal system of drainage, which prevents
these birds procuring their food.* Pennant says that
in the plain part of the hills near "VVinander water he
saw numbers of springes for woodcocks laid between
tufts of heath, with avenues of small stones on each
side to direct these stupid birds into the snares, for
they will not pass over the pebbles. He says that many
were taken in this manner in the open weather, and
sold on the spot for sixteen or twenty pence a couple
(about forty years ago), and sent to the all devouring
capital by the Kendal stage.

In Picard}'-, the French peasantry take a vast number
of woodcocks when they arrive in that part of France
by means of large nets that are fixed in the rides
and open spaces in the woods. One v/inter, while walking
through the market of Boulogne in the month of No-
vember, I often saw small sacks filled with woodcocks
which had been captured in these nets, and I sincerely
regretted that there was not some law in France to pre-
vent these birds, which afford so much pleasure and
amusement to the sportsman, being thus destroyed
wholesale. The price of a couple of woodcocks at that

* The follo^Ting account of the quantity of game killed in Turkey,
from a correspondent, appears almost fabulous. The severity of the
weather had been unexampled. Two sportsmen, first-rate shots, killed
in three days, 402 woodcocks, 10 hares, 11 pheasants, 72 wild ducks,
1 wild boar, and 62 partridges, maldng in all 561 head of game. This
will be belieyed by those officers quartered at Ismid and its Ticinity.
L 2

148 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

time was three francs, or half-a-crown ; but I have little
doubt, like everything else, the price is considerably in-
creased. Great havoc was made in Cornwall and Devon-
shire by glade nets hung in the woods, in former times,
when the Exeter coach brought thirty dozen in a week
up to the London market.

The late Lord M. had an estate in Devonshire on
which there was an extensive wood. Every winter,
about forty years ago, his lordship's gamekeeper used
to send him to his residence in Oxfordshire such
an abundance of woodcocks shot in this wood and other
covers that they were frequently made into pies,
which is an excellent dish. This ample supply has
now ceased for several years. At a battue, a few
years ago. Lord Hastings, who resides in Norfolk, near
the eastern coast, shot with his party forty-two couples
of woodcocks. This, I conclude, was a flight that had
just arrived in this country, and were probably resting
themselves in his lordship's woods for a few days, after
a stormy passage across the sea, previous to their dis-
persing themselves over the interior of the country.

The greatest slaughter of woodcocks that I ever heard
of took place in the winter of 1856 by the Lord High
Commissioner of the Ionian Islands with a party (I am
ignorant of the number of guns) in Albania. They
shot three hundred and eighty-five in eight days.

The cock shooting in the west of Scotland* is in some

* On tlie 8th November 1858, his Grace the Duke of Hamilton and
J. V. Fairlie, Esq. went out shooting in the Isle of Ai-ran, and in foiir
hours killed 33 woodcocks, besides grouse, black game, hares, &e. The
shooting of the duke and Mr. Fairlie was very much admired, as
scarcely a bird escaped that was shot at, and IMi-. Faii-lie had three
right and lefts, which seldom happens in one day at woodcock season.
The Field.

TTOODCOCKS IX WALES. 149

seasons very good. For instance, the result of two
days' shooting in February 1807 was sixty-four cocks
by a single sportsman ; on the first day thirty-seven,
and on the second twenty-seven. He was accompanied
by three beaters and one steady retrieving spaniel.
These birds were killed in covers through which the
walking is most difficult, and consequently the shooting
uncertain. This performance is quite sufficient to es-
tablish the character of this gentleman as a first-rate
sportsman. Some years ago w^oodcocks were very
numerous in the winter in South Wales*, so much so
that a gentleman who resided in Swansea shot in one
season one hundred couples, and I have heard that in
Ireland, forty or fifty years ago, fifty couples of cocks
have been shot by two guns in one day. In Wales, the
cock shooting in the dingles or small wooded valleys is
very gratifying. Two sportsmen, one on each side,
commanding a view of the low copse, with a brace of
steady spaniels and a good marker, will most likely
seldom fail to fill the game bag if cocks are plentiful.
As a proof how essential good markers are in cock shoot-
ing, the late Mr. Brown of Frampton in Dorsetshire,
w^ho was a regular old sportsman, had constructed in
different parts of his woods, against the large trees, a

* At a dinner party I inquired of a gentleman "n-ho resided in South
"Wales -whetlier he had made any singular shots at woodcocks. He re-
plied that he had not, but that his gamekeeper once shot three wood-
cocks with one barrel and one with the other. This appeared to astonish
all the company present as it did myself.

As Sir. John Snow of Boode, Devonshire, was sporting on his
grounds, in 1856, he started a rabbit, which ran throiigh a hedge, flush-
ing two woodcocks. JVIr. S. shot one of the woodcocks, and just as he
was pomting the second barrel at the other, the rabbit again crossed the
path, and the charge brought down both woodcock and rabbit.
1,3

150 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

sort of rough ladders to enable tlie markers to ascend
them rapidly. These are the only woods in which I
saw this judicious plan adopted to ensure good sport.

The woodcock feeds and flies by night, commencing
its flight in the evening, and returns towards daylight
to the same cover. They leave England at the end of
February or the beginning of March (I think I men-
tioned that I shot one the 9th of April), though they
sometimes stay longer. These birds appear in Scotland
generally on the eastern coasts, and proceed in their
flight from east to west. Woodcocks are found in the
Levant as far south as Smyrna and Aleppo, and it is
said that some have been found as far south as Egypt,
but this is the utmost extent of their migration east-
ward. There are a variety of opinions among sports-
men whether woodcocks in their migration to this
country come to the same part of the coast to which
they had resorted in the preceding year, but from the
following account, derived from Daniel's " Eural Sports,"
it wovdd appear that they frequently come the next
season to the same part of the country : —

"In February 1798, Mr. Pleydell says a woodcock
was caught in Clerston Wood, by the gamekeeper, in a
rabbit net, and preserved alive. A brass ring was put
on its left leg, and it was let fly from Whatcombe House.
In the following season, on the 18th of December, the
same bird was shot by Mr. P. in the same wood in which
it was originally taken ; the woodcock was stuffed and
kept at "WTiatcombe House."

" On making my appearance in the breakfast-room
the landlord came in and proposed driving me in his
dog-cart to the covers we intended beating ; and having
partaken of a substantial breakfast, a steady old setter

TVOODCOCKS BREED IX EXGLA^D. ]51

accustomed to cocks was selected from iT.y dogs, aud
we bad made our start. Our party being mjibelf, Ben
Lloyd, a good marker, and my old favourite setter. Ou
arriving at tbe wood wbere we were to begin operations,
Ben sent bis man to percb on a bigb tree, wbere be
would bave a good general command of tbe cover, and
be able to mark nearly every cock we migbt spring,
giving Jack Saddler time to reacb bis station. We com-
menced beating tbe cover as quickly as possible, and
bad not proceeded above tbirty yards before tbe dog
pointed on some bare ground on tbe side of a bill. On
my approacbing tbe point tbree cocks rose, but out of
sbot, Jack marking tbem on tbe opposite dingle. We
arranged to beat our ground on instead of directly
following tbe birds we bad flusbed, and in less tban a
quarter of an bour we bad anotber point, wben a single
cock got up, wild, witbout even a cbance of a snap sbot.
Encouraged by seeing tbese cocks I worked bard until
four o'clock in tbe afternoon, baving moved eigbteen
cocks, but witbout myself or Ben Lloyd obtaining a single
sbot. I returned back tired, witb an empty bag, but
tborougbly satisfied witb wbat I bad seen. Tbe wind
was very cold, and tbe cover ratber bare wbere we
moved tbe cocks, but, generally speaking, admirably
adapted for woodcocks, being well interspersed witb
warm springs. I was neitber surprised nor disappointed
to find tbe birds so wild, feeling certain tbat on a future
day I sbould bave good sport, baving for tbe last four
or five years been in tbe babit of sbooting on a large
tract of wild and unpreserved country. I enjoy more
seeing my dogs work well, witb an occasional sbot,
wbere, wben you approacb tbe point, you know not
wbetber it may be partridge, woodcock, grouse, bare,
I. 4

152 EEMINISCEJfCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

snipe, or wild fowl, far more than killing a great head
of game without working for it, and all true sportsmen
will, I doubt not, say that with health and strength
there is much more pleasure in killing six or seven
brace of birds over a leash of well ranging dogs in a
wild country, than by bagging thirty or forty brace in a
Norfolk or Suffolk turnip field."* This is a sportsman
after my own heart.

In 1833 I joined the army of the Emperor Don
Pedro, in the island of Terceira, one of the Azores, as
an amateur, receiving neither rations nor pay. Whilst
there I got acquainted with an English gentleman who
had resided several years in a retired part of the
island. He was very fond of shooting, and he told me
that he went to a mountain which was well wooded
every year in the month of September ; and in these
woods and adjoining hedgerows he usually had a fort-
night's very good woodcock shooting, the greater pro-
portion being full-grown young birds which had been
bred in the island. I sailed with this expedition to the
coast of Portugal, and was at the capture of Oporto.
An English merchant's wife displayed much courage
and presence of mind on the day we took the place.
I called on her about purchasing the horse of an
English captain who commanded a frigate. On enter-
ing the room she remarked, " Sir, we must go to this
corner, as the enemy from the other side of the Douro
have fired several shots in a diagonal direction through
the windows of this room, but in this part we shall be
safe." And whilst with her two balls actually passed
through the apartment in the direction she mentioned.

* Eemiuiscences of Shooting N, and S. Woies.

WOODCOCKS ; ISLAND OF TERCEIEA. U3

According to Mr. Pennant, " a few woodcocks are
supposed to remain in this country every year. In Case
Wood, about two miles from TunLridge, a few breed
almost annually, the young birds having been shot there
in the month of August, and they were found to be as
healthy and vigorous as in winter, but not so well
tasted."* Latham states that, "On the 1st of May
1769, the gamekeeper of Horace jNIann, Esq. shot a
couple of woodcocks in Chellenden Wood, and also a
couple the preceding day, which were sitting on their
young." He likewise says that " a friend of his found a
female woodcock sitting on her eggs, and the male close
at hand ; she was so tame as to suffer him to touch her
without rising; and about the year 1781 a brace of old
woodcocks, with five young ones, full fledged, were
found ; three of the young were taken and presented
to a lady in the neighbourhood, one of which soon died
and is now in her possession.

Mr. St. John mentions in his work of " The Wild
Sports of the Highlands,"' that a boy brought him a
young woodcock, nearly full-grown and fledged, in the
second week in April. This proves that when the
woodcocks remain in this island they hatch earlier than
most other birds. This author further states that since
extensive fir and larch plantations have been made in
different parts of Scotland many woodcocks remain in
the spring to breed in them.

* Jesse says: "I dined, in Jiine 1834, -vrith. a friend at HoUyeombe
in Susses. On each day I partook of a leash of young woodcocks.
They were fat and excellent, and nearly fall gro\^-n. They begin to
breed in the Hollycombe woods early in the year, generally about the
middle of February. A hen woodcock with her young may frequently
be seen in the woods, but sometimes running across the grass opposite
the hoxise."

154 REMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

The woodcock takes little pains in ttie formation of
its nest, which is on the ground, usually composed of
dried leaves and fibres, and protected in some measure
by the stump or root of a tree. The eggs, about four
or five in number, are larger than those of a pigeon,
and of a rufous grey, marked vfith dusky blotches. (A
specimen of the eggs and nest, found at the Earl of
Cork's, near Frome, in Somersetshire, is in the Leverian
museum.) The young run as soon as they are hatched,
but as they are unable for some time to provide them-
selves with food the old birds perform this task for
them. Several specimens of the variety of plumage
of woodcocks is to be seen in the Leverian museum.

"NATiere the woodcocks remain, as the spring ap-
proaches, they may be seen flying in pairs in the morn-
ing and evening, and they then may be heard making
a small piping noise, which is not heard during the
■^\int€r.

Mr. St- John says, " In the woods of Altyre and Darna-
way (Scotland), as well as in all other extensive planta-
tions in the country, during the whole spring and
summer, I see the woodcocks flying to and fro every
evening in considerable numbers. As early as six or
seven they begin to fly, uttering their curious cry, which
resembles more the croak of a frog than anything else,
varied, however, by a short, shrill chirp. In the even-
ing the woodcock's flight is rapid and steady, instead of
being uncertain and owl-like, as it is often in the bright
sunshine. I consider their vision to be peculiarly
adapted to the twilight, and even to the darker hours
of night, this being the birds' feeding time."

155

CHAP. XIV

SNIPE SHOOXrNG IN CAJfADA AND INDIA. — SNIPES IN VAEIOTJS PARTS

OF THE GLOBE. — THE CAMBEIDGE FENS. — SOLITARY SNIPE.

SNIPE SHOOTING BY MR. STUET.

Snipe shooting, in a country where they are abundant,
is a most lively and diverting sport, and most men who
are partial to field sports pride themselves on being
good snijDe shots. To acquire this knack it is necessary
to have considerable practice, and until I had passed
a winter in Ireland, where snipes were so numerous
forty or fifty years ago, I wasted much powder and
shot, and usually returned home with an almost empty
bag, but at last I could manage on an average to kill
three out of four, and I actually some years afterwards, in
the island of Sardinia, killed nineteen snipes in succes-
sion, and I began to be so conceited that I fancied I should
never miss a snipe again, but this conceit was soon taken
out of me, on my subsequently missing two or three.
I had every advantage in this day's shooting. There was
a fine soft breeze, the snipes lay like stones, and, being
very numerous, I could pick out my shots.*

* I performed this feat with a Joe Manton gun with the elevated sight,
which was made a present to me by my old friend and schoolfellow Sir
C. K., Bart, when he came into possession of his extensive estates and
noble mansion in Northamptonshire.

1-56 EEMIXISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

When the snipe rises he makes several sharp and quick
twists in the air, and then flies straight. This is the moment
to fire, and then it is not a difficult shot, and a slight
wound will bring him to the ground. When the snipes
rise close to you you must, as I said above, wait until
he has finished his manoeuvres, but if he rises
rather wild fire instantly, as he would probably get out
of shot. On entering a swamp or bog, the sportsman
should keep the wind to his back, as the snipes always
fly against the the wind, and he will then be enabled to
get some good cross shots, but if the hedge or long grass
is rather high, then it should be beat up wind with a
steady old pointer, and if he fetches and is tender
mouthed he is a great treasure for snipe shooting.

The length of the common or full snipe to the end
of the tail is nearly twelve inches, the breadth with the
wings extended is fourteen, the bill is three inches long, of
a dusky colour, flat at the end and often like shagreen
above and below. The head is divided length^\dse with
two black lines and three red ones, one of the last
passing over the middle of the head and one above each
eye ; between the bill and the eyes is a dusky line. The
chin is white, the neck is varied with brown and red.
The scapular are beautifully striped lengthmse with
black and yellow, the quill feathers are dusky, but the
edge of the first is white, as are the tips of the secondary
feathers. The quill feathers next the back are barred
with black and pale red, the breast and belly are white.
The covers of the tail are long and almost cover it, they
are of a reddish brown colour. The tail consists of
fourteen feathers, black on the lower part, then crossed
with a broad bar of deep orange, another narrow one
of black, and the ends white or pale orange. The

SXirES IX VAEIOUS PARTS OF THE GLOBE. 157

legs are pale green and the toes are divided to their
origin.

Those who are partial to snipe shooting in Ireland
generally defer this sport till the beginning of November,
when the frost has set in, for several good reasons. The
snipes, which are bred in the mountains and morasses in
Ireland are in good condition in September ; l)ut as re-
gards the shooting of them at this period, it cannot be
compared with the snipe shooting at a more advanced
season of the wdnter. Instead of the rapid and twisted
flight which this bird takes in cold weather, it rises in
the autumn in a sluggish manner, and usually takes a
short flight ; besides there is a considerable difference in
the flavour of a snipe shot in September and one that
has been killed in November or at Christmas. This
bons vivans know well how to appreciate. There are
two ways of shooting at a snipe : fire at him as soon as
he rises, or let him make his two or three twists, and, as
he then goes off straight, shoot at this time. The advan-
tage of this last is that the bird is not too much injured.
In the winter of 1857 snipes were found numerous in
many of the morasses of Ireland, and as it was a most ex-
traordinary mild winter, it is fair to calculate that manj-of
the snipes had remained in the mountains. In thisretreat
they are certainly much safer than in the bogs or swampy
grounds, where they are seldom quiet from sportsmen.

Snipes are found in greater or less numbers in the
fom' quarters of the globe. I have seen them in South
America, in the Eepublic of New Grenada, throughout
the Valley of the Caiicas, not far distant from the shores
of the Pacific, in great abundance. The plumage of those
birds was the same as of those found in Europe, but in
size they were rather larger, which might be owing to the

158 REMmiSCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

good feeding grounds in this valley, but I never saw the
solitary or tlie jack snipe or judcock in those countries.

• The snipe makes its nest of dried grass ; and lays four
eggs of a dirty olive colour marked with dusky spots.
When they are disturbed, more especially in the breeding
season, they soar to a great height, making a curious
bleating noise, and when descending dart rapidly down.
It is also a singular fact that when the female is sitting
on her eggs the cock has been seen to poise himself on
her wings, making sometimes a whistling and sometimes
a drumming noise.

The food of the snipe is the same as that of the wood-
cock, and in general they are esteemed a more delicate
bird for the table than the latter. They are very fat
about Christmas.

I once dined with a near neighbour of mine who
piqued himself on the honne chere of his table, and
amongst the delicacies was a snipe pudding, which I
found excellent.

The three different species of snipes found in this
kingdom are the solitary snipe (very scarce), the full
snipe, and the jack snipe. They who delight in snipe
shooting are provided with high boots made waterproof
by a mixture of tallow, tar, and beeswax, the seams
being well rubbed over with it. The annoyance of these
boots to the wearer is their great weight, and the im-
pediment thereby experienced in springing from one
tuft to another, or in jumping over ditches.

Snipes are to be found on our highest mountains, as
also on the low moors, fens, and morasses. About the
first week of April they begin to pipe, and many of them
breed in this country. The young are ugly and shape-
less (I have described one that I found when grouse

CAMBRIDGE FEXS. 159

shooting in South Wales). The mother takes care of
them until the bill is sufficiently long and firm to en-
able them to procure their food. The full snipe weighs
about foiu" ounces. There may be seen in the Leverian
Museum several snipes with a variety of plumage.

The snipes sometimes arrive in considerable flights
in this country from the north as early as September,
but it has been remarked that at this time they do not
lie so well as later in the season. Those that come
over in October disperse soon into the interior of the
country, where they are found generally, if the weather
is favourable, to lie close and afford good sport, for
these birds, like partridges and grouse, as regards their
lying well, are much influenced by the weather, and I
have found them very wild when a strong north-east
wind has been blo^ving, and quite the reverse on a soft
muggy day with a southerly wind. When a severe frost
sets in, the snipes disappear and retire south to milder
climates.

In Ireland the frost was so severe during the winter
of 1855, that vast numbers of snipes perished from the
ground becoming so hard as to prevent their procuring
their food; in consequence, probably, of this circum-
stance snipes were extremely scarce in Ireland during
the following winter.

Seventy or eighty years ago snipes were most abun-
dant in the Cambridge fens — those brought to the Cam-
bridge market, which at that time were all shot birds,
sold from three to five pence each. In 1775, Mr.
Daniel shot, in three mornings, thirty-three couples of
snipes. lie further states, that having known that his
father's labourers caught them by drawing with a net in
the night time, he mentioned to a person near ^Milton

160 REMIN^ISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

Fen his surprise tliat this mode of taking them had not
been resorted to. Tlie fen man inquired what sort of a
net was to be used, and was told a lark net would
answer the purpose of a trial. This he soon borrowed,
and the first night of his making the experiment caught
as many snipes as filled a small hamper. The practice
soon became general and the netted found so much
better than the shot birds that the latter could scarcely
find a purchaser in the market. The price of snipes at
Cambridge has increased to a shilling and sometimes
eighteen pence.

The haunts and food of the jack snipe or judcock are
similar to those of the full snipe, but the bird is more
rare, although Mr. St. John mentions that he once killed
in a couple of hours eight brace of jack snipes, all of
which he found in a small rushy pool and in the ad-
joining ditch. They lie so extremely close that it is
rather difficult to make them rise, and their flights are
always short and not so rapid as those of the other species.
The jack snipe is about half the size of the former and
weighs about two ounces. The length is eight inches
and a half, the bill one and a half inches long and black,
crown of the head black tinged with rust colour ; a black
streak divides the head lengthwise from the base of the
bill to the nape of the neck ; over each eye a yellow streak
passes to the hinder part of the head ; the neck varies
with white, brown, and pale red. Scapulars narrow, long,
brown, and margined with yellow; the rump of a glossy
bluish purple ; belly and vent white ; the greater quill
feathers dusky ; tail brown with tawny edges ; the tail
consists of twelve pointed feathers; the legs of a greenish
colour. The jack snipes breed in our marshes ; the eggs
are of the same colour as the common snipe, but smaller ;

SOLITARY SNIPE. IGl

they do not exceed in size those of the lark. The flesh is
excellent.

The solitary snipe or large snipe is rarely found in
England, and Mr. St. John says he never saw but one
in Scotland. They have been sometimes shot in Lanca-
shire and also in Kent. In 1792 they were more fre-
quently seen in the northern counties, and fine specimens
of this bird are in the Leverian museum. Some sports-
men have expressed a doubt whether the solitary snipe
is a distinct species from the full snipe. I conceive there
is no doubt of its being a distinct species, and its habits
differ from those of the full snipe. This bird is of the
size between the woodcock and snipe, and weighs eight
ounces, length sixteen inches, bill four inches long like
that of the woodcock ; crown of the head black, divided
down the middle by a pale stripe. Over and beneath
each eye another of the same; neck and breast of a
yellowish white, finely marked with small semicircular
lines of black ; belly with cordated spots, and sides un-
dulated with black : the upper parts of the body very
like the common snipe ; tail reddish, the two middle
feathers plain, the others barred with black ; the legs
black. According to Latham, the solitary snipe is found
in Grermany and Siberia.

At the coronation of Alexander Emperor of Russia
in 1856, some of the suite of our ambassador who was
sent on this occasion to Moscow found in their shooting
excursions in the neighbourhood many of the solitary
snipe>;.

The most destructive enemy of the snipe, is the blue
hawk. These birds beat over the marsh or morass at no
great height from its surface with much exactness until
they discover the snipe, who through fear, crouches as

M

162 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN".

close to the ground as possible and instantly becomes
their prey.

In Dorsetshire about seventy years ago, a party of
sportsmen were dining together, and the conver-
sation turning on snipe shooting, one of the gentlemen
said he would bet fifty guineas he would find a
sportsman who would be able to kill twenty-five
brace of snipes in one day in Dorsetshire ; on which
Mr. Humphrey Sturt (my old esteemed friend) said
he would take the bet. " That you cannot do," said
the gentleman who offered the bet, " for you are the
person I intend should perform this feat." " Then,"
said my friend, " to convince you I will do my best,
allow me to take half the bet with you." One of
the company accepted it, and the terms were these, that
Mr. Sturt might choose his day for snipe shooting, but
if he fired one shot he must go on with his engagement.
Mr. Sturt went two or three times to a favourite marsh
much frequented by snipes, but observing they got up
rather wild he did not fire. Going again on a warm
muggy day, with a nice breeze from the south-west, a
snipe got up, and I heard him say it looked so large he
could not resist firing, and down it came. The snipes
were numerous and lay well, and Mr. Sturt killed his
first seventeen shots, on which the gentleman who had
taken the bet and witnessed this excellent beginning,
gave a cheque for the fifty guineas, saying he was sure
he had lost his money, and that he could remain no
longer, having important business to transact at home.
This naturally produced confidence in Mr. Sturt that
he should be able to accomplish his task. He got sixty
shots, killed his twenty-five brace of snipes, two wood-
cocks, and a bittern, missing only seven shots. This

SXIPE SIIOOTIXG BY MR. STURT. 103

exploit, I venture to affirm, could not be excelled by any
of the best shots of the present day, although they
have a considerable advantage in the detonating gun,
the discharge of which is more rapid than the flint gun.

When quartered with the Greys in Dorchester bar-
racks in 1800, there was some very good snipe shooting,
if the frost was not too severe, in the meadows and
ditches in the vicinity of the to-\vn. At that period I had
not had much practice in snipe shooting, and certainly
wasted much powder and shot. I say wasted, because
I seldom succeeded in bagging above two or three brace
of snipes out of about twenty shots. One day I was
firing away at the snipes with my usual ill success, when
to my great mortification a labourer who was snipe
shooting in the same meadows killed almost every
snipe which I missed and came within shot of him.
After having thus had my " nose wiped " several times>
I could no longer resist going up to him to examine
his gim and ammunition with which he did so much
execution. The gun was a very old single barrelled one,
not worth more I should think than twenty or thirty
shillings. His powder was coarse when compared to
mine of Pigou and Andrews. His shot he had loose in
his waistcoat pocket, which he brought out to show me,
with the bowl of a tobacco pipe, having a mixture from
number four down to snipe shot. He told me he could
not afford to miss as often as I did, as he was shooting
for his livelihood, and sold the snipes in the market
for sixpence a-piece. I purchased several brace of him,
and on my return to barracks boasted of my good
day's shooting at the mess.

Having hunted, coursed, and fished in almost every part
of Dorsetshire, I really think, for the enjoyment of all

M 2

164 KEMINISCENCES OF A SPOKTSMAN.

these field sports, there are few counties to he compared
to it. In fox-hunting, during two seasons, I have had
some excellent runs with Mr. Humphrey Sturt's hounds,
particularly in the vale of Blackmoor, and coursing and
hare hunting in perfection on the downs near Bland-
ford, and between Dorchester and Bridport. The woods
and covers are extensive in various parts of the county,
well stocked with hares and pheasants, and generally
in the winter afford good woodcock shooting. I need
not mention snipe shooting after the anecdote I have
related of Mr. Sturt's feat in one day. In the heather
about Wareham and Poole, the blackcock is sometimes
found, which comes from the New Forest. As regards
fishing, there are several good trout streams, and one
which runs by Bere towards Wareham. I have killed
with a mayfly in this stream trout weighing between
three and four pounds, and when in season they are
yellow and most excellent flavour. In the river which
skirts the town of Dorchester, a few miles below it, I
killed trolling with a small trout a pike weighing seven-
teen pounds. When I had finished trolling I put the
remainder of my bait down his wide throat, which made
him weigh nearly nineteen pounds, and when the man
at the King's Arms, Dorchester, where we had our mess,
cut open the pike, he exclaimed, " See what a destruc-
tive monster this is amongst other fish." We had this
pike baked with a pudding in his belly.

In Canada forty years ago snipes were so numerous
that four gentlemen shot in one day in the island of
Chateau Bicker, in three hours and half 169 snipes, and
in one day the same party shot 552 snipes. They were
all first-rate shots. A friend of mine who resides in
Gloucestershire told me that his son was one day

SXIPE SIIOOTIXG; CANADA AXD INDIA. 165

shooting with a pistol loaded with small shot, and that a
snipe flying near him he fired at it and brought it down.*
A near relative of mine who was snipe shooting in the
paddy or rice grounds in India, shot a snipe that was
flying low, and killed another that was on the ground.
I have understood that snipe shooting in these paddy
fields has cost many an Englishman his life, for to
have this shooting in perfection the sportsman must
expose himself to the scorching rays of a tropical sun,
as the snipes then lie like stones. Whilst the head has
to bear this intolerable heat his feet and legs are
struggling through the mud and water of the rice
fields ; but it is a common remark amongst foreigners
that in whatever part of the globe Englishmen find
themselves, regardless of the consequences or example
of the inhabitants, they adhere obstinately to their
English habits. The Spaniards and Portuguese say
that only Englishmen and dogs are seen walking about
the streets in the heat of the day, whilst they are en-
joying their siesta.

* The Earl of Kintore's gamekeeper, Alexander Strachan, killed six
snipes, all on the wing, at one shot ; and the same individual, some
time since, shot an otter and a fox, right and left.

In the early part of the winter of 1857 the snipe shooting in Not-
tinghamshire was more excellent, especially in the valley of the Trent,
than it had been for many years.

166 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAX.

CHAP XV.

QVAIL SHOOTIXG, — QUAILS IX MALTA, SICILY, AXD EFSSIA. — LAXD-
EAIL OE COENCEAKE. — AJfECDOTE OF FEEXCH ABBE.

In narrow compass oft is pent,

A hero's soul, to pigmy lent.

Than quail no braver bii-d did yet,

Talons and beak for battle whet :

And Greek and Roman saw with pleasure.

Their strength the tiny warriors measxire." — Ajuon.

" Sweeping with shadowy gust the fields of com,
While the quail clamours for its running mate."

Thomson's Scaso7is.

The common quail is not above half the size of the
partridge ; the feathers of the head are black edged with
rnsty brown ; the breast is of a pale yellow-red spotted
with black ; the feathers on the back are marked with
lines of pale yellow, and the legs are of a pale hue.
Except in the colour here described it every way resem-
bles a partridge in shape, and excepting that it is a bird
of passage it is similar to it in all its habits.

It appears to be an inhabitant of almost every part of
the globe, and early in the last century they were
numerous in most of the counties of England, and are
still so in Ireland.* I find it difficult to account for

* The sparrow-hawk is mentioned by the poet Chaucer, in his
" Assembly of Birds," as being a favourite at that time for the purpose'

of taking quaUs : —

" The hardy sperhauke (eke).

The quail's foe." — £cll's edition, vol. iv. page 203.

QUAIL SHOOTING. 167

their being now so scarce in this country, especially as
they are common in the northern departments of France,
and when the shooting has commenced there you may
find plenty of quails in the various market towns, par-
ticularly at Boulogne, and as they are birds of passage,
one would naturally conclude, like other birds that
migrate, they would find their way across the British
channel. It is well known that the shepherds in this
country used formerly to catch a great number of quails
with the quail-j^ipe.*

The miracle performed by the Almighty in sending
such swarms of quails as food to the Israelites in the
desert is thus stated in Numbers, chap. xi. v. 3 1 : " And
there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought
quails fi-om the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as
it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a
day's journey on the other side, round about the camp,
and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the
earth."

During the many years I shot in various parts of

* The Quail-pipe, to call the female, is made of a small leather piirse,
two fingers wide and four fingers long, in the shape of a pear. This is
stuffed half full of horse hair, and at the end of it is placed a small
whistle, made of the bone of a rabbit's leg, about two inches long, and
the end formed like a flageolet, with a little soft clay. This is the end
fastened into the purse ; the other is closed up with the same sulistance,
only a hole is opened with a pin, to make it give a distinct and clear
sound. To make this soimd it must be held full in the palm of the
hand, with one of the fingers placed over the top ; then the purse is to
be pressed, and the finger is to shake over the middle of it to
moderate the sound it gives into a sort of shake. This is the most
useful call, for it imitates the note of the hen quail, and seldom fails to
bring a cock to the net if there be one near the place. In the
"Spectator" we read : "A dish of wild fowl furnished conversation for
the rest of the dinner, which concluded with a late iuveutiou of Will
Wimble's for improving the quail-pipe.
U 4

168 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

England, I never found but one bevy of quails, which
was in the extensive open corn country on the south-
west side of the town of Dorchester in Dorsetshire.
There were in this bevy four brace and a half ; and I
think I shot all but two. Quails lie close, fly straight,
and rather near the ground, and they are an easy shot
if let to go a proper distance. I have sometimes found
a brace, and now and then a single bird, in the open
corn fields in Oxfordshire, near the small town of Wat-
lington, and it is to be regretted that they have become
so scarce in this country, as they afford, what is so
agreeable to the sportsman, a variety in his day's shoot-
ing, and besides they are a delicate bird for the table,
and great numbers are brought alive in the summer to
our all- devouring capital from France. When I was
stationed with my regiment in the island of Malta, in
1809, considerable flights of quails made this island a
half-way house to rest themselves in the autumn on
their passage to Sicily and the coast of Naples ; and
although the heat is excessive at this season*, I could
not resist going out quail shooting, and I sometimes
had my game-bag well filled, but I subsequently paid
rather dearly for indulging in this diversion during
the heat of the day, by getting a low fever, from which

* The late LordB}Ton, in his poem entitled "Adieu to Malta," calls it
a little military hot-house. I knew his lordship intimately. He was an
honorary member of the mess of my regiment. At times he was a most
delighful companion at the mess table, and as meny and fi.ill of life as
the youngest ensign. The next day he did not appear to be the same
man, thoughtful, gloomy, and silent. When he landed at Malta, the
late Governor, General Sir Hildebrand Cakes, offered him apartments in
his palace, which he politely declined. He then took lodgings, and pre-
ferred living with our regiment. Liberty and independence were the
idols of this great poet and eccentric character.

QUAILS IN MALTA AND SICILY. 169

I did not entirely recover until I found myself at sea in
the latter end of October, on a shooting excursion to the
island of Sardinia, the particulars of which I shall here-
• after relate. On one occasion whilst shooting at Malta
I saw a considera])le flight of quails arrive and land
near me — one within a few yards in a tuft of grass. As
he appeared much exhausted, I approached the spot
carefully and put my hat over him, and succeeded in
capturing him. He Avas in good condition. In the
pursuit of my quail shooting, I was sometimes obliged
to follow them into the cotton-fields, which I was really
sorry to do, as at this season the cotton heads burst, and
display the most beautiful white cotton. In Malta
they cultivate three species- of cotton plant, one natural
to the country, another from Siam, and a third of a cin-
namon colour, called Antilles cotton.

In conversations I have had with experienced sports-
men respecting quails being so seldom found in England,
they could only accoimt for it from the fact that in former
times the shepherds caught great numbers of them in
the summer with the male and female quail pipe ; but as
this plan is adopted in various parts of France, parti-
cularly in Gascony, still they are numerous in that
country, chiefly from migration. This does not solve the
problem of the quails no longer taking their flight to
England.

Quail fighting was a favourite amusement with the
Athenians. They abstained from the flesh, deeming it
unwholesome, supposing that it fed upon the white
hellebore, but they reared gi'eat numbers of them for the
purpose of seeing them fight, and staked sums of money,
as we did with regard to game cocks, upon the success of
the combat. The Chinese are also very fond of quail-

170 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

fighting, and on these occasions considerable sums are
exchanged by the pai'ties backing their bird.

When I was quartered with my regiment in the cita-
del of Messina, I had some excellent quail shooting for
about a fortnight in the spring, when these birds were on
their passage from Africa to the southern coast of Italy.
During this period the vineyards and gardens all
round Messina were, you might almost say, swarming
with quails, but it was really a service of some danger to
go in pursuit of them, for all classes in Messina down to
the lowest who could muster a gun and powder and shot
were bent on the destruction of these birds of passage,
•and two or three times I was very near being shot by the
Cockney sportsmen, and told them plainly that if they
were not more cautious in firing they should have the
contents of my two barrels. It is almost incredible, but
really a fact, that many thousands of quails are captured
within a few miles on the coast near Naples. There are
small towers erected on the shore at small distances
from each other, to which lai'ge nets are fixed, and I
have seen in a work on the subject of quails that one
hundred thousand have been caught in those nets in the
course of a fortnight. The Neapolitan Bishop of the
Lipari Islands derives the greater part of his in-
come from a small tax on the quails imported from
these islands to Naples and other parts of Italy. In
Grascony, particularly all round the vicinity of Bordeaux
and Libourne, a great number of quails are captured by
means of the quail-pipe in the spring; they are then
fattened in cages, and may be purchased for about six-
pence each. As you walk in the streets you may hear
them calling to each other.

In the south of Spain, in the province of Andalusia,

QUAILS IX RUSSIA. 171

quails are very numerous, so much so, that a Frenchman
writing on the field sports of Spain, exclaims, " Touj(Jur.s
des cailles ! " however this gentleman has formed an er-
roneous opinion of the game in these provinces, for you
find there hares, red-legged partridges, the bustard, and
in the winter excellent woodcock and snipe shooting.
The Wallachian gipsies about Bucharest, before the war
with Russia, paid a tribute to the Porte in quails, which
birds were taken by them in great numbers by means of
sparrow hawks. The hawks were caught in nets prob-
ably whilst migrating, trained for the purpose, and again
turned loose as soon as the requisite number of quails
had been taken.

Lanuiiiil or Coencrake.

This bu'd has been supposed to be the same as the
waterrail. This Ls an erroneous opinion, from an idea
that it is only a change of colour in the plumage at a
certain period. This error proceeds from not sufficiently
considering the character and nature of each, which are
totally different. The length of the landrail is nine
inches ; the bill is one inch long, strong and thick, and
of a greyish brown, formed like that of the water
hen : the eyes hazel ; the feathers on the upper parts of
a rufous brown ; each marked down the middle with
black ; the under parts the same, but paler, and edged
with a pale rust colour ; chin very pale ; both wing
coverts and quills of a lightish chesnut ; the fore part
of the neck and breast is of a pale ash colour ; a streak
of the same coloiu- extends over each eye, from the bill
to the side of the neck ; the belly is of a yellowish white ;
the sides, thighs, and vent are faintly marked with rusty

172 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

coloured streaks. The tail is short, and of a deep bay ;
the legs are of the same colour as the bill.

It does not, like the waterrail, frequent watery-
places, but is always found among corn, grass, broom
and furze. The landi-ail migrates to the continent
before winter, but some have been shot occasionally
in December, which were probably wounded birds, unable
to take their departure with the rest. As there have
been some doubts about the landrail being able to cross
the channel, yet considering its long muscular wings one
may come to the conclusion that it cannot have more
difficulty in crossing the ocean than a variety of small
short winged birds. An author calls this bird the
farmer's friend, as, on having examined his stomach, he
found it contained a quantity of beetles, flies, larvse,
&c. This bird when fat, in the autumn, is justly es-
teemed one of the most delicate and delicious for the
table, and should be roasted with much care, enveloped
in vine leaves.

Whenever I shot a fat landrail, I ^^Tapped it up in
paper carefully, and put it in my pocket, as it was far
too delicate a bird to be mixed with others in the game
bag. The corncrake is the harbinger of summer, and
begins to be heard about the middle of May, and con-
tinues its note during the breeding season. In meadows,
from the time the grass is grown until mown, there
issues from the thickest part of the herbage a sound
like the word " cuck, cuck," and which is a noise re-
sembling that made by scraping the teeth of a large
comb under the fingers. WTien I was staying for a few

days in Shropshire with Sir William C , Bart., in

September 1857, landrails were so abundant in his
neighbourhood, that we had them every day at dinner.

NEST OF L.\XDRAIL. 173

once three brace of them. Partridges were also nume-
rous there, and on the 5th of September the baronet
and two friends shot eighteen brace, which may be con-
sidered a good day's sport for Shropshire. The party
were not out more than four or five hours, and found
the birds strong and wild ; but this season was allowed
by sportsmen to have been the most favourable for the
breed of partridges that had been known for the last
twenty years, the heat having been excessive during the
months of July and August.

Pennant says that the landrail lays from twelve to
twenty eggs, of a dull white, marked with a few yellow
spots ; but, according to Latham and Buffon, the number
of eggs does not exceed twelve, which are larger than
those of the quail and more coloured, are an inch and
a half in length, and not unlike those of the missel
thrush, being of a reddish cinereous white, marked with
ferruginous blotches, -svith a few indistinct ones of a pale
reddish ash colour. The nest is negligently made with
a little moss or dry grass, and placed generally in a
hollow where the grass is thickest. The young crakes
are covered with a black down, and run about as soon as
they burst the shell, following their mothers ; but quit not
the meadow until the scythe sweeps away their habita-
tion. They then shelter themselves amongst buck-
wheat, oats, and very frequently in clover seed, and in
waste grounds overspread with broom ; a few return to
the meadows at the end of the season. There is little
difficulty in ascertaining when a dog scents a landrail,
from his keen search and the tenacity with which the
bird perseveres in keeping the ground ; they will take
to the wing speedily when first found, but to get them
up a second time is no easy task, and they will then lie

174 EEMINISCENCES OP A SPORTSMAN.

that the dog in keenness runs over them, and
they then make a retrogi'ade movement. On these oc-
casions they have been sometimes caught by the hand.
The bird flies with his legs hanging down, and takes
short flights. The sportsman should let the rail go at
least five and twenty yards before he fires, and a slight
wound will bring him down ; but when shot too near
they are rendered unfit for the table. The fleetness of
this bird's feet compensates for the slowness of its flight.
Daniel says that this bird sometimes perches on a bough
in the hedge ; it may be so, but I confess I never saw
it, although I have shot a great many. Landrails are
plentiful in the Isle of Anglesea, and are also nume-
rous in Ireland, where it is supposed they remain during
the winter. They are also found in the north of Scot-
land, and in the Hebrides and Orkneys. On their first
arrival in England they do not weigh more than six
ounces, but before their departure they have been known
to exceed eight ounces.

The migrations of this bird extend more to the north
than the south, and notwithstanding the slowness of its
flight, it penetrates into Poland, Sweden, Denmark, and
even Norway. WTien shooting during the autumn in
the Isle of Purbeck, near Swanage, I found a consi-
derable number of landrails. They were all in excellent
condition. I have mentioned in the chapter on falconry
that a blacksmith at Bridport captured these birds with
a sparrow hawk, and sent them to "Weymouth for Her
Majesty Queen Charlotte, and was paid five shillings a
brace for them. A French sporting book gives an anec-
dote of a French abbe, a decided bon vivant, who was
engaged to dine with the parents of two of his pupils.
The young men had promised to call at his house to

ANECDOTE OF FREXCII ABBE. 175

walk with him to their father's. On arriving at the
abhe's residence, his female servant refused admittance,
declaring he was not at home. Having been appointed
to call at that hour, the young men insisted, and forced
their way into his dining-room. To their surprise, they
found him sitting at a table, with a napkin tied under his
chin, and on a plate, which he tried to conceal, the re-
mains of a savoury feast. ""SMiy!" exclaimed the young
men, " Do you forget you dine with us to-day?" " By no
means," said the abbe ; " but I received a present of
two fat landrails. The fat would have been spoiled if
kept till to-morrow ; therefore, what could I do but
have them dressed immediately." He finished his feast,
and it is added that no one who saw him afterwards
partake of the dinner could have suspected that he had
just eaten two landrails.

176 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

CHAP. XVI.

THE bustard: its habits. — A feexchman's anecdote.— the

BtrSTAKD IN MOROCCO, THE ISLAND OF SARDINIA, AND C.iNADA.

" Let feather' d songsters lurk in groves,
O'er freer space the bustard roves ;
When England boasted open plains,
They were the bustard's lov'd domains :
Wliy has he bid these haunts farewell ?
Fence, palisades, and fosses tell."

The bustard or wild turkey is considered the largest of the
British fowls ; the male usually weighing about twenty-
five pounds ; there are some old birds that have been
found to weigh as much as twenty-seven pounds. The
breadth, with the wings extended, nine feet ; the length
nearly four. Besides the difference of size and colour,
the male is distinguished from the female by a tuft of
feathers about five inches long on each side of the lower
mandible. Its head and neck are ash colour ; the back is
barred traversely with black and bright rust colour ; the
greater quill feathers are black, the belly white; the
tail is marked with broad red and black bars, and
consists of twenty feathers ; the legs are dusky. The
female is about half the size of the male ; the crown
of the head of a deep orange, traversed with black
lines ; the rest of the head is brown, the lower part of

HABITS OF THE BUSTARD. 177

the fore side of the neck is ash coloured, in other re-
spects it resembles the male, only the colour of the back
and wings are considerably more dull.

These birds were formerly found in most of the open
countries in considerable numbers in the eastern and
southern parts of England, from Dorsetshire to the
wolds of Yorkshire.

They are a very shy, wild bird, and as they were
found in the extensive open plains like those of Wilt-
shire, it was difficult to get within shot of them. This
being the case I am at a loss to account for this noble
bird being almost extinct in England. I was told some
time ago that a society of noblemen and gentlemen had
been formed in Norfolk, whose object was to protect the
bustard, and by this means increase their number in
Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

The bustard rises from the ground with difficult}^, but
when once on the wing they fly heavily, and will con-
tinue their flight for several miles without resting.
They run with great speed, and there are instances of
their having been taken by greyhounds. They are partial
to their old haunts, and rarely go more than twenty or
thirty miles from them. The food of the bustard is corn
and other vegetables, and the large earthworms which
appear on the surface of the downs before sunrise in
the simimer ; these are replete with moisture, answer
the purpose of liquid, and thus enable them to exist
long without water on wide and extensive dry tracts.

Besides this, the males have an excellent magazine
as a security against drought, viz. a pouch, whose
entrance lies directly under the tongue ; this they fill
with water to supply the hen when sitting, or the young
birds before they can fly. The bustard lays only two
N

178 EEMIXISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

eggs, of the size of those of a goose, of a pale olive
brown, marked with spots of dark colour, and sits on
her eggs for thirty days ; they make no nest, but merely
scrape a hole in the ground. If any one should have
touched the eggs they desert them. In Wiltshire they
were formerly found in large turnip fields near the
downs, and a century ago sometimes in flocks of twenty
or thirt3^

It is truly to be regretted that the bustard is now
scarcely ever seen in this part of England. A friend of
mine, when riding across the Salisbury plains, about ten
years ago, saw a bustard, not more than thirty or forty
yards from him : this is the only one I have heard of
being seen in Wiltshire, excepting that, in the summer
of 1859, a gentleman saw two bustards on the Salisbury
plains at no great distance from him.

When I resided in Norfolk between forty and fifty years
ago, being then on half pay, I called one morning on an
old friend, the late Mr. Hyde of Lexham Hall, who
said, " Stay and dine with me, and you shall have a
bustard for dinner." I accepted the invitation, especially
as I had never tasted the flesh of this bird ; but I felt a
great curiosity to know from Mr. Hyde by what means
he had got the bustard. He said, " A tenant of mine
brought me the bustard a few days ago, and thus re-
lated how he got it : 'I was riding up a lane with my
gun and a terrier dog to scare the rooks and birds from
a piece of wheat, when a large bird, which I had never
before seen, flew across the lane about twenty yards from
me. I fired at him and broke the bustard's pinion wing,
and he fell on the other side of the hedge. I instantly
jumped off my horse, scrambled over the hedge, and
saw the bird running almost as fast as a greyhound.

FEEXCHMAXS ANECDOTE OF THE BUSTARD. 179

As I found I had no chance of catching him, I set my
dog after him, and after a chase he seized the bird and
kept him until I came up. So I brought you tliis bird,
and beg you to accept him, as I suppose from what I
have heard that it is a wild turkey.' " It proved an ex-
cellent bird, and the breast was of two colours, ])rown
and white.

The bustard is found in several parts of Spain, par-
ticularly in the wide and extensive plains of Castille.
A young Frenchman thus gives an account of a bustard
he shot in Andalusia : " One day, going from Zebeda
to Lebrija, I was in some young wheat. My dog Chispa
fullowed cautiously a brace of red-legged partridges
which were running. All at once the dog raised his
nose, pricked up his ears, left the partridges, and started
off in an opposite direction ; at the end of twenty yards
he came to a dead point, with his head elevated as if he was
pointing a bullock. I ran, expecting from this singular
attitude something uncommon. I advanced before my
dog, following the direction which his ardent and fixed
eye indicated. Then I saAV, rising above the corn, first
a head attached to a long neck, then a feathered body,
which running on two long legs, slowiy spread two wide
wings, and took a heavy flight. I fired at this un-
known bird, my gun loaded with small shot. It fell by
the gTeatest chance, and Chispa, flying on it furiously,
had the good luck by a bite to break one of the jiinions
of his "vving, and to hold it till I came up. It was a
bustard, called by the Spaniards avertada, of the large
species which live in Africa, and cross the narrow
channel of the sea to breed in Andalusia. This bustard
is infinitely larger than the two other species found in

N 2

180 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

Europe, principally in tlie steppes of South Eussia. This,
which I shot, and which my dog had some trouble in hold-
ing, had his head the height of my shoulder. It was so
heavy that had it been killed outright, I should have
had much trouble in carrying it. Luckily, it was only
wounded in the wing ; I took hold of his neck in my
right hand and made it walk by the side of me. We
had it dressed, and it was so substantial that there was
enough for ourselves and five servants. The Spaniard
where I lodged said that I should not have been able
to get so near the bustard had it not been sitting on its
eggs. Comme le crocodile cle la fable, je 'pleural lines
miifs, car chacun d'eux aurait pu me faire une
omelette.''^

" In returning from the fens," says Daniel, " in the
dusk of the evening, from snipe-shooting some years
since, I shot at a bustard which flew very low over my
head, not knowing at the time what bird it was, and
though the gun was charged with small shot the bird,
from the short distance was so wounded, as to be caught
by a shepherd within three hundred yards of the place
the morning after. This bird weighed nearly twenty-
eight pounds, and the shepherd sold it for a guinea to a
gentleman at Cambridge."

In Morocco they fly the falcon at the bustard, and
when the hawk approaches and makes his stoop at him,
he has^ been known to spirt the water in his assailant's
eyes,, and has by this means baffled the pursuit of his
enemy. Like the ostrich, it swallows small stones.
Buffon relates that in the stomach of one opened by the
academicians there were found (besides small stones)
to the number of ninety doubloons, all worn and polished

THE BUSTARD IX THE ISLiVXD OF SARDINIA. 181

by the attrition of the stomach, but without any ap-
pearance of erosion. I confess this appears marvellous.

In Sir Eobert Libbold's time they were found in the
Merse, but are now supposed to be extinct in Scotland.
In Hungary they are so numerous that they have some-
times been seen in flocks of two or three hundred.

In the island of Sardinia I have frequently seen the
large and small bustard, but they were so shy that I
never could get a shot at them. The bustard, or wild
turkey, of South America, is a different species of bird
from that of Europe. In their plumage they are en-
tirely black, weighing sometimes as much as twenty
pounds. They perch on the branches of the trees, and
are a stupid silly bird, easily approached. In "My
Travels in the Interior of the Eepublic of Columbia,"
I gave an instance of this, when a gentleman, a native of
the countr}^, w^ho was travelling with me, snapped his
flint gun three or four times at one which never moved
from the branch of the tree, and he at last shot it.
The flesh of this bird is excellent, and my man cook
I brought with me from England used to make most
palatable and nourishing soup of it. When travelling in
some of the provinces of this then extensive republic,
a gun is a very convenient commissary, more especially
when you arrive within a few days' journey of the
Andes, for then neither house nor Indian cabin is to be
seen on the northern side of these mountains ; nothing
but barancas or large barns, erected by the Grovern-
ment for travellers with their mules to find shelter.

From the open and extensive plains which the bvistard
in Europe frequents, and as he is generally on the alert,
it is difficult to get -within shot ; however, by accom-

N 3

182 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

panying a cart and with your gun concealed, you may
sometinies put them off their guard and kill one ; and
in places where shepherds are frequently seen by them
carrjdng hurdles, the shooter concealing his gun behind
one may succeed in getting within shot.

Perhaps the greatest novelty of all the edibles ever
cooked in England was a couple of wild turkeys shot on
the 4th December 1856, in Canada West, full 180 miles
beyond Toronto, to which town they were brought by a '
party of hunters on the 6th, found in the forest border-
ing on Lake Huron. Mr. Stanbury, who resides in
Canada, purchased two turkeys in their feathers, and
started the same afternoon for New York, a distance of
nearly 600 miles. On the evening of the 10th he em-
barked in a steamer for Liverpool, arriving in the Mersey
about midnight on the 19th. From Liverpool Mr. Stan-
bury proceeded to London, where he presented one of
the birds to a friend, and the other he forwarded on
Monday by rail to his sister, Mrs. Hawkins, of the Rail-
way Hotel at Weston-super-Mare. The bird weighed
1 9 lbs. when trussed. On Christmas Day Mr. Stanbury
dined with Mrs. Hawkins, when the Canadian turkey,
which had been brought some 5000 miles since shot,
formed an attractive dish upon the festive board. It
was in prime condition and of most delicious flavour,
very similar to that of the English pheasant. Such are
the prodigies that can now be performed by steam by
land and sea.

183

CHAP. xvir.

THE ORTOL-VN : ABtWDANT IN HOLLAND : SUBJECT TO APOPLEXY
FEOil OVER FATNESS. — SJIOLLETT'S METHOD OF DKESSLNG THEJI.

ADVEXTFEE EST HOLLAND. — SEVERITY OF DUTCH CRIiriNAL

LAWS. — SIR DAYID DUNDAS. — THREATENED ARREST. — DISPATCHES
TO DUTCH ARMY. — FORTUNATE PROMOTION.

I WILL now give a description of the ortolan, which is
considered by epicures and bons-vivants the most deli-
cious of all birds for the table. Its flavour is super-
excellent, and when in good condition one may really
affirm that it almost melts in the mouth. The ortolan,
is something less than the yellowhammer ; length six
inches and a quarter ; bill yellowish ; the head and neck
cinereous olive ; throat and round the eyes yellowish ;
the breast and belly are red, and the upper part of the
body brown, with rufous edges, excepting the outer fea-
ther, marked obliquely with white near the end, with
a bro-wai tip ; legs yellowish. The female differs in
having the head and neck inclining to ash colour, marked
with small blackish dowTi; the shaft of each feather other-
Avise like the male.

The ortolan or bunting is the same bird with the cele-
brated miliria of Varro. Long before his time it was
known at Rome, where it was kept in the aviaries with
the quails and thrushes. The ortolans are prepared for

184 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAN".

the table in various ways. Sometimes they are roasted
in a natural or artificial egg-shell ; a mode of cooking
borrowed from the ancients, who not only dressed small
birds, but presented them at their entertainments in this
manner, so that upon opening the egg they were seen
amidst a high- seasoned sauce. In Grascony, where a
great number of ortolans are taken in the spring with
bar-nets, and put in cages to fatten with oats and millet
in a dark room, they sometimes weigh as much as three
ounces. "WTien the ortolans arrive at their proper de-
gree of fatness they should be killed ; if this is not done
they soon drop off their perch in a fit of apoplexy. I
tried the experiment on one, and found him lying dead
in his cage from over fatness. My wife, when residing
in this department, put into a lottery for twelve dozen of
fat ortolans, but fortunately she did not gain the prize,
for I should have been rather puzzled what to do with
them. Six dinners would have disposed of half the
■number, and the remainder I should have given to my
friends. There are some presents which you receive
from the kindness of your friends which entail expense
and anxiety ; amongst these I class a haunch of venison,
sent in the Dog-days, which must be dressed mthout
delay, and the chances are two to one that on so short a
notice you are unable to get a party to partake of
it, and driven to the necessity of eating it en famille.
The ortolans in France are cooked in vine leaves, and
when a diner Jin is given, a dish of ortolans always forms
part of the second course if these birds are in season, and
if the party should consist of sixteen persons there would
be an ortolan for each. Although I have frequently
partaken of these dinners when I resided with my family
for some years in Gascony, I never recollect one of these

ORTOLANS ABUND^\A'T IN HOLLAND. 185

birds leaving the table. The price there of au ortolan,
when fat, is one franc, so that this may be considered a
very expensive dish.

Smollett remarks that the best way of dressing these
ortolans is to stuff them into a roll scooped of its crumb,
to baste them well with butter, and roast them until
they are browm and crisp.* The note of the ortolan is
particularly sweet, and like the nightingale, they sing
both in the night and day.

They are found in several parts of Em-ope, but very
rarely in England. In Italy they are very nvimerous,
and are found in some parts of Grermany and Sweden,
migrating from one to the other in spring and autumn,
and in their passage are caught in great numbers.

In some parts the ortolans make their nest in a Ioav
hedge, and on the ground. It is carelessly constructed,
much like that of the lark. The female lays four or
five eggs, greyish, and in general has two broods in
the year. They frequent much the oat fields, are
very partial to this grain, and become very fat soon,
and are deemed sufficiently so for the table, though
the preference in point of flavour is always given
to those that are fattened artificially. In India they
make their appearance in the beginning of March,
and arrive in vast flights.

The ortolans are also found in considerable numbers
in the neighbourhood of Maestricht. When fat, they
are sent to Brussels for sale.

* The modern Italians are fond of small birds, which they eat under
the name of Beceaficos, which fatten on figs. The prodigious price paid
by tlie Roman tragedian for one dish of singing birds is well known.
The price of this expensive dish, according to Pliny, was about
684:3^. 10s. according to Arbuthnot's tables. This enormous expense
perhaps arose more from ostentation than epicurism.

186 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

Whilst writing on this subject it recalls to my mind
some of the events of my early life, more particularly
the occasion on which I first saw any ortolans. In my
first campaign in Holland and Flanders, joining the
army as a cornet in the Scots Grreys (the united army
being then commanded by his late R. H. the D\ike of
York), on our second day's march, after retreating from
Antwerp into Holland before the overwhelming French
army commanded by the republican general Pichegru?
our army took up a position a few miles in the rear of
the town and strong fortress of Breda. A day or two
after our arrival in this position I was sent in the com-
mand of a piquet of cavalry of the Grreys to the out-
posts. Having relieved the old piquets and placed
my videttes, I took up my quarters at the clergyman's
house in the village, who spoke French tolerably well.
After breakfast I walked with the pastor in his garden.
My curiosity was excited at seeing hanging up against
his house at least two dozen of small cages, all occupied by
the same species of birds, which I had never before seen.
On my asking the pastor their name, and why he kept
such a number of the same sort, he told me they were
ortolans which he was fattening to send to the Prince of
Orange at the Hague, as by the tenure of his living he
was obliged to send a certain number annually, when
these birds were fat, and were reckoned a great delicacy
for the table. On hearing this I gave a broad hint that
I should like to taste one ; but Monsieur le Pasteur
replied that he could not comply with my wish, as the
ortolans were not in good condition, and that he had
only the number required to be sent.

I thought at the time that the Stadtholder had but a
poor chance of ever tasting the ortolans, for it was

ADVENTURE IX IIOLLAXD. 187

rumoured in the army that we should shortly retire
towards Bois-le-Duc, and when the republican sans-
cidottes occupied the village they would come like a
flight of locusts, and as they detested all ministers of
religion, would devour and spoil all on the premises of
niy friend the pastor.

On continuing my walk alone in the garden, the day
being excessively hot, in the month of August, I came
to a pond, and on the surface of the water I saw several
brace of large carp, apparently fast asleep. Finding I
could not have ortolans for dinner, I conceived that fish
would be no bad substitute for the birds, and determined
to try whether, with my long basket-handled straight
sword, I could not give a mortal wound to some of the
drowsy carp ; so drawing it, I crept quietly on my hands
and knees to the edge of the pond, and made a desperate
cut amongst them. The water soon ajDpeared tinged
with blood, and to my no small satisfaction I soon per-
ceived a large carp rise to the surface of the water in a
dying state, and soon, by the help of my sword, brought
him within reach. It was a fine fish, weighing between
three and four pounds. On returning to the house I
showed it to the pastor, who at first did not appear very
well pleased ; but on my explaining my new mode of
angling, he was unable to refrain from laughing, saying
that he had a good cook, and it should be stewed in
wine for our dinner. I found it excellent ; but at the
age of fifteen, with the appetite of a wolf, nothing comes
amiss. On my piquet being relieved I took my leave of
the pastor, and we never met again, for the army soon
retired from this position.

On our second day's march with the army, over an
extensive heath, the town and fortress of Breda being

188 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSM.'^.

three or four miles on our right, we saw, at the distance
of about a quarter of a mile, a large gallows, surrounded
by a high wall, and several objects on one flank which
we could not altogether distinguish. Our curiosity being
greatly excited, Lieut. Batson and myself determined to
gallop towards these objects. On our near approach to
the gallows the sight was really appalling. Four men
were hanging from it, who appeared to have not been
long executed. We were enabled, on horseback, just
to look inside the wall round the gallows, in which
were a number of skulls, skeletons, and human bones.
On one flank of it were three high poles, with iron
spikes, on which were fixed three human heads ; next to
these was a man crucified, and then came the most ghastly
sight I ever beheld — a man who had no doubt been
broken alive on the wheel ; and though it is above sixty
years since I saw this dreadful object, I can still bring to
mind his tortured and horrid features. We heard sub-
sequently that this wretch had suffered this cruel death
in consequence of having murdered his wife in a most
atrocious way.*

On our return to join our regiment we unluckily met

* One of our outlying piquets of infantry -was stationed at a short
distance from the gallows and the other disgusting olijects. It was a
cold night ; and the wind coming from that quarter, brought from it a
most disagreeable smell, which caused the officer and detacliment much
annoyance. After enduring this for some time, the serjeant inquired of
the officer whether he would allow the men to cut down the long poles,
the crucifix, and the rack ; adding that the wall was too high to get at
the foiu' fellows hanging on the gallows. He gare his consent, and the
men soon with their billhooks cut down all that was outside the wall
and threw the heads and bodies into the enclosure, and having now
plenty of wood, made a good fire. The municipality of Breda made a
complaint of this outrage to the Commander-in-chief, but I never heard
that any notice was taken of it.

SEVERITY OF DUTCH CROIIXAL LAWS. 189

Sir David Dimdcas, better known afterwards by the name
of " Old Pivot," who commanded our brigade. He gave us
a sharp reprimand, and threatened to put us under arrest
for t^uitting tlie cohimn ; however, it all ended in threats,
and we heard no more of it, and several of our officers
regretted much they had not been of our party. The
horrid sight we had just witnessed proved incontestably
how severe the Dutch criminal laws must have been at
that period. I am not aware whether they have been
ameliorated, like our own, but I believe that most think-
ing people are of opinion that we have gone from one
extreme to another ; for there are even members of Par-
liament, who are desirous that capital punishment should
be done away with altogether. I know that the Dutch
have ahvays been considered the most severe and
rigorous slavemasters, and, I regret to say, the English
stand next upon the list, and, what wall appear rather
extraordinary, the Spaniards are the most lenient.
This I can safely state from what I saw during nearly
two years that I resided in the republic of Columbia.
I have made use of the word " extraordinary," be-
cause one feels horrified on perusing the accounts of
the cruelties which were practised by Cortes, Pizarro,
and other Spaniards on the unfortunate Indians in the
working of the gold and silver mines in Mexico and
Peru ; but one may easily account for this by learning
that avarice and bigotry were the predominant passions
of those times.

Our brigade consisted of the Grej^s, Bays, and Ennis-
killeus, literally all Scotch, English, and Irish regi-
ments. They were called the China Brigade. The
Bays, all bay horses with long tails ; the Grreys, all grey
horses with long tails ; and Enniskillens, all black with

190 KEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

long tails. For effect the Grreys were placed in the centre
of the other two regiments, and nothing could be finer
than the men and horses, the former tall and athletic, and
the latter very powerful animals. In a short charge they
were a most formidable enemy against infantry.

In a charge made by this brigade on some French
infantry at Cateau in Flanders, they did great execution
on the enemy. The late Colonel Boardman, who com-
manded the Grreys, was in weight nearly twenty stone,
but a man full of wit and humour. On this occasion,
having one of his spurs shot off, he said to one of his
officers, " These rascally sans-culottes have unknighted
me." There was a singular instance of the escape of
Serjeant Shields, a rough rider, who was then shot
through the body. He recovered, married a young wife,
and when I left the Grreys was second riding-master.
Much of the time of the soldiers was occupied then in
powdering and dressing each other's hair. The Grreys,
as grenadiers, had their hair formed behind into large
clubs, the other regiments wore their hair in long tails.
All the officers wore the latter. The only advantage one
can suppose to be derived from these clubs and queues,
is that they might sometimes have the effect of warding
off a sabre cut.

When the head-quarters of the army were at Contigues,
one day's march from Antwerp, an event occurred which
proved very fortunate for my promotion at so early an
age. Each brigade of cavalry sent orderly officers to
the head-quarters. (These officers always dined at the
Duke of York's table). They remained on this duty
for twenty-four hours, and were supposed to be at all
times ready in their turn to convey despatches to the
generals commanding the different corps of the allied

DISPATCHES TO DUTCH ARMY. 191

army. Being on this duty, Colonel Jiigel, the Duke's
secretary, made inquiry for the first orderly officer to
convey important despatches to the Prince of Orange,
who commanded the Dutch army which formed one of
our wings. None of the orderly officers were to be
found except mj^self, and although it was not my turn.
Colonel Jiigel desired me instantly to go off with the
despatches ; that on my arrival at the Hanoverian head-
quarters, Count Walmoden, who commanded the Ger-
mans, would give me an escort to the Dutch outposts ;
that I should remain all night at the Prince's head-
quarters, after delivering my despatches, and return the
next day to Antwerp, to which place our head-quarters
Avould be removed. I was particularly well mounted,
and when I arrived at Count Walmoden's station, he
gave me a corporal and two dragoons, light cavalry, as
my escort to the Dutch advanced post. I had rode only
a few miles with this escort when, in the midst of a
wide and dreary heath, the scoundrels suddenly turned
their horses, and galloped away from me in the direc-
tion we had come. I called after them in vain in
French. I now found myself in a most awkward and
perilous situation, being totally ignorant of the country,
and the chances were even that I might ride into the
French outposts instead of the Dutch, as the former, I
had been told, were at no great distance. After pro-
ceeding two or three miles over this heath, I came to
some cultivated land, where a young Flemish peasant
was ploughing. ]Most of them speak a little patois of
bad French, and I contrived to make him understand
that I wanted him to take one of his horses out of the
plough, and pilot me to the Dutch outposts, for he ad-
mitted he knew where they were stationed. As he ob-

192 REMIXISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

stinately refused to go with me, I drew my sword, and
threatened to run him through the body (laughable
enough this at my age). However, the threat and the
display of a couple of florins proved successful, and we
were soon on our way to the Dutch advanced posts, and
towards the evening I saw with the greatest satisfaction
the orange cockade. I paid the peasant the two floriDS,
and was forwarded to the head-quarters of the Prince,
to whom I delivered my despatches. The Prince and
sta,fi of officers appeared not a little surprised to see a
youngster like myself entrusted with important des-
patches. His Highness gave orders that I should sup
with the staff, so that I fared well. My grey charger
was exceedingly admired, and some of the officers wished
to make an exchange -with me ; but I told them I could
not do this, as my regiment consisted entirely of grey
horses. I was told by one of the staff officers that the
Dutch army would be under arms at daylight prepara-
tory to its returning across the river Scheldt, and he
warned me not to remain after the army had marched
off, observing that as soon as the enemy ascertained
that the Dutch outposts had been withdrawn, they
would instantly send some of their light cavalry to re-
connoitre, and that I might be made prisoner. Early
the next morning I saw all the Dutch army on their
retreat, as well as I could judge, a fine body of men. I
found no difficulty in returning to Antwerp. I soon
arrived on one of the chaussees with trees planted on
each side, which conducted me there. On my arrival I
made inquiry for the quarters of His Eoyal Highness
the Duke, which I found to be in the Grande Place.
Having dismounted, I waited a short time in an ante-
room, when Colonel Jiigel arrived and inquired with

FORTUNATE PRO.MOTIOX. 193

some anxiety whether I had delivered my despatches to
the Prince of Orange, and had brought an answer. I
told him, and also stated the shameful conduct of the
Hanoverian escort in leaving me, and my getting a
peasant to pilot me to the Dutch outposts. The colonel
desired me to remain until he had seen the Duke, and
soon returning, said his Royal Highness wished to speak
to me. On hearing this I confess I felt very nervous,
particularly as I was covered with dust and perspiration.
However, on entering the room, my fears soon subsided,
in consequence of the gi-acious reception of the kind-
hearted Duke. He made every inquiry respecting my
expedition, and told me he would write to Count
Walmoden to have the escort severely punished, and con-
cluded by informing me, what made my heart leap with
joy, that he shoidd recommend me to the king for a
lieutenancy. This I soon obtained, over the heads of
two cornets that were with the depot in England, and
by this fortunate promotion I subsequently got with-
out purchase the captain-lieutenancy and a troop in
the Greys.

194 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

CHAP. XVIII.

FLIGHT OF WILD SWANS. — WILD SWABT SHOOTING. — ST. JOHN S WILD
SWAN SHOOTLNG. — MODE OF DEESSING THE SWAN. — AX7TH0E
SHOOTING A WILD SWAN.

" The swan, where northern rivers glide
Through the tall reeds that fringe their tide,
Floats graceful on her wing." — Hemans.

" As rears her crest the ruffled swan,
And spurns the wave with wings of pride,
When pass the steps of stranger man,
Along the banks that bound her tide." — The Giaour.

The Hooper or Wild Swan, known by the name of the
whistling swan, is smaller than the white or tame swan,
and is about five feet in length and seven in breadth,
and weighs from fourteen to seventeen pounds. The
bill is three inches long ; from the base to the middle
it is yellowish white, and from thence to the end black.
The place bare of feathers, from the bill over the eye and
eyelids, is yellow. The whole plumage in the full-grown
birds is of a pure white, and next the skin they are clothed
with a thick fine down. This species of wild fowl are
inhabitants of the northern regions, seldom appearing in
England, except quite to the north, and in Scotland,

FLIGHT OF WILD SWANS. I'j5

except in severe winters, when flocks of six or seven are
sometimes seen.

jNIartin mentions, that in October the hooper comes
to Lingay, on tlie Western Isles, in great numbers, and
continue there until March ; a few may also be seen in
some of the islands of the Orkneys, and they sometimes
breed in the little islands of the freshwater lochs ; but
the greater part of them retire at the approach of spring ;
the inhabitants expecting a mild spring when these birds
take an early departure. In the countries in which
they remain during the summer and autvimn months,
they are usually found in small flocks, except in the
pairing season, or at the commencement of winter. At
the latter period they collect together in immense
throngs, particularly in the extensive rivers and lakes of
those countries wdiich are thinly inhabited. At the
commencement of the frost, the wild swans are known
to associate in great numbers, and thus united, to
use every effort to prevent the water from freezing,
by constantly dashing it with their extended wings;
and by this means they are enabled to remain in
some favourite part of a lake or river w'hich abounds
with food ; but when the severity of the w^eather de-
prives them of this sustenance, they take their flight
high in the air, in divided and diminished numbers.
They shape their course in search of milder climates,
and at this period they are frequently seen in various
parts of the British Isles, and in other warmer climates
of Europe. In their flight, the swans follow so closely,
that the bill of the one lies upon the tail of the other.
The largest flocks of them are found in the expansive
waters near Hudson's Bay, andKamtschatka, Lapland,
and Iceland. In Iceland these birds are objects of

196 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

chase ; losing their feathers in August, so as to be unable
to fly. The natives, at that season, come provided with
dogs and active small horses, capable of passing nimbly
over the boggy soil and marshes where they most resort.
These birds are then so swift on their legs, that they
will puzzle a tolerably quick horse to overtake them ;
but the greater number are caught by the dogs, that are
taught to seize them by the neck. This throws them off
their balance, and makes them an easy prey. Many are
likewise shot and killed with clubs. The whistling of the
wild swan, when it arrives in Iceland in the spring, is
most welcome music to the ears of an Icelander, as it de-
notes the conclusion of his severe Annter, and a release
from his long tedious confinement. The flesh is highly
esteemed by the Icelander, especially that of the young
bu'ds ; so much so, that in summer or winter no enter-
tainment is considered complete without a swan.

Their eggs, of which they lay four, and hatch them in
June, are also esteemed delicious food, and they are so
large, that one is sufficient for a man, without bread or
any other addition. The Icelanders, as well as the
Kamtschadales, dress their skins with the down on ;
sew them together, and make them into various sorts of
clothing ; and the covering of the legs, taken off" whole,
is used for purses, and is in appearance like shagreen.

The wild swan is an extremely wary bird, and it re-
quires much caution, and some preparation, to be able to
get within shot of them. In a punt, when the frost is
severe, and large flakes of ice are floating about the
water, this is a favourable time for the undertaking.
The gunner, with his attendant, should be dressed in
white, in caps and jacket, taking care to examine from
what quarter the wind blows, so as not to have it behind

WILD SWAN SHOOTING. 197

yoii ; for as all wild fowls have an extremely acute sense
of smell, there is little chance of getting a shot unless
you get to windward. In these expeditions strict silence
must be the order of the day; and as the distance on
water is apt to deceive persons who have not had much
practice in this kind of shooting, the signal for firing at
the swans, when near enough, should be given by the
boatmen, who are usually good judges, by a gentle pull
of the jacket. To screen as much as possible from the
sight of the loug-necked birds, some large blocks of ice
should be placed on the deck of the punt ; but at night,
when the sea is quite smooth, you may get as close to them
as you may feel inclined. The gunner should never think
of firing until the swans hold their heads up and swim to-
gether, wdiich latter is a sure sign that they are going to
take flight. Hearne, in speaking of the rapid flight of
water-fowl, observes of the wild swan, that notwitlistand-
ing their size, these birds are so extremely swift on the
wdng, when in full feather, as to make them more
difficult to shoot than almost any other, it being neces-
sar}^ frequently, to take sight ten or twelve feet before
their bills ; this, however, is only when they are flying
before the wind in a brisk gale, at which time they sel-
dom fly at a less rate than a hundred miles an hour ;
but when flying across the wind or against it, they are
not able to make any great progress. Colonel Hawker
mentions, " that on the Hampshire coast, in Keyhaven
and Pennington, several wild fowl were sitting in large
masses of ice, which when thawed, the whole harbour
was in arms with shooters. Having a punt which drew
less water than the others, it was therefore my lot to
have the first chance. I therefore took the precaution of
getting well round to windward ; and when I had arrived
o 3

198 REMIXISCENCES OP A SPORTSMAN.

as much to windward as I dared go to wild fowl — having
previously covered myself and my man with clean white
linen, and a white night-cap, to appear the colour of the
snow — we floated down among the small pieces of ice
that were constantly drifting to leeward, and by these
means had a couple in the boat, and another that after-
wards dropped dead, just as the other punts were coming
up." Colonel Hawker further remarks, " always to let a
swan pass you, so as to shoot under his feathers, or you
may as well lire at a wool-pack." " Hundreds of com-
mon swans are mistaken for hoopers ; in hard weather
they are driven from gentlemen's seats, and still more
so from large swanneries, such as that at Abbotsbury,
in Dorsetshire. They then frequently repair to the
shore, and by congregating in flocks, and there getting
driven about and shot at, become quite as wild as the
real hoopers, from which they are difficult to be dis-
tinguished unless you hear them hoop. But when near
enough to inspect the head, you can be no longer in
doubt, as the naked skin above the bill, in the tame
swan is black, and in the wild swan bright yellow. Under
two years of age, the hoopers, like other cygnets, are not
white, but more or less of a dull fawn colour, and then the
yellow is much less brilliant, though still plain enough
to distinguish them from swans of the tame species."

Mr. St. John is such a thorough, practical, and experi-
enced sportsman, and recounts his adventures in shoot-
ing in such an interesting and pleasing manner, that
I feel much pleasure in making an extract from his
work.

" To-day, October 6th, we saw in the bay as many as
fifty or sixty wild swans, evidently just arrived. We
went home for swan-shot, Eley's cartridges, and other

ST. JOHNS WILT) SWAN SHOOTING. 199

munitions of war ; but by the time we had got all iu
readiness to open a campaign on the fleet of snow-white
birds, they all took flight. After sailing two or three
times round the bay, and after an amazing deal of
trumpeting and noise, they divided into separate parties,
and flew off, some to the east and some to the west,
towards their different feeding quarters. October 7th :
my old garde-chasse insisted on my starting early this
morning, nolens volens, to certain lochs six or seven
miles off, in order, as he termed it, to take our satis-
fixction of the swans. I must say that it was a matter
of very small satisfaction to me ; the tramping in a
sleety, rainy morning, through a most forlorn and hope-
less-looking country, for the chance, and that a bad one,
of killing a wild swan or two.

However, after a weary walk, we arrived at these
desolate lochs. They consist of three pieces of water,
the longest about three miles in breadth and one in
width ; the other two, which communicate with the
largest, are much smaller and narrower, indeed scarcely
two gunshots in width. For miles around them the
country is flat, and intersected with swampy and sandy
hillocks. In one direction the sea is only half a mile
from the lochs, and in calm winter weather the wild
fowl pass the daytime on the salt water, coming inland
in the evenings to feed. As soon as we were in sight
of the lochs, we saw the swans on one of the smaller
pieces of water, some standing high and diy on the
grassy islands, trimming their feathers after their long
journey, and others feeding on the grassy weeds at the
bottom of the loch, which in some parts was shallow
enough to allow of their pulling up the plants, which
they fed on as they swam about ; while numbers of wild

200 KEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

ducks of different kinds, particularly widgeons, swarrned
round them, and often snatched the pieces of grass from
the swans as soon as they had brought them to the
surface, to the great annoyance of the noble birds.

Our next step was to drive the swans away from the
lochs they were on : it seemed a curious way of getting
a shot, but as the old man seemed confident of the
success of his plan, I very submissively acted according
to his orders.

As soon as we moved them, they ail made straight for
the sea. " This won't do," was my remark. " Yes it
will, though ; they'll no stop there lang the day, wi' this
great wind, but will a' be back before the clock chaps
twa." " Faith, I should be glad to see any building
that could contain a clock, and where we might take
shelter," was my inward cogitation.

The old man, however, having delivered his prophecy,
set to work making an ambuscade by the edge of the
loch which the birds had just left, and pointed it out
to me as my place of refuge from one o'clock to the
hour the birds should arrive. In the meantime, we
moved about in order to keep ourselves warm, as a more
wintry day never disgraced the month of October. In
less than half an hour we heard the signal cries of the
swans, and soon saw them in a long undulating line fly
over the low sand-hills which divided the sea from the
largest loch, where they alighted.

My commander for the time being then explained to
me that water in this loch was everywhere too deep for
the swans to reach the bottom, in order to pull up the
weeds on which they fed; and that at their feeding time,
about two o'clock, they would without doubt fly over to
the smaller lochs, and probably to the same from which

ST. JOHN'S WILD SWAN SHOOTING. 201

we had origiually disturbed them. I was accordingly
phiced iu my ambuscade, leaving the keeper at some
distance to help me as opportunity offered. A cold
comfortless time of it my retriever and myself had.
About two o'clock, however, I heard the swans rise from
the upper loch, and in a few minutes they all passed
over my head ; and after taking a short survey of our
loch, luckily without seeing me, they all alighted at the
end of it farthest from the place where I was ensconced,
and quite out of shot; and they seemed more inclined
to move away from me than come towards me. It was
very curious to watch these wild birds as they swam
about, quite unconscious of danger. Now came the
able generalship of my keeper, who, seeing that they
were inclined to feed at the other end of the loch,
began to drive them towards me, at the same time
taking great care not to alarm them enough to make
them take flight ; this he did by appearing at a long
distance off, and mo\^ng about without ajjj^roaching the
birds, but as if he was pulling grass or engaged in some
other labour. When the birds first saw him they all
collected iu a cluster, and giving a general low cry of
alarm, appeared ready to take flight. This was the
ticklish moment ; but soon, outwitted by his manoeuvres,
they disported again, and busied themselves in feeding.
I observed that frequently all their heads were under
the water at once, except one ; but invariably one bird
kept his head and neck above water, perfectly erect, and
carefully watching on every side to prevent their being
taken by surprise ; when he wanted to feed he touched
any passer-by, who immediately relieved him in his
guard, and he in his turn called upon some other swan
to perform the same duty. After waiting some little

202 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

time, and closely watching the birds in all their graceful
movements, sometimes having a swan within half a
shot of me, but never getting two or three together, I
thought of some of my assistant's instructions, which
he had given me en rovte in the morning, and I imi-
tated, as well as I could, the barking of a dog ; immedi-
ately all the swans collected in a body, and looked
round to see where the noise came from. I was not
above forty yards from them ; so, gently raising myself
on my elbow, I pulled the trigger, aiming at a forest of
necks. To my dismay the gun did not go off, the wet,
or something else, having spoiled the cap. The birds
were slow in rising, so without pulling the other trigger,
I put on another cap, and starting up, fired right and
left at two of the largest swans as they rose from the
loch. The cartridge told well on one that fell dead into
the water, the other flew off after the rest of the flock,
but presently turned back, and after making two or
three graceful sweeps over the body of his companion,
fell headlong, perfectly dead, almost upon her body." *

A few years ago, being at Weymouth, I went with a
party to Abbotsbury, chiefly to see an extensive swan-
nery belonging to Lord Ilchester. The swans are not
of the wild species, but a great number may be seen
swimming and flying about over a large expanse of
water, which has a communication with the sea, which
they often frequent when it is tolerably calm. Lord
Ilchester permits no one to fire or molest the noble birds,
who remain all the year and breed in the spring. A

* The wild swan on the surface of the water is not so graceful as the
tame one, more particularly in the bend of the neck ; and it is a pleasing
sight to see the tame swan swimming before the wind, with its large
wings open, like a vessel directing its course with its studding-sails set.

MODE OF DRESSING THE SWAX. 203

gamekeeper who attended us pointed out to lis the
king and queen of the large flock of swans, and said
they were very unsociable with their subjects, keeping
them at all times at a respectful distance. This is rather
a curious circumstance, but I have no^ doubt of its
trutii, as the gamekeeper had an opportunity of con-
stantly watching the habits of the swans.

It may, perhaps, be interesting to know how young
tame swans are fattened for the table at Norwich. Two
young swans, about seven months old, are sent to some
old men who reside in alms-houses. One of the swans is
kept by the man, the other is made fat by being fed on
four bushels of oats, for which the person who sends the
swan pays two guineas. Preparatory to the bird being
roasted, a beefsteak is put into its inside, which much
improves the flavour of this noble dish. It should be

basted during the whole time of cooking. Mr. S

once sent a swan as a present to Greneral Paterson, quite
a bon-vivant, wdio gave the cook of the Duke of Sus-
sex 51. to dress it, and invited a party of fourteen to
partake of this rare delicacy ; twelve out of the fourteen
decided that a swan was not worth eating, and that

^Ir. S had better send a turkey the next time he

made a present. I have never tasted the flesh of the
tame or wild swan, but see no reason why the latter
should not be palatable, as they feed chiefly on aquatic
plants, and certainly are not such foul feeders as wild
ducks, which are excellent birds for the table.

The swans on the moat round the bishop's palace at
Wells, come to be fed at the porter's lodge by the
bridge. The porteress used to put the food upon a
stone near the water, and when they came and found
none, they used to tap with their bills upon the stone.

204 KEMIXISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

In order to the quicker hearing of the tajDping, she put
an old bell upon the stone, and they tapped upon
this.

Next she bethought her of hanging up the bell with
a string into the water. Then they came and pulled
the string, and rang the bell for their food.

The ducks have learnt it from the swans, and the
ringing is pretty continual.

During the severe winter of 1 806 I resided in Norfolk,
and one morning, about Christmas, the river which runs
down to Norwich being only a quarter of a mile from our
house, was nearly frozen over. I saw three hoopers
or wild swans, pass over the house, directing their
course to the river. I immediately loaded a single-
barrelled gun with swan-shot, and on making a re-
connaissance on the banks of the stream, I perceived
the swans at some distance in the water. For-
tunately, at that part there was rather an elevation of
ground, which screened me from the sight of the swans ;
and by creeping on my hands and knees for a short dis-
tance, I was able to get about thirty yards from them
undiscovered. I took aim at the head of one of them, as
it would have proved useless to fire at the body. The
shot took eflfect, killed the bird, and the other two flew
away. I found some difficulty in getting him to the
banks of the river. Having succeeded in this, it was no
easy task to carry my heavy prize home. JNIy nearest
neighbour at Billingford was a Mr. Pouche, a Frenchman
w^ho had lived many years as valet-de-chambre to the late
Mr. Dutton. I showed him the swan, and offered to make
him a present of it, which he gratefully accepted ; and
having met him a few days afterwards, he told me that
himself and family had lived nearly the whole week on

AUTHOR SHOOTIXG A WILD SAVAX. 2Co

the flesh of the hooper, which they found excellent anJ
not fishy, and that he had also amassed a large quantity
of down from the body, and a supply of large quills from
the wings. Until I heard this from Mr. Pouche, I was
not aware that a wild swan unfattened would have proved
such a palatable dish for the table ; but we know that
almost every bird, down to a swallow or robin-redbreast,
is acceptable to a Frenchman.

206 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

CHAP. XIX.

THE BITTERN. — BREEDING OF THE BITTERX. — WILD GEESE. — THE
FLIGHT OF WILD GEESE. — BRENT GEESE.

But the lark's shrill pipe shall come,
At the daybreak from the fallow,
And the bittern sound his di-um,
Booming from the sedgy hollow."

Lady of the, Lake. Canto 1.

" di-iving sleets

Deform the day delightless, so that scarce

The bittern knows his time, with bill engulfed,

To shake the sounding marsh." — Thomson's Wnifer.

The bittern has been, and j)erLaps not improperly, called
by many " the bird of desolation." We find its name in
Holy Writ about 2000 years ago ; the Prophet Isaiah, in
his threat against Babylon, says, " I will make it a pos-
session of the bitteai, and pools of water, and I will sweep
it with the besom of destruction " (ch. xiv. v. 23.) ; and
again (ch. xxxiv. v. 11.), in prophecies against God's
enemies, " But the cormorant and the bittern shall pos-
sess it, the owl also and raven shall dwell in it ; " and
the very name of the bittern conveys to the imagina-
tion the idea of solitude and barrenness. As Providence

BREEDING OF THE BITTERX. 207

leads by instinct every creature to those situations in
which they can best find their food, so the bittern is only
to be met with in the low dreary swamps, where the
stagnant water, choked with reeds, affords a hiding-
place for the water-uew^t and the frog, and the bulrushes
provide him concealment.

The bittern shuns the habitation of mankind ; it re-
mains with us the whole year, and in the present system
of drainage so extensively carried on, and with lands
formerly swamps and morasses brought into cultivation,
the bittern is less seen, and seeks in more secluded and
retired scenes a more congenial retreat. The bittern is
seldom found in company, but at the period of breeding
the male and female birds seek some sandy spot in the
fens, and here they form a flat rude nest, usually on the
ground. The female lays four or five eggs of a light
brown colour, concealed from observation by the rushes
and the reeds. The old bird sits whilst hatching, keep-
ing a sharp look-out to watch the approach of a human
footstep or a bird of prey. The plumage of the bittern
may compete with that of most of our Biitish birds. The
prevalent colour is a pale yellow, richly variegated with
black. The feathers are mostly very long, and the disciples
of Isaac Walton are well acquainted with the success which
the hackle of this bird ensures to the fly-fisher. The
young are hatched in twenty-five days, and are naked
and ugly, appearing almost all legs and neck, and cannot
venture out till after being twenty days hatched, during
which the old birds feed them with slugs, frogs, &c.

This bird is not, like the heron, destructive to the finny
race, his food being principally w^ater-rats, frogs, newts,
and other aquatic reptiles. The hawks, which plunder
the nests of most of the water-fowls, seldom dare to at-

208 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTS^IAX.

tack that of the bittern, the old birds being always so
vigilant in defence of their offspring. In February and
March the males make a deep lowing noise morning and
evening, but which ceases after the breeding season.
This sound was formerly believed to be made while the
bird plunged its bill into the mud, as Thomson observes ;
but it appears to be an erroneous opinion that the bittern
never eats fish, for Daniel says " that Latham remem-
bered to have seen two middle-sized trouts taken per-
fectly whole from the stomach of a bittern." In the
autumn it may be sometimes seen to ascend to a great
height in the air. In soaring thus aloft its movements
are spiral, making an unusual cry, different from that
which is heard in the spring when put up from amongst
the reeds and rushes. As it flies heavily, it is an easy
shot, and if only wounded will make a determined de-
fence with its bill and claws. When a sportsman goes
to pick up a wounded bird, he should be extremely cau-
tious how he stoops down, in order to prevent the bird
attacking his eyes, whilst lying on his back, to defend
himself. A gentleman once wounded a bittern, which
fell on the ice, and made such a desperate resistance
to his dogs, that he was obliged to kill it with his second
barrel.

In the reign of King Henry the Eighth the flesh of
the bittern was considered a great delicacy. The flesh
has nothing of the fishy taste of the heron, and is some-
what similar, but superior, to that of the hare.

The price of this bird in a poulterer's shop was about
ten shillings ; but as they are now become extremely
scarce, I do not think at present they could be had at
that price. The hind claw, which is extremely long, was
once conceived to be a great preservative of the teeth

DESCRIPTION OF BITTERX. 209

and used as a toothpick, mounted in gold or silver. The
bittern is rather smaller than the common heron, and is
in length two feet six inches, the bill brown, beneath in-
clining to green, and is four inches long; irides yellow;
the head feathers are long, and those of the neck loose
and waving ; the crown of the head black, the feathers
on the back forming a kind of pendent crescent; the
lower jaw on each side dusky. The plumage is beauti-
fully variegated ; the ground yellow, palest beneath, and
marked with numerous bars, streaks, and zigzag lines of
black. The feathers of the breast are very long and loose ;
the legs pale green, long and slender, and the inner
edge of the middle claw serrated, for the better holding of
its prey. The female is less, darker coloured, and the
feathers on the neck and head are shorter and less flow-
ing than those of the male.

In extensive fens where the reeds and rushes are high,
it is advisable, in order to And the bittern, to beat the fen
Avith a steady pointer, for they often lie so close as to allow
the dog to point them. On those occasions be cautious
not to shoot too soon, for as the bittern flies heavily,
without this precaution you would not get a good shot.

There was shot in the winter of 1856, in the township
of Tonge, within a mile and half of Bolton, a bittern or
wiredrum of beautiful plumage, two feet high. None
had ever been seen before in that neighbourhood. It
had been seen jDcrched on a tree during a severe frost.

The greylag, or wild goose, weighs about ten pounds ;
the length is two feet nine inches, the breadth five feet,
which is our largest species of wild fowl, except the
hooper or wild swan. In 1799 one was shot at
Horning Ferry which weighed twenty-three pounds.
p

210 EEMINISCEIS^CES OF A SPORTSMAN.

The hill is large and elevated, of a yellowish flesh
colour, with the nail white ; the head and neck are
cinereous, mixed with dusky yellow ; the hind part of
the neck of a pale grey, rather striped, and at the base
of a brownish grey ; breast and belly whitish, clouded
with grey, or ash colour ; back and primaries grey, the
last tipped with black and edged with white ; second-
aries black, grey only at their base ; lesser coverts dusky
white, the middle row deep cinereous, slightly edged
with white ; the tail coverts and vent feathers of a pure
white ; middle feathers of the tail dusky, tipped with
white ; the exterior almost entirely white ; the legs
flesh coloured ; claws black. This species is found in our
fens, and it is generally supposed not to migrate, as in
some countries on the continent, but breed in our fens.
They sit thirty days, and hatch eight or nine young,
which are often taken, and are considered very good for
the table, and are easily domesticated. Daniel mentions
that he took two broods of young wild geese in one
season, which he turned down amongst tame ones.
Both parties were at first very shy of each other, but
they soon began to associate, and in a short time became
very good friends. The old geese that are shot are sold,
but their flesh is coarse. They unite in large flocks
during winter, changing their station in search of food,
and are very destructive to the growing corn in the
fields where they happen to halt in their migratory ex-
cursions. At these times they are extremely wary and
vigilant, and have always a sentinel on the watch, who,
in case of danger, gives a warning whistle to those that
are feeding ; and as they feed in the day it is extremely
difficult to get within shot of them, for the instant they
bear the whistle they erect their heads and take to flight.

THE FLIGHT OF "WILD GEESE. 211

The flight of wild geese is always, excepting in fogs,
very elevated ; their motion is smooth, accompanied
with little rustling, and the play of the wdng seems
never to exceed two or three inches. The regularity in
which they are marshalled makes one suppose that they
possess an intelligence superior to other birds, which
migrate in disorderly bodies. The arrangement strictly
observed by the geese is at once calculated to keep the
ranks entire, to break the resistance of the air, and to
diminish the exertion of the bird. They form two
oblique lines like the letter V, or if their number be
small, only one line ; frequently they amount to forty
or fifty, each keeping his rank with admirable exact-
ness. The chief, who occupies the point of the angle,
and first cleaves the air, retires when fatigued to the
rear, and the rest by turns assume the station of the
van. Pliny mentions the wonderful harmony and regu-
larity which prevail in the flight of wild geese, and
remarks that, unlike the cranes and the storks, which
jom-ney in the obsciu-ity of the night, the geese are seen
pursuing their route in the day.

Geese seem to be general inhabitants of the globe. On
the American continent they are found from Hudson's
Bay, where they breed in the plains along the coast, moult
in July, and being then unable to fly, are easily taken or
killed by the inhabitants. Some are reserved alive and fed
on corn for winter stock, and it is singidar that the young
ones seldom learn how to feed on the corn unless some
of the old ones are kept with them. They frequent
South Carolina during mnter, their attraction being the
rice grounds, where they glean the droppings of the
harvest. The greylag is the origin of domestic geese.
It is the only species the Britons could take young and

212 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAX,

familiarise. The mallard comes within the same de-
scription, and is the source from whence the tame breed
.of ducks is derived. As the management of tame
geese yields considerable profit, it will warrant giving
some account of them. They are kept in great numbers
in the fens of Lincolnshire ; one individual will be the
owner of one thousand old geese, each of which it is
calculated wall rear seven, so that at the end of the year
he will be master of 8000. Geese, in genei'al, breed
only once in the year, but sometimes they have two
hatches, if well kept. The time of sitting is about
thirty days. They will also produce eggs sufficient for
three broods, if the eggs are taken away in succession.
During the breeding season these birds are lodged in
the same houses with their owners, and even in their
bed-chambers. Three wicker pens are placed one above
another in every apartment ; each bird has its separate
lodge, divided from the other, which it keeps possession
of during the time of sitting. A person called a
gozzard attends the flock, and twice a-day drives the
whole to water, then brings them back to their habita-
tions, helping those that live in the upper storeys to
their nests, without ever misplacing a single bird. These
geese are plucked five times in the year; the same
operation takes place in Germany, but I am uncertain
what number of times. The first plucking is at Lady Day
for feathers and quills, and the same is renewed, for fea-
thers only, four times more between that and Michaelmas.
They say the old geese submit quietly to the operation,
but the young ones are very noisy and unruly. Even
goslings of six weeks old are not spared, their tails being
plucked to habituate them, as it is said, to the operation.
About ten pluckers are employed, each with a coarse

BREXT GEESE. 213

apron up to his chin. Should the weather be subse-
quently cold, numbers of geese perish from this bar-
barous custom.

Brent geese frequent our shores in the winter ; in
Holland every eating-house is full of them. In Ireland
they are called barnacles, and appear in great numbers
in August, and leave that country in March. The
Brent geese feed on a kind of long grass growing in the
water, preferring the root and some part above it, which
they fi-equently dive for, bite off, and leave the upper
part to drift on shore. They abound near Londonderry,
Belfast, and the coast of Wexford, are taken in flight
time by nets placed across the river, and are much es-
teemed for their delicacy.- When I was in Ireland in
1805 — 6 as inspecting field officer of the yeomanry corps
of the counties of Carlow and Waterford, the barnacle
was a favourite dish both for dinner and supper, and
I found them excellent.* In some seasons they have
resorted to the coast of Picardy in France, in such
prodigious flocks as to prove a pest to the inhabitants,
especially in the winter of 1740, when these birds spoiled
all the corn near the sea coasts by tearing it up by the
roots. A general war was therefore declared against
them, and carried on in earnest by destroying them in
every possible way ; but their numbers were so pro-
digious that this availed but little ; nor were the in-
habitants relieved from this scourge until the north wind
which brought them ceased to blow.

* At this period in Ireland vre usiially dined at four or half-past foiu-
o'clock, and at nine sat down to a hot supper, where I have seen a roast
turkey, and in the middle of the table a tureen containing hot water,
with floating marrow, and generally a dish of woodcocks or snipes, and
this repast was finished with hot whisky punch.
P 3

214 KEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

The winter of 1802 brought amazing quantities to
our shores and rivers. A punt shooter upon the river
between Maldon and Bradwell killed seventy-foiu: of
these birds at one shot * ; and such was the abundance
that they were sold upon the spot for two shillings the
couple, although the price given by the poulterers in
London for them was from three to four shillings a-piece
for each.

The bill of this bird is short, black, and elevated ;
inside light hazel; the head, neck, and upper part of
the breast black ; on each side of the hindmost part of
the neck is a white spot ; the lower part of the breast,
the scapulars, and coverts of the wings are ash-coloured,
clouded with a deeper shade ; the quills black ; the
feathers above and below the tail itself dusky black,
and the shape a little rounded ; legs black. The female
differs in having the plumage less bright, and in young
birds the white on the sides of the neck is small or
wholly deficient. They retire to breed in the extreme
north, returning southward in autumn ; fly in the shape
of a wedge, with great clamour, and feed on water plants,
berries, and worms. They are easily tamed, and when
fat are very delicate food.

* With a swiTel-ffuu.

215

CHAP. XX.

THE WILD duck: ITS HABITS. — DECOY FOR "WILD DUCK. — TRICKS
OF DECOY MEN. — TEAL. — WIDGEON. — RUFFS AND REEVES. —
LAPWING. — WHEATEARS.

" Tell me, fello^v-creatures, vi-hj
At my presence that you fly ?
Why disturb your social joys,
Parent, filial, kindred ties ?
Common friend to you and me,
Natiire's gifts to all are free :
Peaceful keep your dimpling ware,
Busy feed or wanton lave ;
Or beneath the shelt'ring rock.
Bide the surging billows' shock."

BiKNS to the Wild Buck.

It is not necessary to give a description of the wild
duck, as the bird is so well known. There is little
diflference between the wild and tame duck, and to
ascertain the old from the young a feather should
be plucked from the wing, and if bloody, they are
young birds, but those of the old are at the extremities
hard. The neck of the wild duck is slenderer than that
of the tame one, the foot smaller, and the nails of a
darker colour, and the web of the foot finer. The wild
duck is not so large as the tame. Its usual weight is
about two pounds and a half, but some have been taken
in decoys, where they were well fed, that weighed three
pounds and a half, ^yild ducks frequent the marshes

216 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN-.

and rivers of this kingdom, and in the former great
numbers are bred. They pair in spring, and they lay from
ten to sixteen eggs. The time of incubation is about
thirty days. As soon as hatched the young talce to the
water ; it is generally about the month of May, but the
growth of their wing is very slow, and they are unable
to fly before August ; and sometimes in the summer, for
want of better sport, I have gone out flapper shooting —
so called from the young ducks being only able to flap
with their wings two or three feet above the surface
of the water.

The wild duck is an artful bird and difficult to ap-
proach. I have seen on some of the large lakes in
South America vast numbers of wild fowl of different
species. The royal duck, whose plumage is very
beautiful, is considerably larger than the common
wild duck ; and such is the prodigious quantity of
wild fowl that breed on these lakes, that when I
have been sometimes riding on horseback, the atmo-
sphere has been to a certain space darkened by their
flight. It was very difficult to get a shot at them,
as there were no boats or punts to navigate these lakes,
and in the daytime these wary birds kept always at a
good distance from the land. However, the Indians
manage to supply the market tolerably well with vidld
fowl, being great adepts in their contrivances to take
them.* The wild duck does not always make its nest

* The Indians make small perpendicular bands of rushes, which they
allow to float about the lake for some time, that the wild fowl may be
accustomed to see them without alarm. Wlien the wind is rather fresh,
and a considerable ripple on the water, they put one of these bands on
their head, disguising their face as much as possible, and leaving only
a small space for the eyes and mouth, to breathe. Having fastened a
bag round the body, they enter the lake, and being most expert swim-

HABITS OF WILD DUCK. 217

near the water, and there are several instances in which
tlieu- nests have been found in the trees. Mr. Tunstall
mentions a wild duck's nest being found at Etchingham
in Sussex upon an oak tree five and twenty feet from
the ground. The duck Avas sitting upon nine eggs,
which were supported by small twigs, laid cross wise.
One is quite puzzled to conceive how the old bird could
possibly contrive to take the young ones to the ground.
I suppose, like dogs and cats, who frequently carry
their young in their mouths, the ducks adopt the same
plan.* The gamekeepers of Mr. Eyre of Passop, Derby-
shire, in 1801 observed a wdld duck fly out of a large
oak, in which the year before a hawk had made its
nest. Upon examining the nest it was found in com-
plete repair, and in it the duck had recently laid two

In Scotland St. John says '' that they mostly breed
about the most lonely lochs and pools in the hills. He
had seen the wild ducks during the breeding season very
far up among the hills. A few hatch and rear their
young about the rough ground and mosses near the sea ;
but these become more scarce every year. He men-
tions another example of a wild duck having made
her nest in an old pollard oak. His curiosity being
excited by seeing the bird fly out of the tree, he

mers, they glide through the -n-ater withoiat almost any perceptible
motion, taking care to keep to the leeward of the wild fowl, and when
they approach rather near to them they stop their breath, as the sense
of smelling is so very acute in these birds. As soon as they get within
reach of a wild duck they take him gently by the legs pull him imder
water, and put him into the bag ; and in this singidar manner they con-
trive frequently to fill the bag without alarming the other wild fowls.

* It has been said that when she breeds far from the water, the old
duck takes her young in her beak or between her legs to the water.

218 REMINISCENCES OP A SPOETSMAN.

examined it and found she had a nest built of sticks
and grass, containing six eggs, placed at the junction
of the branches and main stem. On carefully mea-
suring the height, he found the nest was exactly fifteen
feet from the ground. As soon as hatched the young
ones take to the water, and it is very amusing to see the
activity and quickness which the little fellows display in
catching insects and flies as they skim along the surface
of the water, led on by the parent bird, who takes the
greatest care of them, bustling about with all the hurry
and importance of a barn-door hen. Presently she
gives a low warning quack, as a hawk or carrion crow
passes in a suspicious manner over them. One cry is
enough ; away all the little ones dart into the rushes
screaming and fluttering, while the old bird, with head
flat on the water and upturned eye, slowly follows them,
but not until she sees them all out of danger. After
a short time, if the enemy has disappeared, the old bird
peers cautiously from her covert, and if she makes up
her mind that all is safe, she calls forth her offspring
again to feed and sport in the open water."

The number of wild ducks taken in decoys is amaz-
ing ; these birds are generally contracted for, including
widgeons, teals, &c., by the poulterers in London and
other provincial towns, at so much per dozen— many
years since at eighteen shillings a dozen, but the price is
increased to four and twenty or even thirty shillings a
dozen. Decoys for taking wild ducks are not so nume-
rous as formerly, on account of the active system of
drainage. They are generally situated in a marsh, so
as to be closely surrounded with weeds and rushes, in
order to keep the pond as quiet as possible, (for wild

DECOY FOR WILD DUCK. 219

ducks will not frequent any water unless this is done,)
being so shy and suspicious in its nature. In the
decoy pond wild ducks sleep the greater part of the
day. As soon as the evening sets in, the birds become
on the alert, and feed dining the night ; on a calm even-
ing the noise of their circuitous flights is heard at a
distance. In Somersetshire this rising is called " rodding."
The decoy ducks (which are either bred in the pond-
yai'd or in the marshes adjacent, and which, although they
fly abroad, regularly return for food to the pond, and
are mixed with tame ones which never quit the pond,
and are taught for this purpose) are fed with hempseed,
oats, and buckwheat. A man must be constantly em-
ployed to attend the decoy. Every four years the poles
and nets will be new, as in the intervening years they
Avill be replaced ; some at one time, some at another, so
as to be all renewed in the above period. Eeeds for re-
pairing screens, Dutch turf, rent, decoy birds, and many
etceteras, are also to be included in the expenses of the
decoy-pond, and the repayment all depends upon the
haunt of fowl which take to the pond. In working, the
hempseed is thrown over the screens in small quantities,
to allure the fowl forward into the pipes; of which
there are several leading up a narrow ditch, that closes
at last with a funnel-net. Over these pipes, which grow
narrower from the first entrance, is a continued arch of
netting suspended on hoops. It is necessary to have a
pipe for almost every wind that can blow, as upon this cir-
cumstance it depends which pipe the fowl will take to ;
and the decoy-man always keeps to leeward of the wild
fowl, that his effluvia should not reach them ; and this he
likewise takes fiurther care to prevent, by keeping a piece

220 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAK

of Dutch turf lighted in his hand *, for such is the acute
sense of smelling which wild fowl possess, that should
the pond be full of fowl, if they scented a man, not a
bird would remain in it a moment. Along each pipe
are placed reed screens at certain intervals, which pro-
tect the decoy-man from being seen until he pleases to
show himself, or the birds are passed up the pipe, to
which they are led by the trained birds, who know the
Avhistle of the decoy-man, or are enticed by the hemp-
seed. A dog, which is generally preferred to be of a
red colour, is sometimes used, who is taught to play
backwards and forwards between the screens, at the
direction of his master. The fowl, roused by this
new object, advance towards it, whilst the dog is play-
ing still nearer to the entrance of the pipes, until
at last the decoy-man appears from behind the screens;
and the wild fowl, not daring to pass by him, and unable
to escape uj^wards on account of the net covering upon
the hoops, press forward to the end of the funnel-net,
which terminates upon the land, where a person is ready
to receive them and break their necks ; in doing which
much dexterity is required. The trained birds return back
past the decoy-man into the pond again, until a repeti-
tion of their services is required. A side wind is the

* A rather ludicrous circumstance took place when L — S — and lier
daughters were staying with the late Marquis of Hertford, at his resi-
dence in Suifolk. It was proposed one day that the ladies should
witness how the wild ducks were caught at the decoy. On their arrival
one of the gamekeepers presented to one of the young ladies a piece of
lighted Dutch turf, telling her it was to prevent the ducks smelling her.
On this she became very indignant, and asked the keeper whether he
supposed she had such a strong efiiuvium about her as to alarm the wild
duck ; but on assuring her that every one was obliged to have a piece
of tuj-f, she was pacified, and took it iu her hand.

TRICKS OF DECOY MY.N. 221

best to watch the birds. The general season for catch-
ing is from the latter end of October until February.
The taking of them earlier is prohibited by the Act 10
George 11. c. 32, which forbids it from June 1st to Oc-
tober 1st, under a penalty of five shillings for each bird
destroyed in that space. Formerly it was customary to
have in the fens an annual driving of young ducks be-
fore they took wing. Numbers of people assembled,
who beat a vast tract and forced the birds into a net
placed on the spot where the sport was to terminate.
In this destructive sport upwards of a hundred dozen
have been taken at once. This practice, being supposed
detrimental, has been abolished by Act of Parliament.
A decoy in some seasons is astonishingly lucrative. In
1795 the Tillingham decoy, in Essex, at that time in
the occupation of jNIr. Mascall, netted, after every ex-
pense, upwards of 800/., and the only birds taken were
duck and mallard. In 1799, 10,000 head of widgeon,
teal, and wild duck, were caught in a decoy belonging
to the Eev. Bate Dudley, in Essex.

The tricks which the decoy-men employ to destroy the
haunts of the birds in each other's ponds are various,
and as well calculated to produce the mischievous effects
they intend as can well be devised : such as putting a
wounded bird or two into the pond. Not a bird mil pipe
mitil they are removed ; and the natural shyness of the
bird is so increased by the pain of his wound, that it takes
sometimes two or three days to secure him and restore
tmn([iullity. A second manoeuvre is thrusting a feather
through the nostrils of a wild fowl and launching it into
the decoy ; here again not a fowl can be caught until
this deformed stranger is got rid of. A third, and per-
haps the most decisive, is starting train oil into the

222 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN".

brook or rill which supplies the pond at some distance
from it : some portion of this will be carried by the
current into the decoy, and in an instant the fowl, how-
ever numerous, quit, and will not resume their haunt
until every taint is removed.

It is a pleasing sight to see on a fine sheet of water,
in a nobleman or gentleman's park, numerous wild fowl,
some on the water, and others taking circuitous flights,
as may be seen from the ancient mansion of my old
friend Sir Charles Knightley, Bart., at Fawsley, North-
amptonshire. A gun is never allowed to be fired near
this piece of water ; and the wild ducks, widgeon
and teal remaining quiet and unmolested, become,
comparatively speaking, tame, and you may walk within
a short distance of the water without the wild fowl
taking flight. The Baronet's table is well supplied with
wild fowl, which the gamekeepers shoot in the adjacent
marl pits and small rivulets. A wild duck when fat
and in good condition is a most excellent bird ; and to
make them more palatable, cut each side of the breast
into small slices, and put a small quantity of cayenne
pepper between them, and squeeze some of the juice
of a lemon on them. A wild duck also makes an
excellent devU. It is a very easy bird to shoot, as they
fly straight and not very fast. Foxes have been known
to be very successful in catching wild fowl at night in a
decoy, when the birds approach to the margin of the
water. To effect this he lies perfectly motionless on
the bank of the pond, as if dead, and when the birds
come unconsciously within reach he makes his spring,
and seldom fails to secure a good supper. Birds of prey
are also sometimes a great annoyance to a decoy, by
alarming and driving away the wild fowl.

THE TEAL. 223

The teal, when fat, is one of the most delicate birds
that forms part of a second course of a dinner party,
and, considering how small they are, they fetch a high
price in the London market. The male teal weighs
about twelve ounces, the female nine ; the length is
fourteen inches, the breadth twenty-three ; the bill is a
dark lead colour, tipped with black ; iride pale hazel ;
from the bill to the hind part of the head is a brown
bar of glossy changeable green, bounded on the under
part with a cream-coloured white line, and edged on the
upper side with a pale brown ; the rest of the head and
the upper part of the neck are of a deep reddish chest-
nut ; fore part of the neck and breast a dusky white,
marked with roundish black spots; belly white, middle
of the vent black, the wing coverts brown, quills dusky ;
the exterior webs of the lesser marked with a vivid green
spot, above that anoth^- of black, and edged with
white ; the legs dull lead colour.

The female is of a brownish ash colour ; the lower
part of the neck and sides over the wing brown, edged
with white. The wing has a green spot like the male,
the belly white ; it was at no very distant period sup-
posed not to breed in England ; but Mr. White, in his
" Natural History of Selborne," has established the fact
that they do breed in this country, as some young teal
were brought to him which were taken in a pond near
Walmer Forest. It has also been ascertained that they
breed in the mosses about Carlisle; and Mr. Daniel
turned some out on the ponds at \N^altham Hall, which
he received from the decoys, after having them pinioned,
which also bred there. In France, where it stays
throughout the year, it makes its nest in April, among
the rushes on the edges of ponds, which is composed of

224 EEMimSCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

the tenderest stalks of the rushes, with the addition of
pith and a quantity of feathers. The nest is of a large
size, and placed on the water, so as to rise and fall with
it ; the eggs, to the number of from twelve to seventeen,
are as large as those of a pigeon, of a dirty white, marked
with small hazel spots. According to St. John, they
sometimes hatch their yotmg a considerable distance
from the water, and lead the young brood immediately
to it. He says : " Whilst riding in Eoss-shire I saw an
old teal with eight newly hatched young ones cross the
road. The youngsters could not climb up the opposite
bank, and young and old all squatted flat to allow me to
pass. I got off my horse, and lifted all the little birds
and carried them a little distance down the road to a
ditch, for which I concluded they were making ; the old
bird all the time fluttering about me, and frequently
coming within reach of my riding whip. The part of the
road where I first saw them passed through thick fir wood
with rank heather, and it was quite a puzzle to me how
such small animals, scarcely bigger than a half-grown
mouse, could have got along through it. The next day
I saw them all enjoying themselves in a small pond at
some little distance off, where a brood of teal appeared
every year."

The teal feeds on the grass and weeds which grow on
the edges of the waters it frequents ; it is also fond of the
seed of rushes, and small fish, and the various insects
found in stagnant pools. In Scotland the teal are
rarely seen in the winter, but in the spring they come
in considerable numbers to breed in the swamps and
lochs. The teal flies with great swiftness, rising sud-
denly into the air when disturbed, and dropping sud-
denly after taking a short flight, much in the same way

THE WIDGEOX. 22.5

as the snipe. In the spring the drake has a peculiar
whistle, at other times their note is a low quack, and it
has been remarked that a pair of teal, if allowed to
remain undisturbed, will return year after year to the
same pool to breed.

The teal is found to the south of the Caspian Sea,
and in all parts of Europe it is esteemed a very delicate
bird. Hearne states that a considerable number of
teal are found near the seacoast in Hudson's Bay, but
are more nvmierous in the interior parts of the country,
flying in such large flocks that he has frequently killed
twelve or fourteen at one shot, and the Indians also kill
a great many at a shot. At their first arrival they are
in bad condition ; he describes the teal as the most
prolific of tlie water-fowl at Hudson's Bay, having more
than once seen old ones swimming at the head of
seventeen young ones, when not much larger than
walnuts. The teal remains in this part as long as the
weather is sufficiently open ; before they take their
flight to the south they become exceedingly fat, deli-
cately white, and are considered a great luxury by the
colonists.

The widgeon is not so delicate a bird for the table as
the teal ; it is twenty inches in length, and weighs about
twenty-three ounces; bill narrow, of a bluish lead
colour, an inch and half long, tip black ; the top of the
head is cream colour, over the bill almost white, head
and neck light bay ; the plumage of the back and sides
under the wings undulated -with black and white lines ;
wing coverts bro^vn, more or less mixed with white, and
in some birds almost white ; the greater quill feathers
dusky ; the outermost webs of the middle feathers of
a fine green, the tips black, the last striped with black
Q

226 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN".

and wbite ; the two middle feathers of the tail are
longer than the others, black and sharp pointed, the
rest ash coloured; the belly white; legs dusky lead
colour.

The head of the female is of a rusty brown, spotted
with black ; the back is of a deep brown, edged with a
paler ; the tips of the lesser quill feathers white ; the
belly white.

This species is common in most parts of Europe, and
some are taken as far to the eastward as Egypt, from the
middle to the end of November, by nets in the marshes
before the departure of the waters. ' It is also found at
Aleppo, during the wdnter, in plenty ; and also on the
borders of the Caspian Sea. During the winter they
are numerous in various parts of England, and are
caught in the decoys.

There is little difference in the plumage of both sexes
until the following spring after hatching (as is the
case in the pintail, the gadwall, and the shoveller,
which are all grey, and have no fine plumage) ; but the
males about March gain their full plumage, but lose it
again the end of July, and with it, in some measure,
their note, which they regain, and always use during
their flight, and which may be heard a considerable
distance, sounding like the fife. Great numbers of
widgeon are shot by the fishermen during the winter, for
their livelihood, in the back waters which run up from
the sea between the towns of Poole and Wareham, in
Dorsetshire. They use flat bottom boats, and have
generally two long guns ; mth one the}^ shoot at the wild
fowl feeding on what they find on the mud, and give
them a discharge ; with the second gun, when they rise. ,
This is a most arduous way for these poor ixien to get

ACUTE SEiVSE OF SiflOLE IX WILD FOWL. 227

their livelihood, and the nights are sometimes so ex-
cessively cold as to oblige them to leave their dogs at
home, wliich tliey require to recover the wounded birds.
The mode of approaching wild fowl is as follows : — We
will suppose a sportsman who is so keen in the pursuit of
wild fowl shooting as to hold cheap the inclemency of a
winter night, and that he has the fit-out of a good punt,
guns, and gear, and has located himself either in Poole
Harbour, Dorsetshire, the shores of the Solent Sea, or in
some part either in the north of Scotland or Ireland. One
of the most essential points in this kind of sport is to
make yourself thoroughly master of the ground over
which you are to shoot, by ascertaining the creeks, and
whether they lead to the higher parts of the groimd, to
which all wild fowl will resort at low water, as being the
farthest removed from danger. You should also make
yourself acquainted with the depth of water, parti-
cularly at low water, as this will often save yourself and
man much disappointment and fruitless labour. When
a " company " of widgeon or a " skein " of geese are
observed off the shore, the gunner must, in the first
place, consider how they are to be apf)roached. There
are one or two things to be observed which are, indeed,
essential in order to make a successful shot at these
birds. First, I must observe, all fowl have a very keen
sense of smelling, and therefore you must never think of
going to them with the wind directly behind them, and
blowing in the direction of the birds, or you will be
sure to make them take flight. You must contrive to
have the wind on the starboard or port bow of the boat,
and to be propelled in deep water b sculling with an
oar, and in shallow water by " setting," — that is, by
pushing the boat forward with a sett pole, and on no

Q 2

228 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAjS'.

account to show yourself by moving, and not to ask
questions of your man as to distance, &c. Now, as to
the distance for firing, the novice should rely on the
opinion of his attendant, whom we will suppose to be a
man well skilled in this art, as shooting on the water is
very deceptive, and who should, by previous arrange-
ment, give him the signal to fire, either by touching
him gently with his hand or foot. ' Care should be
taken to approach the birds when feeding on the ground
ebb — that is, when the tide first leaves the ground; as
their attention is naturally taken up with it alone. A
breeze of wind is indispensable, as it drowns any noise
occasioned by the propelling of the punt, and it also
renders her less easily discerned. I may now mention
that all fowl are more easily approached if the gunner
should be fortunate enough to get a high bank or clump
of trees at his back, "with the wind as before stated ; he
can then hardly fail to make a heavy shot.

With respect to the habits of wild fowl in general,
all the geese tribe feed by day only. Widgeon,
teal, mallard, pintail, &c., feed both by day and
night on the tide. When the sea is quite smooth,
you may get as close to them as you may feel in-
clined. Widgeon and mallard are not easily ap-
proached by day, except in very severe weather, but
on a moonlight or bright starlight night you may readily
distinguish them on the feeding ground, as also by the
sharp shrill note of the cock and the deep " purrs " of
the hen widgeon. In this sort of shooting much
patience is required to ensure success. In the expedi-
tion you must also consult the weather, tide, and moon,
and it is rare that all these unite to assist the sportsman
in his undertaking. The wild swan is seldom seen in these

RUFFS AND REEVES. 229

southern latitudes, except in very severe weather, and
when there is much ice collected in the harbours.

Of ruffs and reeves, the former are the male birds,
and the reeves the females. The ruffs, according to
Buffon, are very pugnacious. He remarks that they not
only contend with each other in single rencontres, but
sometimes advance in order of battle, and these hostile
armies are composed entirely of males, which in this, as
in a variety of species of birds, are much more nume-
rous than females. These battles are fought with great
obstinacy, which nature seems to countenance, by the
great disproportion between the ruffs and reeves.
The ruffs assume such variety of plumage that it is
scarcely possible to see two alike, but the great length
of feathers, from which they take their name, at once
distinguish them from all other birds. The feathers
which compose this peculiarity swell out in a remarkable
manner, not unlike the ruff worn by our ancestors ; a
portion of these feathers stand over each eye, imitating
ears ; and this curious bunch of feathers grows from the
back of the neck, spreading wide on both sides. This
tuft, and the feathers of the ruff, are frequently of
different colours in the same bird. The ruff is of as
many and as various dyes as there are birds that wear it.
Latham observes that of whatever hue the ruff may be
the breast differs very little, and the transverse markings
on the upper part of the plumage somewhat correspond,
the ground tint being mostly brown. The tufts in the
males is not a warlike ornament only, but is a sort of
defensive armour, which wards off the blows by the
length, and stiffness, and closeness of the feathers ; they
bristle in a threatening manner when the bird makes an
attack, and the colours form the chief distinction between
Q 3

230 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

the individuals. In some these feathers are rufous, in
others grey, some white, some of a fine violet black,
broken with rufous spots. The white is most rare. In
its form too the tuft is as variable as the colour, during
the whole time of its growth.

This beautiful ornament drops when these birds
moult, about the end of June, as if nature reserved the
decoration and armour for the season of love and of
war. After the time of incubation the long feathers
fall off, the caruncles shrink in under the skin, so as not
to be discerned, and their place is occupied by feathers ;
the males are no longer by their plumage to be distin-
guished, and both sexes ahandon the place where they
bred.

The feathers that have an uniformity of colouring in
the ruff are the coverts of the wings, which are brown,
inclining to ash coloiu- ; the feathers on the breast,
which are often black or dusky ; the four exterior
feathers of the tail, which are of a cinereous brown ; and
the four middle ones, which are barred with black and
brown. The quills are dusky, the lower belly, vent, and
upper tail coverts, white. The length of the ruff is
one foot, breadth two feet, and it weighs, when taken,
about seven ounces and a-half. The bill is black towards
the end, and more than an inch long ; yellowish-red at
the base ; the irides are hazel ; the whole face covered
with numerous yellow or red pimples ; the legs in all
are yellow, or yellowish-red ; claws black.

They do not recover the long neck feathers till after
their return to the fens the spring follomng ; it is then
they regain those characteristic feathers, and at the
same time the pear-shaped pimples break out in great
numbers on their face, above the bill. The stags or

WHERE FOUND. 231

male birds of the first year want these marks, and have
Lean sometimes mistaken for a new species of tringa;
but by the colour of the wing coverts and the middle
feathers of the tail they may be easily known ; the
older the birds, the more numerous are the pimples,
and the fuller and longer the ruffs. Until the second
season, and also from the end of June until the breed-
ing-time commences, the plumage of both sexes is
similar.

The reeves never change the colour of their feathers,
which are pale brown, the middle of each feather being
dusky, in some parts almost black ; the back spotted with
black, slightly edged with white ; the legs of a pale
dull yellow : in length the reeve is ten inches, in
breadth nineteen, and its usual weight when taken is
about four ounces. In the Leverian museum is a variety
of the reeve, wholly white except the wings, which
have the usual marking of the feathers, but are rather
paler.

These birds are found earl}^ in the spring, in the fens
of Lincolnshire, particularly the West Fen, the Isle of
Ely, the East Riding of Yorkshire, and disappear about
Michaelmas ; they also visit a place called ]Martin-mere,
in Lancashire, the latter end of March or beginning of
April, but do not continue there above three weeks. It
is uncertain where they spend the winter ; by their re-
gular appearance upon our coasts in the spring, and
their stay for two or three months, it would seem that
they seek a temperate climate ; and if naturalists had
not assured us that they came from the north, we might
justly draw the opposite inference that they arrive from
the south. The reeves lay four white eggs, mai'ked
with large rusty spots, in a knot of grass, the beginning
q4

232 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

of May, and sit nearly a month. Fowlers are said to
avoid taking the reeves, not only because of their being
so much smaller than the ruff, but that the breed may
be increased. Soon after their arrival the ruffs begin to
hill — that is, to collect on some dry bank, near a splash
of water, in expectation of the reeves, which resort to
them. Each male possesses himself of a small piece of
ground, which it runs round till the grass is worn away
and nothing but a circle is left.

When a reeve alights the ruffs immediately fall to
fighting; they use the same action in fighting as a
game-cock, place their bills on the ground, and spread
their ruffs. When a fowler discovers one of these hills,
he places his net overnight, which is of the same kind
as those they call clap or day-nets, only it is generally
single, and is about fourteen yards long and four broad.
At daybreak he resorts to his stand, at the distance of
one, two, three, or four hundred yards from the nets ;
the later the season the shyer the birds, and he must
keep the further off; he then makes his pull, taking
such birds as are within reach ; after that he places his
stuffed birds or stales to entice those that are continually
traversing the fens. A fowler has been known to catch
forty-four birds at the first haul and the whole taken in
one morning were six dozen. Wlien the stales are set,
seldom more than two or three are taken at a time. An
experienced fowler will take forty or fifty dozen in a
season ; they are fattened for the table with bread and
milk, hempseed, and sometimes boiled wheat; but if
they are required to be fattened quickly, sugar is added,
which in a fortnight makes them a lump of fat; they
then sell for half-a-crown a-piece. Great nicety is re-
quisite to kill them at the highest pitch of fatness ; if

PUGXACIOUS HABITS. 233

that is passed over, the birds are apt to fall away. The
method of killing them is by cutting off the head with
a pan- of scissors ; the quantity of blood that issues is
very great, considering the size of the bird. Like the
woodcock, they are dressed with their intestines, and
when killed at the critical time, epicures declare them
to be the most delicious of all morsels ; but I consider
the ortolan superior in taste to the ruff. It is a vulgar
error that ruffs must be fed in the dark lest the ad-
mission of light should set them fighting. The fact is,
every bird takes its stand in the room, as it would in
the open fen ; if another invades its circle, an attack is
made, a battle ensues, and a whole room may be set
into fierce contest by compelling them to move their
stations ; but after the place is quitted, they have
been seen to resume their circles and grow pacific.
The compiler kept many of the ruffs in mews, and the
only disposition they ever showed to be quarrelsome
was at the first, when the pan which contained their food
was not large enough to admit the whole party to feed
without being too close and touching each other. After
the food was divided into three pans it very rarely hap-
pened that the smallest animosity was seen, although
the birds were narrowly watched, in order to ascertain
the truth of a peculiarity ascribed to the ruflf, that a
general battle w^ould ensue if each bird had not its own
pan to feed out of.

Eufifs and reeves are very frequently shot in the
fens. Old Merry, who has been before noticed, well
knew how to place those whom he conducted in fen
shooting near some spot to w^hich they resorted. The
birds flew backwards and forwards to this spot in small
parcels (termed by the fen men icings) of seldom more

234 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

than eight or ten : they flew very low and close together,
and some of those that were shot were extremely fat.

The lapwang or peewit is so common that a detailed
description is unnecessary. It is about the size of a
pigeon, and weighs eight ounces ; the plumage is beau-
tiful, especially the crest. The male and female are
alike, but the last rather smaller. It is a constant inha-
bitant of this country, and seen on most of the heaths
and marshy grounds ; but as it subsists chiefly on worms,
it is forced to change its place in search of food, and is
frequently seen in great numbers by the sea shores,
where it finds an abundant supply. It is every-
where well known by its loud and incessant cries
whilst on the wing, and whence, in most languages, a
name has been given to it as imitative of the sound. It
runs along the ground very nimbly, and bounds from
spot to spot with great agility ; it frolics in the air in all
directions, assuming a variety of attitudes, and remaining
long upon the wing. The female lays her eggs on the
ground, scraping together a little dried grass for a nest.
They are four in number, of a dirty olive, spotted with
black. The lapwing's eggs are held in great esteem,
and sell from four to five shillings a dozen ; but the
poulterers sell occasionally eggs of rooks for those of
the plover. The hen sits about three weeks ; the young
lapwings run very young after being hatched, and are
first covered with a blackish down, interspersed with
long white hairs, which they gradually lose, and about
the latter end of July acquire their handsome plumage.

The old birds show remarkable solicitude for their
offspring ; on the approach of any one to the place of
their deposit, they fly round his head with cries of the

THE LArWIXG. 235

greatest inquietude, and become more clamorous wlien
farthest from the nest ; and they will even flutter along
the ground as if lame, in order to draw off the attention
of the fowler. In August the young and old associate in
large flocks, which hover in the air, and betake them-
selves either to downs or sheep walks, and after rain
disperse among the ploughed fields. In October the
lapwings are very fat, and are then considered good for
the table, although I never remember seeing them
dressed. In Lorraine there is an old proverb : " Qui
n'a pas mange de vanneau, ne sait pas ce que gibier
vaut." — (He that has not eaten lapwing knows not what
game is worth.)

In October and November they are taken in the fens
in nets in the same manner as the ruffs are, but are not
preserved for further fattening, but killed as soon as
caught.

The lapwdng is frequently kept in gardens, where it
is useful in feeding on the worms and slugs. When
this bird sees a worm cast, he turns it aside, and after
walking two or three times around it, by way of giving
motion to the ground, attentively awaits the issue ; the
worm soon makes its appearance, which the lapwing
seizes and carefully draws out. The following anecdote
shows the domestic nature of this bird, as well as its
singular conciliation of animals generally supposed to
be hostile to the feathered race : —

Two lapwings given to the Eev. Mr. Carlyle were
turned into a yard, where one soon died; the other fed
on worms till winter deprived it of its usual supply.
Necessity compelled it to approach the house, by which
it became familiarised with the family. It was observed
by one of the servants that the lapwing always made

236 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

his cry of peewit at the back kitchen door to be let in.
As the winter advanced he came into the kitchen, but
with much caution, as there were a dog and a cat generally
in that part of the house, whose friendship the lapwing,
by degrees, so conciliated, that when dark he constantly
resorted to the fireside, sitting close to his associates
and partaking the warmth ; when spring appeared he
left the house, and betook himself to the garden. He
frequently washed in the bowl set with the dog's water,
and was highly indignant if either of his companions
presumed to interrupt him. In the winter crumbs
of bread were his principal food, which he preferred
to anything else. He died in the winter asylum he
had chosen, being choked with some hard substance he
had picked up.

A further instance of friendship between instinctive
enemies occurred in 1803, where a starling in the pos-
session of Mr. Backer of North Grate Street, Chester,
lived in perfect intimacy with a cat. Such was the
mutual friendliness of these animals that one platter
served for both, and the back of puss was frequently the
perch of his feathered companion.

There is generally a received opinion that cats are
more attached to the house than to the persons who re-
side in it. In one instance I can refute this opinion.

Many years ago I had a fine large tom-cat, who was
so fond of me that when I took a walk into the country
he followed me like a dog, and hunted in the hedge-
rows after small birds and mice, and if when thus en-
gaged I got some distance from him, he would set off at
full speed to overtake me. I had taught him to jump
over a stick and sit up. Poor Tommy, I feel certain,
came to an untimely fate from his great partiality to

GEXERAL LE IIARCIIAXT. 237

feed on ducklings. At this time I had apartments in a
small farmhouse about half a mile from High Wycombe,
being then a student at the senior department of the
Military College. JMy landlady having complained that
she had lost several of her ducklings, we decided that a
stoat or weasel must have carried them off. But the
culprit was soon discovered, for my cat was seen in the
act of crossing the garden with one in his mouth. Poor
puss soon disappeared, and I believe met with a watery
grave in a small stream near the house. As a sports-
man I was not very partial to the feline race, but
this cat had somehow insinuated himself into my good
graces.

The Lieutenant-Governor of the Military College was
at this time the late General Le Marchant. Through his
instrumentality the senior and junior departments of the
Military College had been established at High Wycombe
and Marlow. He also introduced the sword exercise
into the cavalry regiments. He was an excellent cavalry
officer, and was killed at the battle of Salamanca, gal-
lantly leading on a bi'igade of heavy cavalry against a
column of French infantry. During the period that I
remained at the college, until my examination before a
board of officers, I received much kindness from the
lieutenant-governor, and it gives me sincere satisfaction
to offer this tribute to his memory.

The wheatear is also a bird which subsists chiefly
upon the same food as the dottrell, and is equally
delicious. This species is met with in most parts of
Europe, and Latham says he has seen specimens sent to
England from the East Indies.

The wheatear visits England annually in the middle

238 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

of March, and leaves us in September ; and about tbat
time they are seen in great numbers on the coast, where
probably they remain a short time before they take their
departure. The females arrive about a fortnight before
the males, and keep coming till the third week in May.
They resort to new-tilled grounds, and follow the plough
in search of insects, which are their principal food ;
though in rainy summers they feed much on small
earthworms, and are said to be fattest in such seasons.

In some parts of England they are very plentiful and
much esteemed. About Eastbourne, in Sussex, they
are taken in snares made of horsehair, placed by the
shepherds beneath hollows of a long turf cut out for
the purpose, and being very timid birds, the appearance
of a hawk, or even the motion of a cloud that intercepts
the sunbeams, will drive them for shelter into these
cavities, where they are entangled in the hair nooses.
Grentlemen ride or walk upon the downs, who frequently
examine these traps, and used formerly to commute with
the shepherds by depositing a penny in the trap, w^hence
a wheatear was taken.

The numbers annually ensnared in that district alone
amounted to 1 840 dozens, and the birds formerly sold for
sixpence per dozen. JNIr. Pennant says that tlie reason
why they are in such plenty about Eastbourne is be-
cause a certain fly abounds in the adjacent hills, which
feeds on the wild thyme, and of Avhich they are par-
ticularly fond. Quantities are eaten by the neighbouring
inhabitants ; vast numbers are sent to the London
poulterers ; many are potted ; in short, this small de-
licious bird may be considered the ortolan of England.

The size of this bird is nearly that of the common
sparrow; the length five inches and a half; the bill

WIIEATEARS. 239

black, and more than half an inch long ; the top of the
head, hind part of the neck, and back are of a bluish
grey ; from the base of the bill a black streak extends
over the eyes, cheeks, and ears, where it widens into a
large patch ; and above tliis there is a line of white.
The quills are black, with tawny edges ; rump, upper tail
coverts, and base half of the tail white, and the rest black.
The under parts of the body yellowish- white, changing
to pure white at the vent ; the breast tinged with red ;
legs and feet black. In the female the white above the
eye is somewhat obscure, and all the black parts of the
plumage incline more into brown, nor are the tail
feathers marked so deeply with white.

"VMieatears frequent heaths, and except in particular
spots, as before mentioned, are only seen in a few
scattered pairs. The nest, which is placed in new
ploughed lands, under stones, sometimes in rabbit bur-
rows, is constructed with much care, and is composed of
dry grass and moss, mixed with wood, and lined with
feathers ; it is defended by a sort of covert fixed to the
stone or clod, and under which it is formed, and is
always made on the ground. The eggs, from five to
eight in number, are of a light blue, with a circle at the
large end of a deeper blue. The young are hatched
the end of ]May or early in June. Mr. Stillingfleet in
his tract, speaking of this bird, says, " that if the wheat-
ear does not quit England, it certainly shifts places about
harvest ; they are not to be found where before there
was great plenty of them." The most intelligent
shepherds, some of whom make many pounds in a
season by catching them in traps, told Mr. White that
some few of these birds appear on the downs in ]\Iarch,
and then withdraw to breed. At the time of wheat

240 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

harvest they begin to be taken in great numbers, and
are sent for sale to Brighton and Tunbridge. About
Michaelmas they retire, and are seen no more till the
following March. Though the wheatears, when in season,
are in great plenty on the South Downs, near Lewes,
yet at Eastbourne, which is the eastern extremity of
these Downs, they are much more abundant. One
thing, continues Mr. White, is very remarkable — that
though so many hundred dozens are taken, yet they are
never seen to flock, and it is rare to see more than
three or four at a time ; so that there must be a
perpetual flight and constant progressive succession,
and possibly for a general migration they draw towards
the coast of Sussex in autumn. A few stragglers are
seen in many counties at all times of the year, espe-
cially about warrens and stone quarries.

CHAP. XXI.

THE CtODAVTT. — THE GOLDEX PLOTEE.
DOTTKELL. — THE CrELEAV.

" The Knot, that was Canute's bird of old,

Of that great king of Danes his name that still doth hold,

His appetite to please was fiirre and neere soiight.

For him, as some have said, from Denmark hither brought."

Drayton.

The knot, which frequents the fens, and is taken in
the same way as the ruffs, may be here described. The
knot is said to have been a favourite dish with Canute,
King of England ; and Camden observes that its name
is derived from the monarch's knute or knout, which,
in process of time, has been changed to knot.

These birds are caught in Lincolnshire and other
fenny counties by nets, into which they are decoyed by
stale birds, carved and painted so as to represent them-
selves, and placed within the range of the nets. Their
numbers are so considerable that Mr. Pennant states
fourteen dozen have been ta.ken at once. They are
fattened in the same way as the ruffs, and some
persons prefer them for the table.

The season for taking them is from August to No-
vember, after which they disappear with the first frost.
The weight of the knot is four ounces and a half ; length
K

242 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN".

from nine to ten inclies ; breadth from sixteen to twenty
inches ; bill one inch and a quarter, black at the tip,
and dusky ash, fading into orange towards the base.
Tongue extends to the very end of the bill, and is sharp
and horny at the point ; irides hazel : from the bill to
the eye a dusky line, over the eye a white one ; the top
of the head, neck, back, and wings ash colour ; lower
order of coverts tipped with white, and edged a little
way with the same, making a bar across the wing when
extended ; greater quills darker with white shafts; lower
part of the back and tail coverts dark ash colour, mixed
with white, forming spots like crescents ; tail ash colour ;
the under part from the throat to the vent, white, with
small dusky spots on the throat and breast ; the sides
under the wings, the belly, thighs, and vent crossed
with dusky lines ; ridge of the wings white, the thighs
feathered very nearly to the knee ; the legs are short,
in some are bluish ash colour, in others yellow ; the
toes are divided without any membrane. These birds,
like others of the same genus, vary considerably from
each other in their appearance at different seasons of
the year, as well as from age and sex. Knots have been
observed about Lake Baikal, and INIr. Pennant mentions
a specimen which came from New York.

The godvnt is taken in the same manner and at the
same time as the ruffs and knots, and when ready for
market each sells for five shillings and upwards. In the
spring and summer it resides in fens and marshes,
where it rears its young, and lives upon small worms
and insects. During these seasons it only removes from
one marsh to another, but when the winter sets in with
severity (for the godwit continues with us the whole

THE GODWIT. 243

year,) it seeks the salt marshes and the sandy shores by
the sea-side, which for a great space are uncovered at
tlie ebbing of the tide, wliere it walks like the curlew,
and feeds upon the insects which there abound.

This bird is rather bigger than the woodcock, being
in length from sixteen to eigliteen inches, and between
the tips of the extended wings twenty-eight inches
broad. The weight is twelve ounces, the bill is four inches
long, bending a little upwards, black at the point,
gradually softening into a pale purple toward the base ;
the under mandible the shortest ; the tongue sharp, the
nostrils oblong, and the ears large. A whitish streak
passes from the bill to the eye; the head, neck, and
upper parts of a dingy reddish brown, each feather
marked doAvn the middle "with a dark spot. The fore
part of the breast is streaked with black ; in the female
the throat and neck are grey or ash-coloured ; the belly,,
vent, and tail are white, the latter regularly barred with
black ; the six prime quill feathers are black, edged on
the interior sides with reddish brown. In some birds
the rump is white and the chin nearly so ; the legs are
not very long, naked to the middle of the second joint,
and are generally dark coloured, inclining to a greenish
blue. The godwit is met with in various parts of the
continent of Europe and Asia, as well as in America :
at Hudson's Bay the red godwit, in particular, is so
plentiful that Mr. Atkinson, loDg resident at York Fort,
killed seventy-two at a shot.

244 REMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

The GrOLDEN Plover.

" If foot of strangers riistle through
The heather on the moor's dark breast,
Then cunning art's perfection view —
The Plover leaves her lowly nest,
And by deserting tries to save
The nurslings to which life she gave." — J. P.

" Hence around the head
Of wand'ring swain the white wing'd wheels
Her sounding flight, and then directly on,
In long excursion skims the level lawn
To tempt him from her nest." — Thomson's Sowing.

The golden plover is about the size of the turtle
dove, its weight nine ounces, length eleven inches,
breadth twenty-four inches with wings extended. The
bill is short and black ; the feathers on the head, back,
and wing coverts are dusky, beautifully spotted on each
side with light yellow green, round the eyes and chin
almost white ; sides of the head, the neck and sides of
the body, the same as the upper parts, but much paler ;
the breast brown, marked with greenish oblong strokes ;
the middle feathers of the tail barred with black and
yellowish green ; the greater quills are dusky, legs black,
and it wants the back toe, by which it is distinguished
from other birds of this species. There is some change
seen in the colour of the plumage of the belly early in

THE GOLDEX PLOVEK. 245

March, the appearance of black in the breast is seen
increasing gradually until this part becomes quite black,
but after the time of incubation this tint disappears,
and the belly becomes white. There is little difference
between the male and female, and in the young birds
the spots are not of a full yellow, but rather inclined
to a grey colour. This elegant bird remains in the
kingdom the entire year, and breeds on many of our
high and unfrequented mountains.

]Many of the golden plovers are found in the Isle of
Eum and others of the lofty Hebrides ; it is also found
in the Grrampian Hills, and all the heathy hills of the
islands and Highlands of Scotland. Vast numbers of
them are found in the Orkneys, from which they do
not altogether migrate ; they lay four eggs, rather more
pointed in shape than that of the peewit or lapwing,
two inches in length, and of a pale cinereous olive,
speckled with blackish spots. The birds fly in small
flocks, and the whistling from which they derive their
name may be heard from a considerable distance when
flying, and by a skilful imitation of their note they may
be enticed within shot.

In winter they may be found in various parts of
England ; a great number are shot and snared in Devon-
shire and Somersetshire, as they much frequent the
meadows, moist grounds, and swampy parts of these
counties. The Bath market is well supplied in this
season with these excellent birds for the table, and are
sold at about 2s. 6d. the brace; and in flavour and
delicacy of taste I think they may almost compete with
the woodcock, and they are dressed, like these birds, with
their trail. Sometimes I have found little difficulty in

246 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

getting within shot of them. When these birds are in
large flocks they are generally wild, and must be ap-
proached with great caution. Their flights are usually
short, and I have had good sport in shooting them
in the winter in the province of Valencia in Spain,
where I have found them in good condition, and much
relished by our small military mess. Eleven golden
plovers were once killed at one shot by a gamekeeper
in Somersetshire.

Latham mentions that this bird is procured in all
northern countries of Europe. They are numerous in
America, from Hudson's Bay to Carolina, migrating from
one part to the other according to the change of the
seasons, and are met as far south as Aleppo. The stalk-
ing horse was formerly made use of to get near the
flocks of the golden plover, and in this way a consider-
able number were shot.

" During the late frost and snow, says the Preston
Guardian, a man of the name of Crofts killed no less
than 118 grey plovers at one shot, on the banks of the
river Myre, near the Shard, Hambleton. The same
man also killed sixteen wild ducks on the same day at
one shot. The gun he used is a sort of large swivel,
fixed in a boat ; the ordinary loading is a quarter of a
pound of powder and one pound of shot."

247

The Dottrell.

" The Dottrell, whieh we think a dainty dish,
Whose taking makes such sport as man no more can wish,
For as you ereepe, or coure, or lye, or stampe, or goe,
So marking you ^^^ith care the apeish bird doth doe ;
And acting eyerj-thing, doth never mark the net.
Till he be in the snare which man for him have set." — Draytox.

The dottrell is unknown in some parts of Ed gland,
but in the counties of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and
Derbyshire they are tolerably numerous. These birds are
migratory : on Lincoln Heath and on the moors of
Derbyshire they make their appearance in small flights
about the month of April, remaining there all May and
the greater part of Jime, dming which time they are in
good condition, and much esteemed for their excellent
flavour. In Cambridgeshire they appear much about the
same time, and remain the same period as in the other
counties. In the months of April and September they
are taken on the downs of Wiltshire and Berkshire.
They are also found in the beginning of the former
month on the scacoast at Meales in Lancashire, and
continue there about three weeks, attending the barley
fallows. From thence they remove northward, and
remain there a short time, and are plentiful about
Holderness and upon the Yorkshire wolds. It is not
quite certain where they breed ; it is supposed to be on

248 EEMIXISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAX.

the mountains of Cumberland and Westmoreland, as they
'appear there in May, and are not seen after the breeding
season. Ten or twelve were once shot on the top of
Skiddaw in June, and from Keswick, in Cambridgeshire,
Dr. Keysham once received some dottrell eggs. They are
also said to breed on several hills in the Highlands.
Linnaeus says they are frequent in Dalecarlia and the
Lapland Alps, and visit Sweden in May. They are
numerous in the north of Europe, where we may suppose
them to breed. In the northern parts of Kussia and
Siberia they are known to do so, appearing northward
only in their migrations. Their mnter residence is
unknown.

The dottrell is considered a very foolish bird, and was
believed to imitate the action of the fowler by stretch-
ing out a wing when the other extended his arm, con-
tinuing his imitation regardless of the net that was to
ensnare him. To follow this sport in catching them
Willoughby states, " six or seven persons go together ;
when they have found the birds in an advantageous
place, and each of them holding a stone in either hand,
they get behind the birds, and striking the stones often
one against the other, rouse them from their natural
sluggishness, and by degrees drive them into the net."
At the present time sportsmen watch the arrival of the
dottrell, and shoot them, the former mode of driving
them into the net having been long out of practice.
The female weighs about four ounces ; the length of the
female is ten inches, breadth nineteen and a-half ; the
bill black, slender, depressed in the middle, and not an
inch long ; the forehead brown and grey, mottled with
white ; top and back of the head dull black, former

DESCRIPTION OF THE DOTTRELL. 249

spotted with white ; eyes dark, large, and full ; over
the eyes is a white band, which bends downwards, and
passes to the hind head ; the sides of the head and
throat white, surrounded by a broad band of light
olive colour, bordered on the under side with white ;
fore part of the neck of a cinereous olive, mixed with a
little white next the throat ; the middle of the feathers
of the back and coverts of the wings and tail olive, but
the edges of a dull deep yellow ; the greater quills are
brown ; the outer edge of the shaft of the first feathers,
the lower part of the next, bounded with a line of black,
beneath it another of white ; the breast and sides of a
pale dull orange ; middle of the belly black ; lower
parts of the belly and thighs rufous white ; tail olive
brown, near the end a bar of dusky white, the tip white :
the legs are dark olive, and it wants the back toe,
resembling, in this, the green plover.

The colours of the female in general are duller, the
white over the eye narrower, and the crown of the head
mottled with brown and white. The black on the belly
is mixed with white, and the white line on the breast is
narrower.

The dottrell feeds on worms and small land snails, but
when they leave the marshes and betake themselves to
the hilly parts of the country, it is for the sake of
beetles, which form their favourite food. Their flesh is
very delicate.

250 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

The Cuelew

" Mourn, ye wee songsters o' tlie wood,
Ye grouse that crap the heather bed,
Ye curlews calling through a clud,

Ye whistling plover :
And mourn, ye whirring patrick brood.
He's gane for ever." — Bcens.

An ancient proverb applies to this bird —

" A curlew, be she white or be she black.
She carries twelve-pence on her back."

The Curlew is found in many parts of England, and
may be met with at all seasons. In the winter they
frequent the seacoast and marshes in considerable
numbers, where they live upon worms, marine insects,
and different fishy substances which they find upon the
beach, left by the retiring tide. They are generally
found in the summer upon the heathy mountainous
morasses, and in open weather they frequent the turnip
and pasture fields, where they feed upon worms, slugs,
flies, and other insects, which their long bills enable
them, like the woodcock, to procure from the soft earth,
and here they breed.

The female (which is bigger, but whose plumage is
nearly like the male's) makes her nest upon the ground
in a dry tuft of rushes or grass, of withered materials,
and about the month of April lays four eggs of a pale
olive colour, marked mth brownish spots. These birds
vary considerably in size, as well as in different shades

THE CUKLEW. 251

of plumage, some not weighing more than twenty-two
ounces, and others thirty-seven ounces. In some the
white parts of the plumage are clearer than in others,
which are uniformly grey and tinged with pale brown.
They utter a very shrill cry, that may be heard at a
considerable distance. The common length of the
curlew is two feet, and from tip to tip from thirty-six
inches to forty. The bill is about seven inches long, of
a regular curve, and tender substance at the point ; the
tongue sharp and very short ; the upper mandible is
black, gradually softening into brown towards the base,
which in the under mandible is flesh coloured. The
feathers of the head, neck, upper part of the back,
and wing coverts are of a pale brown, the middle of each
feather black, edged and deeply indented with pale rust
colour or light grey; the breast, belly, and lower part of
the neck dull white, marked with conjunct lines of black,
the two former with oblong strokes ; quills black, spotted
on the inside with white ; tail reddish-white barred with
black ; the legs are bare a little above the knees, of a
dusky bluish colour ; the toes are black, and flat on the
under side.

The curlew is swift in its flight, and we may come to
the conclusion that in former times it was esteemed an
excellent bird for the table, and it may still retain that
character, although I think we rarely find it in
the poulterers' shops. When the curlew is shot at
the period of the year when found inland and on the
moors, and is in good condition from feeding on worms,
&c., then the old adage applies to it,

"It carries twelrepence on its back;"
but at the other period of the year, when its haunts are

252 KEMIXISCENCES OF A SPOETSM.iX.

on the coast and its nourishment of a fishy kind, it ac-
quires that taste, and is no longer palatable.

Curlews are found in most parts of Europe, and
abound in all the plains and open marshes of Siberia
and Eussia, usually retiring northwards to breed, and
returning to the south as autumn approaches. In Italy
and Grreece, and probably further south, they are met
with, as flocks are seen passing over the island of Malta,
steering in this direction.

This bird, which is in general so extremely shy and
wary, will in the breeding season take circuitous
flights within gunshot of persons walking near, making
at the same time a loud and screamiag whistle. The
sense of smell is peculiarly acute in this bird, and you
have no chance of getting near them excepting by
going against the wind.

253

CHAP. XXII.

THE MAGPIE. — THE CAREION CROW. — THE JAY,

" So have I seen, in black and ■white,
A prating thing, a magpie hight,

Majestically stalk;
A stately worthless animal,
That plies the tongue and wags the tail —
All flutter, pride, and talk." — Swift.

I CONSIDER the magpie, taking altogether his fine
shape and distinctly marked black and white colours,
to be one of the handsomest of our native birds. It is
amusing to observe the movement of his cunning eye,
and the activity he displays in all his actions. But to
speak the truth, "Mag" has some very bad qualities. He
is a decided and skilful thief, and when allowed to go at
liberty about the house, he takes and buries or conceals,
out of mischief, articles that can be of no use to him.
In a wild state he is notorious for sucking the eggs of
pheasants and partridges, and when they have young,
have frequently been seen to carry off small chickens
and the broods of the above game. They are taught to
speak most distinctly. A tame magpie was kept at Worms-
ley, in Oxfordshire, and part of his education was to

say, " Charlotte," the name of Mrs. H . One day

the mag-pie, roaming about the lawn, screamed out,
" Charlotte, Charlotte." Some of the servants ran out

254 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

to see what was the matter, when to their surprise they
saw poor Mag fiercely attacked by two or three wild
magpies which his human cry soon put to flight. He
fell a victim at last to his greediness, for he was found
smothered in a pail of barley-meal prepared for the
pigs.

It is very difficult to get a shot at a magpie, and no
easy matter to trap them, as they are so wary. I have
mentioned elsewhere an ingenious way which my game-
keeper found very successful for their capture, by putting
a trap under a small puddle of water, and placing a
blown egg through which a thread had been passed on
the surface of the water, after being fastened to the
trap. Amongst all our birds, I think none makes a
more comfortable habitation than the magpie. He
shelters himself from the bad weather by the con-
struction of a substantial roof over the nest, which is
enclosed on all sides, excepting a small opening for his
admittance. This, as I have elsewhere said, is the reason
that the martin-cat is so partial to taking possession of a
magpie's nest. It is well-known that the magpie affords
excellent sport in hawking, and so dexterous is he in his
manoeuvres to escape his enemies on these occasions,
that not only two hawks should be taken out, but
several persons to assist, as it is the habit of the magpie
to retreat to a large bush or thick hedge to afford him
shelter and protection, and it is no easy matter to get
him out of these asylums. The magpie is in length
about eighteen inches, and weighs eight or nine ounces.
This bird is so well known that he requires no further
description.

The carrion crow is also very destructive to game ; it
resembles the raven in the form of its body and food

THE CARRIOX CROW, THE JAY. 255

and in its attack on its prey is bold and ferocious.
England breeds more of this species than any other
country in Europe. In the 24th of Henry VIII. they
AY ere so numerous, that they were considered as a nuisance
worthy of i^arliamentary redress ; and an Act was passed
for their destruction, in which rooks and choughs were
included. Every hamlet was to provide crow nets for
ten years, and all the inhabitants, during that space,
were obliged to assemble to consult of the proper means
for their destruction. It lays the same number of eggs
as the raven, and of the same colour ; immediately
after deserting their young they go in pairs. The crow
weighs about twenty ounces ; its length is about eighteen
inches ; its breadth, two feet two inches. The sin of
this bird against game is similar to that of the magpie,
and from his being a considerably stronger bird he is a
more formidable enemy. It may always be distinguished
from the rook by a black whisker on each side of his
bill.

The jay is one of the most beautiful of the British
birds. The weight is between six and seven inches, the
length thirteen inches. The forehead is white streaked
with black ; the head covered with long feathers, which
it can erect at pleasure into the form of a crest ; the
whole neck, back, breast, bell}^, and covert feathers of
the wing are faint purple, dashed with grey. The
greater covert feathers of the wings are most beautifully
barred with a lively blue, black and white ; the rest are
black, the rump is white.

Jays build chiefly in woods, making their nests of
sticks, fibres of roots, and tender twigs ; and lay five or
six eggs of the size of a pigeon's, cinereous olive, marked
with pale brown. The young keep with the old ones till

256 REMINISCENCES OP A SPOETSMAN.

the next pairing time in spring, when they choose
each his mate. In general they feed on acorns, nuts,
seeds, and fruits of all kinds; but sometimes destroy
young chickens and eggs, and commit the same robberies
respecting game, therefore they may fairly come under
the class of a bird of prey. Like the magpie, they are
very difficult to approach within gunshot. They are
often kept in cages and will talk pretty well, but lose
most of their beauty, so conspicuous in their wild state.

257

CHAP. XXIII.

THE KATEX. — ^'EST BTTILT IN OAK. — ITS HABITS. — IIEXTIOXED IX
SCraPTUKE.

" The Eaven Lersolf is hoarse,

That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements." — Macbeth.

The raven weighs three pounds, and is about two feet
two inches in length. The colour is black, finely glossed
with a rich blue, the belly excepted, which is of a dusky
colour. They are very docile, and may be trained to
fowling like hawks, to fetch and carry like spaniels, to
speak like parrots, and may even be taught to imitate in
a great degree the human voice in singing. They have
a great propensity to pilfer like the magpie, often hiding
things of value. The}^ frequent the neighbourhood of
great towns abroad, where they are useful in devouring
the carcases and filth, which would otherwise prove a
nuisance. They also destroy many living animals, such
as rabbits, ducks, chickens, and even lambs, which have
been dropped in a weak state.

In clear weather they fly in pairs to a great height,
making a deep loud noise, much stronger than the com-
mon croaking. Their scent is remarkably good, and they
are very long lived. They make their nests early in
sj^ring, laying five or six eggs of a pale bluish colour,
spotted with brown. With us they build in trees, but in

258 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOKTSMAX.

G-reenland and Iceland in the holes of rocks, composing
their nests of roots, twigs, and bones, and lining them
with hair, moss, &c. Their flesh is eaten in Greenland
by the natives, who use their skins as a warm imder-
clothing. A remarkable instance of the raven in the act
of incubation has been related by Mr. White. " In a
grove near Selborne stood an oak, which though tall and
shapely on the whole, bulged out into a large excrescence
about the middle of the stem ; on this tree a pair of
ravens had fixed their residence for such a series of years,
that the oak was distinguished by the title of ' the raven
tree.' Many were the attempts of the neighbouring
youths, and each was ambitious to get at the eyry ; but
when they arrived at the swelling, it jutted out in their
way, and was so far beyond their grasp that the most
daring lads were awed, and acknowledged the undertak-
ing to be too hazardous. The ravens built on, nest upon
nest in perfect security, till the fatal day came in which
the wood was to be levelled. This was in the month of
February, when the birds usually sit. The saw was ap-
plied to the butt, the wedges were inserted in the open-
ing, the wood echoed to the heavy blows of the mallet,
the tree nodded to its fall, but still the raven sat on.
At last, when it gave way, the bird was flung from her
nest, and though her parental affection deserved a better
fate, was whipped down by the twigs which brought her
dead to the ground."

The raven is considered a bird of ill omen, particularly
by the lower classes, and I have heard that some game-
keepers would on no account shoot a raven, expecting that
in the performance of this act the barrels of his gun would
burst, and do serious injury to his hands, or that some
misfortune would befall his family or connexions.

THE KAY EX IX SCRIPTURE. 259

The raven, like the vulture, will scent at a great dis-
tance the bodies of the slain after a battle ; and I have
seen them in Spain greedily devour the remains of the
soldiers.

The raven is frequently mentioned in Scripture :
" And the rav^ens brought Elijah bread and flesh in the
morning, and bread and flesh in the evening " (1 Kings
xvii. 6 ). " Who feedeth the young ravens that call upon
Plim " (Ps. cxi. 9). " But the cormorant and the bittern
shall possess it : the owl also, and the raven shall dwell
in it " (Isaiah xxxiv. 11).

260 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

CHAP. XXIV.

THE OWL. — SUPERSTITIOiN'. — HIS PEET.

" The night (I sing by night, sometimes an owl,
And now and then a nightingale) is dim,
And the loud shriek of sage Minerra's fowl
Rattles around me her discordant hymn." — Bteon.

"Save that from yonder iry-mantled tower.
The moping owl does to the moon complain,
Of such as wandering near her secret bower,
Molest her ancient solitary reign." — Gray's Elegy.

The brown owl is similar to the tawny in its marks, differ-
ing only in its colour ; in the latter the head, wings, and
back are of a deep brown, spotted with black, the coverts
of the wings and scapulars are adorned with white spots,
the exterior feathers of the four first quill feathers in
both serrated ; the breast is of a very pale ash colour,
mixed with tawny, and marked with oblong jagged spots;
the feet are feathered down to the very claws, the circle
round the face is also coloured, spotted with brown.

It inhabits woods, where it resides the whole day. In
the night they are very clamorous, and when they hoot,
their throats are inflated to the size of a hen's egg. In
the dark they approach our dwellings, and will fre-
quently enter pigeon-houses and make great havoc

HOOTING OF THE OWL. 261

among them. They destroy numbers of small leverets,
as appears by the legs frequently found in their nests,
also young partridges, pheasants, and rabbits.* They
kill abundance of moles, and skin them with as much
dexterity as a mole-catcher. They build in hollow trees
or ruined edifices, and lay four eggs of an elliptic form,
and of a whitish colour. ]Many persons are very supersti-
tious respecting the hooting of the brown owl at night.
A near connexion of mine fancies when she hears
this bird's discordant notes at night that it prog-
nosticates some fatal event in the family ; and many
suppose it foretells a death if the owl should flap its
wings against the mndows of their house. St. John
says : " I knew an instance where the owls were nearly
destroyed by pole-traps, placed about the fields for the
destruction of them and the hawks, that the rats and
mice increased to such an extent- on the disappearance
of these their worst enemies, and committed such havoc
among the nursery gardens and plantations, that the pro-
prietors were obliged to have all the pole-traps taken
down, and the owls having been allowed to increase again,
the rats and mice quickly disappeared."

The wings of the owl are lined with small soft fea-
thers, which makes his flight inaudible even on a still
night, and thus he is enabled to approach his prey be-
fore they are aware of his nightly attack, so that rats,
mice, and moles are without much difficiJty made his
victims. WTien in the pursuit of these small animals
his flight is near the ground, which empowers him to

* Abro-mi owl's nest was found, ]VIay 1858, at Whitney Court, Wilts,
the residence of C. Giles, Esq., which contained, besides the old bird,
thi-ee young ones, five small leverets, four young rabbits, three thrushes,
and a trout weighing nearly half a pound.
s 3

262 REMINISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAX.

pounce on his prey, encircle them with his wings, and
grasp them in his sharp and powerful claws, when their
death instantly follows. The enormous rate at which
mice increase when their active enemies — owls, storks,
weasels — are unable to get at them will be seen from
the following story : — ■

" On a recent occasion the tenant of Hurland, in the
island of Stronsa, had occasion to take down ten stacks
of here to be thrashed. On the first being demolished,
it was found to contain an enormous number of mice, so
much so that the parties engaged had quite a field da}''
in slaughtering the animals, many of which succeeded in
escaping. Additional dogs and men, the" latter armed
with sticks and other instruments of murder and torture,
were then obtained to assist in despatching the squatters
in the remaining nine stacks ; and at the close of the
work of destruction, which occupied several days, it was
found that the slain amounted to no less than the in-
credible number of 3410, besides an immense quantity
the dogs devoured and those that escaped during the
assault."

In consequence of the great ravages made by the
rats and mice on his tenant's stacks, the landlord
gave orders to his gamekeeper to cease for a time waging
war against the owls and the ground vermin.

Although owls, like rooks, destroy some game, still the
benefit derived by the farmer affords a balance in their
favour. Eooks certainly make attacks on the corn in
harvest time, and when the wheat is sown ; but watch
them following the plough, how they devour the wire-
worm, slugs, grubs, and other mischievous insects.

263

CHAP. XXV.

THE EAGLE. — ROMAK AND PEESIAN STANDAEDS. — GOLDEK EAGLE.
— TAAVNT EAGLE. — DAXGER IN TAKING EAGLETS. — CAPTUEE OF
AN EAGLE. — THE EAGLE A GLUTTON. — ANECDOTE.

" Every one is eagle-eyed to see,
Another's faults and his deformity ;
There is a lust in man no charm can tame,
Of loudly publishing his neighbour's shame :
On eagle's wings immortal scandals fly,
"WJiile vii'tuous actions are but born and die." — Habtey.

" Thou -n-mged and cloud-cleaTing minister,
Wliose happy flight is highest into Heaven,
"Well may'st thou STroop so near me. I should be
Thy prey, and gorge thine eaglets ; thou art gone
Where the eye cannot follow thee ; but thine
Yet pierces downward, onward, or above,
With a pervading vision." — Bteox. Manfred, sc. 2.

The eagle in antiquity was borne by way of ensign
by several nations. The first who appear to have as-
sumed the eagle are the Persians, according to Xeno-
phon. It was afterwards assumed by the Eomans, who,
after a gi'eat variety of standards, ultimately fixed on
the eagle in the second year of the consulate of C.
JNIarius. Till that time they used indifferently wolves,
leopards, and eagles, according to the humour of the

264 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

commander. The Eoman eagles were not painted on a
cloth or flag, but were figures in relievo of silver or
gold, borne on the top of pikes, the wings being dis-
played, very similar to those now made use of in the
French army, and frequently a thunderbolt in their
talons ; under the eagle on the pike were piled bucklers
and sometimes crowns. This has been ascertained from
the medals. Constantino is said to have first intro-
duced the eagle with two heads, to intimate that though
the empire seemed divided, it was yet only one body.
This is proved by an eagle with two heads, noted by
Lipsius on the Antonine Column.

The golden eagle is one of the various species found
in the United Kingdom, but chiefly in Scotland
and Ireland. The golden eagle weighs about twelve
pounds, and is about three feet long, the wings when
extended measuring seven feet four inches. The
senses of sight and smelling are very acute ; the
head and neck are clothed with narrow sharp pointed
feathers of a deep brown colour, bordered with tawny ;
the hind part of the head is of a bright rust colour.
These birds are destructive to fawns, lambs, kids,
and all kinds of game, particularly in the breeding
season, when they bring a vast quantity of prey to their
young. Smith, in his History of Kerry, relates that a
poor man in that county obtained a comfortable sub-
sistence for his family during a summer of famine out
of an eagle's nest, by robbing the eaglets of the food
the old ones brought, whose attendance was protracted
beyond the natural time by clipping the wings and
retarding the flight of the former. In order to extir-
pate these pernicious birds, there was formerly a law in
the Orkney Isles which entitled every person that killed

THE TAWXY EAGLE. 2G5

an eagle to a hen out of every house in the parish
where it was killed. Eagles seem to give the preference
to the carcases of dogs and cats. Those who formerly
made it their business to kill these birds fired the
instant they alighted, for the eagle at that time looks
about before she begins her prey. Yet quick as her
sense of sight may be, her hearing seems still better.
If hooded crows or ravens happen to be nearer the
carrion, and resort to it first, and give a single croak,
the eagle instantly repairs to the spot. These eagles are
remarkable for their longevity, and for sustaining a long
absence from food. Mr. Keysler relates that an eagle
died at Vienna after a confinement of 104 years. This
length of days seems alluded to by the Psalmist : " thy
youth is renewed like the eagle's." A bird in the pos-
session of Owen Holland, Esq. furnishes us with a proof
how long they can exist without food, having once
through the negligence of the servants, endured hunger
for twenty-one days, without any sustenance what-
ever.*

The ta-v\Tiy, or white tailed eagle of Edwards, has the
whole plumage of a dusky brown ; the breast marked
\yith triangular spots of white. The tail is white tipped
v.-ith black, but in youngbirds dusky, blotched with white.
The leo-s are covered to the toes with soft rust-coloured

* Whilst shooting, in December 1857, a boatman was fortunate
enough to shoot, on the Lower Shannon, Mvith a charge of snipe shot, a
fine golden eagle. The bird measured seven feet from tip to tip of its
■nings. It -was blo-wing a gale of wind on the day it was shot, and I
suppose that, after a heavy gorge, it was beaten aboiit till it settled for
shelter upon Green's Island. It came from the westward (county Kerrj-)
direction, perhaps from Killarney. The man crept up a deep ditch
within shot.

266 EEMINISCEK'CES OF A SPOSTSMAX.

feathers. This species is frequent in Scotland, where
it is called the black eagle, from the dark colour of its
plumage. It is very destructive to deer, which it will
seize between the horns, and by incessantly beating it
about the eyes with its wings, soon makes a prey of the
harassed animal. The eagles of the Isle of Rum have
nearly extirpated the stags that used to abound there.
They generally build in the clefts of rocks near the
deer forests, and make great havoc among them, the
white hares and ptarmagans. Willoughby gives the
following curious account of the nest of this species : —
"In 1668, in the woodlands near the river Darwent, in
the peak of Derbyshire, was found an eagle's nest,
made of great sticks, resting one end on the end of a
rock, the other on two birch trees, upon which was a
layer of rushes, and over them q, layer of heath ; and
upon the heath rushes again, upon which lay a
young one and an addled egg, and by them a lamb, a
hare, and three heath poults. The nest was about two
yards square, and had no hollow in it." The following
account of the capture of four young of this species,
when about three months old is given by Mr. Bullock.

" On the 10th of June 1812, they were seen in their
eyrie, on the tremendous cliff called the west crags in
the Isle of Hay (one of the Orkneys), the towering
rocks of which rise to the perpendicular height of 1200
feet from the sea. About one-third down this awful
abyss a slender pointed rock projected from the cliff,
like the pinnacle of a Grothic building; on the extremity
of this is a hollow, scarcely of sufficient size for the
purpose for which these birds had fixed on it, that is, as
a place of security for rearing their young ; the situation
was such as almost to defy the power of man to molest

DANGER IX TAKING EAGLETS. 267

their habitation ; yet with the assistance of a short
slender rope made of twisted hogs' bristles, did the well
known adventurous climber or rockman Woolley Tom-
son traverse the face of this frightful precipice, and for
a trifling remuneration brought up the young birds.

" After a fatiguing scramble up the sides of the
mountains, we arrived at the place from whence we
could see the eyrie beneath ; the distance was so great
that the young eagles appeared no bigger tha.n pigeons.
After placing us in a secure situation on a projecting
ledge of the rock, that commanded a view of the scene
of action, Tomson left us, can-ying his rope in his hand,
and disappeared for upwards of half an hour ; when, to
our great joy, we discovered him creeping on his hands
and knees up the spiry fragment, on which lay the un-
fledged eaglets : when, knowing he was then in our sight,
he knelt on the top, and looking towards us, waved his
hat. At this time it was impossible to see the situation
he was in without trembling for his safety ; the slender
point of the rock on which he knelt was at least 100
feet above the surges of the Atlantic, which with un-
broken violence were foaming beneath him. Yet he
deliberately took from his pocket a cord, and tying the
wings of the young birds, who made some resistance
with their bills and talons, he put them into a basket,
and began to descend, and in a few minutes the over-
hanging masses of stone hid him from our view. The
old birds were in sight during the transaction, and made
no attempt to defend their young, but soaring about a
quarter of a mile above, occasionally uttered a short
shrill scream, very different from their usual barking
noise. Had they attempted a rescue, the situation of
the climber would have been extremely dangerous, as

268 REMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

the slightest deviation or false step would have pre-
cipitated him into eternity, a misfortune that a few years
since befell his brother on the same spot, when in his
company. After waiting in a most painful state of
anxiety for nearly an hour, om- climber suddenly made
his appearance, and laughing, presented his prize."

" In 1857, a shepherd named Ferguson, in the employ
of Mr. M'Ai'thur, of Ardmeanach, made a clever capture
of an eagle on the property of that gentleman. Having
found a ' braxy hog ' late one evening, he (the shepherd)
went to the hill early next morning for the purpose of
fetching the carcase home, and having his attention
arrested by the motion of some animal on the body of
the sheep, he approached cautiously, and discovered the
intruder to be an enormous eagle, so busily engaged
tunnelling the body of the sheep as to be wholly unaware
of his approach. Watching the motion of the bird,
standing still as it withdrew to gorge what it had ex-
cavated, and only approaching when its head was
sheathed in the breastbone of the sheep, he was enabled
by a sudden spring to disable it so far as to effect, though
not without the aid of his dog, and after suffering a
great deal in the encounter himself, the capture of the
bird alive.

" It measured seven feet six inches from point to point
of its wings, and is one of the largest that has been
seen in the part of the country where it was taken for
years.

" A pair, of which it is one, have for more than fifty
years been known to frequent and build in the crags
above Inchkenneth, but without bringing eaglets to
maturity, so far as is known, and the shepherds in the
district hail with no small degree of satisfaction the

THE EAGLE A GLUTTOX. 269

capture of a depredator, such as tins was known to
have been.

" With the exception of a ' game ' wing, it seems to
have quite got over the hard usage it was subjected to
before it gave in, and consumes with infinite gusto
whatever is thrown to it in the shape of fish, meat,
'fur or feathers.' " — Glasrjoiv Daily Mall.

From an anecdote I heard from a friend of mine latel}"
respecting an eagle that was kept by a gentleman at
Brentwood, in Essex, it shows that this noble bird is a
good guardian at night against robbers. During the
winter a number of burglaries had taken place in the
town of ■ Brentwood and its neighbourhood ; but the
thieves never made any attempt to break into the
house of this gentleman, for if the eagle heard any
footsteps about the premises during the night, he in-
stantly commenced loud screaming, which had the effect
of putting the family on their guard, of which there
can be little doubt the robbers were aware.

Perhaps there is no bird more voracious or a greater
glutton than the eagle, not even excepting the vulture.*
St. John says, in speaking of the wild part of the High-
lands, " when I was in Sutherland, I twice fell in with
instances of eagles being knocked down, when unable to
rise from over-eating. On one occasion a cmrious kind
of character, who acted the part of hanger-on to me in
my deer-shooting excursions, brought home an eagle,
which he had killed with his stick, before it could rise

* In ascending the rirer Magdalena, in South America, I saw the
king of tlie niltures feasting on the entrails of a dead alligator, siu'-
roimded by several black vultures, who kept at a respectful distance
from his majesty. The plumage of the royal bird was particularly
beautifid. The late General Campbell and myself endeavoured to get a
shot at him, but could not accomplish this, as he was exceedingly wary.

270 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SrORTS:\IAX.

from the ground. This man was dumb, and thouglit
(very erroneously) to be half-witted also." This
gentleman mentions further, that a tame- eagle, which
he kept for some time, killed and devoured all the cats
about the place.*

Notmthstanding the depredations committed by this
noble and majestic bird, even on deer, game, lambs, &c.,
I confess I should feel sincere regret if this species of
bird should become extinct in Scotland, as the eagle is
peculiarly characteristic of the romantic and wild
features of many parts of the Highlands. It is a fine
sight to see one of these noble birds, perched on the
height of an inaccessible rock, surveying v/ith his
brilliant and piercing eye the surrounding country, or
to view him ascending gracefully into the air, and reach-
ing such a height as to become at last almost invisible.
Gamekeepers, who are employed to preserve the deer
in the forests, and those who perform the same duty as
regards black game and grouse on the moors, are
actuated by one feeling towards the king of the birds,
which is to give him no quarter ; but there is this to
be said in his favour, that he destroys several animals
which are very destructive to game, such as the wild
cat, the marten cat, the house cat that takes to the
fields and woods, the pole-cat, fox, stoat, weasel, &c.
That the eagle destroys small vermin, as well as game,
will be seen by the following curious anecdote from

* In Mr. M'Dongall's excellent M'ork on shooting, is a list of verniin
destroyed on the Glengarry estate, Inverness-shire; I was sorry to observe
that many harmless and even useful birds had been put to death under
the pretext of their being destructive to game. In three years, 41
golden and white-taUed eagles, 6 jer falcons, 98 penguins, 462 kestrels,
35 horned owls, and 71 fern owls, or night-jare, were killed.

ANECDOTE. 271

Fennell — " Some haymakers on Cliapelliope meadows,
at the upper end of ^t. Mary's Loch, in Selkirkshire,
saw an eagle rapidly soaring above the steep mountains
in a singular and agitated manner; they kept their
eyes- upon him imtil he was nearly out of sight; in a
short time, hoAvever, they were all convinced that he
had fallen witli great rapidity like a shot bird. At
last he fell a short distance from the party. On their
approach, a stoat ran from the body, tiu-ued with
the usual impudence of the tribe, stood upon its hind-
legs, crossed its fore-paws over its nose, surveyed its
enemies for a moment or two, and then bounded
into a saugh bush. The eagle was dead, and covered
with blood, which had issued from a wound in its
throat."

272 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

CHAP. XXVI.

THE FOX.— HIS MAXCETJTEES. — "THE BITEE BIX. — ALWAYS THE
SAME. — HIS GREATEST EOE.

" ' Come down,' said Eeynard, ' let us treat of peace;'
' A peace, with all my soul,' said Chanticleer ;
Bnt, with yoiir farour, I will treat it here ;
And, lest the truce with treason shoxild be mixt,
'Tis my concern to have the tree betwixt.' "

Detden, Cock and the Fox.

In writing about tliis animal I am treacling on tender
ground, and must be cautious in treating of the habits
of sly Pug to prociure his livelihood. Gramekeepers
have almost always a decided hatred against him, and
father on him many sins of which I verily believe
he is blameless. There can be no doubt that he
enjoys exceedingly his supper, which may consist of a
pheasant or a partridge, but it has been fully ascertained
that where there is a tolerable stock of rabbits, tills is
his favourite food, and to catch them alive he makes
use of all his cunning and artful wiles. I have men-
tioned in another part of this work, — his manoeuvres
to catch young rabbits near their burrows, and his pre-
tending to be asleep on the banks of decoy ponds until
the wild ducks swim sufficiently near, when he makes a
spring at them, and seldom fails in providing himself
with a ffood meal. However, with all his craft and

"THE BITER BIT." 073

cunning, you sometimes find the biter is literally bit.
" One morning, some years ago, a man perceived a
fox on the Shetland coast, and although the tide was
coming in it seemed heedless, and busily engaged with
something. The man, after observing him for a little
time, went to his hut for his gun, and forthwitli down
to the shore and shot the fox, which was as careless of
his ajiproach as that of the coming tide. On going to
pick him up he was found to be held fast by the tongue
between the shells of one of the large mussels, which
are sometimes seven inches long, and adhere firmly to
the crevices of the rocks or larger stones below the
sands. Had not the fox been killed by the man it
would probably have been drowned by the no less
merciless tide." The female brings forth four or five
cubs at a litter, about April, and which arrive at maturity
in about eighteen months.* While they are helpless she

* When hunting with the late Mr. Humphrey Stiu-t's fox-hounds in
Dorsetshire, about 50 years ago, we drove a fox to earth, late in the day
(December), which Mr. Sturt determined to have dug out, being anxious
to blood his hounds. Some labourers performed this operation, and
about eight o'clock the fox was secured. All the field had left Mr.
Sturt, excepting the late Colonel Cheney and myself. Wood, the hunts-
man, held the fox up in the air, and we aU cheered the hounds, that
had been lying asleep. The huntsman then threw the fox in the middle
of them, when, to our astonishment, we heard no fighting amongst
the hounds in tearing him to pieces, and on putting down a lantern to
see what they were about, most of them were looking up, and sly
Eeynard had actually made his escape from the middle of them. Mr.
Stiu't wished to pursue him, but as the huntsman, Col. Cheney, and my-
self objected, the hounds went home, and we had ten miles to ride to our
barracks. My fi-iend Colonel Cheney commanded the Greys at the
battle of Waterloo after their colonel was killed. He had two horses
killed and two wounded under him He was a most gallant oiRcer, and
died about seven years ago. In a charge at the battle of Waterloo my
late old and gallant friend had his horse severely woimded, which
T

274 REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

exhibits great attachment for them, and an unusual
degree of boldness in defending them from aggression.
Several instances have been recorded of her carrying
a whelp in her mouth while pursued by the hounds,
when, in such case, the dogs are whipped off. Once,
when dining in Leicestershire with the master of the
Quorn hounds, I heard him relate the following story,
which displays at once the sagacity and fondness of
these animals for their offspring : — " A vixen fox had
been killed by the hounds, and her cubs were found in
a rabbit biu-row. As they were very young they were
left in this place, the huntsman feeling certain that the
dog fox would take care to provide them with proper
nourishment. He went to the young ones a day or two
afterwards, and in one part of the earth were lying a
couple of young rabbits untouched. On examining
more closely the spot, he found the remains of some
rabbits that were not more than three or four days old,
soft and easy to be bitten by the young ones. The dog-
fox having thus ascertained that the cubs would be
starved to death unless he procured them food they
could masticate, went diligently in search of the stop
of rabbits until he found the young rabbits as suitable

ill falling got the Colonel's right leg under him, and notwithstanding
all his exertions he could not release himself. At no great distance
was seen a regiment of Polish Lancers, coming to support a defeated
column of the French Infantry. Fortunately, after this, the Colonel's
charger made a -violent struggle, by which he was able to release
his leg, and he set off running towards our lines. He had not pro-
ceeded any great distance when he heard a horse galloping after
him, and conceiving it must be one of the Polish Lancers, he turned
round to defend himself, when to his surprise he found it was his ovn\
horse. He instantly mounted him ; he carried him safely to his regi-
ment, but in the course of half an hour the poor horse fell dead from
loss of blood. This was told me by my late friend.

ALAVAYS THE SAME. 27.5

food for his cubs." The fox, though it may be domes-
ticated when taken very young, never becomes thoroughly
reclaimed. Its natural propensities cannot be com-
l^letely subdued ; and Shakspeare judges rightly when
he says of his character, that the foxes " so tame, so
cherished, and locked up, will have a wild trick of his
ancestors."' When the fox is hunted by hounds, if he
sees at a distance a flock of sheep he is almost sure
to take shelter among them, as well as to destroy his
scented track, and to effect this last they have some-
times been seen to run along the top of a thick and
close hedge. Schreber, in liis history of quadrupeds,
says — "The smell of a fox is strong and unpleasant,
but on the tail is a spot from which proceeds a vio-
laceous scent." The character of the fox never changes :
in whatever part of the globe he is found he displays
the same adroitness and cunning, whether he subsists
on fish, flesh, or fowl, but his greatest ravages are amongst
game and domestic poultry ; and woe unto the unfortu-
nate inhabitants of the poultry yard into which he
has contrived to make his entry, for he appears to take
as much delight in the slaughter of all within his power
as poachers would receive in a successful night's pre-
datory expedition, and on these occasions he has been
found obliged to leave many of his victims behind.
Many of the fowls which he carries off he bui'ies care-
fully under ground, an instance of which was the cock
pheasant which I found quite fresh buried in a ploughed
field, Avhich had a small bit of the tail sticking out.
Reynard possesses one good quality in Scotland, — he is
of essential service in the destruction of the moor mouse,
which sometimes is bred in such immense multitudes as
to destroy the vegetation of the moors, to the great loss

276 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN.

of the proprietors. In France and Italy the foxes some-
times do great damage to the vineyards, by feeding
on the grapes, and of this fruit we know that he is
immoderately fond, and he gets very fat upon it.
Notwithstanding the mischievous qualities of Eeynard,
one cannot help feeling regard for an animal which
affords such excellent field sport to the fox-hunters
of this country. To stand high in the opinion of
this class a man requires to have strong nerves, be a
good rider, and have a sharp and acute eye to overcome
the obstacles which may impede his progress in an en-
closed and stiff country, more especially when the scent
is good and the hounds going at their full speed. Of
all field sports I think there is nothing so exciting as a
good run for thirty or forty minutes without a check,
and killing your fox. What joy and pleasure is ex-
pressed in all the countenances of the persons who are
so fortunate as to be in at the death, and who have
had the good luck to be well mounted. When quartered,
many years ago, at Leicester, I went out once, in
March, with the Quorn hounds, kept by old Mr.
Meynell, who is considered the father of fox-hunters,
from his great skill and knowledge of this manly
amusement. He has been heard to say that if a man
had been a regular fox-hunter for half a century he
would still, at the end of that time, have much to
learn in hunting the sly and crafty Eeynard. I suspect
there are few men alive now that can say they have
hunted with Mr. Meynell's hounds.

The fox has some most determined and inveterate
enemies in the gamekeepers, and sometimes their mas-
ters are in this respect just as bad as the servants, and
there can be no doubt that considerable numbers of them

TIIEIE CHIEF ENEMY. 277

are shot and tra,pped, and buried under ground. It is,
liowever, not a very easy matter to trap a fox, for he has
a decided aversion to a dead bait, and likes to kill liis
prey. In countries where fox-hunting cannot be pursued
on account of the natural obstacles of the country, Key-
nard can only be considered as vermin, and there can be
certainly no harm in planning his destruction. In Ger-
many, one of the chief perquisites of the jager, or
gamekeeper, are the skins of foxes, martens, wild cats,
badgers, &c., which are only killed in the winter, when
the furs are in good condition ; and so skilful are these
jiigers with their rifles, that many of these animals are
killed with ball, but they prefer trapping them, and
rarely make use of a gun loaded with shot, from fear of
damasrinsf the fur.

278 IlEMIXISCE^X"ES OF A SPORTSMAN.

CHAP. XXVII.

THE OTTEE. — HIS HABITS. — HIS TEACHAI?LE>T;SS.

" On the soft sand.
See there his seal impressed : and on that bank
Behold the glittering spoils, — half eaten fish,
Scales, fins, and bones, the leavings of his feast."

SOJIEE^TXLE.

The charge of destroying game can certainly not be
brought against the otter ; but as he affords much sport
he has a fair claim to be introduced into this work.

The head of the otter is compressed, the ears are short,
and the eyes are so situated that they can see objects above
them, even v\rhen the head is in a horizontal position.
The feet are palmated or webbed, the toes are covered
with hair, and the surface of the tail is flattened. Its
favourite haunts are the sides of rivers and lakes, es-
pecially such as have gravelly bottoms and high banks.
Pennant says " it forms a habitation by burrowing
under ground, on the banks of some river or lake, and
always makes its hole under water, works upwards to
the surface of the earth, and then makes a minute
orifice for the admission of air. Its lurking place may
be detected by the quantity of its excrement, and the
remains of its prey lying on the shore or banks. The
otter can run tolerably fast, and it dives or swims with

HABITS OF THE OTTER. 279

greater expertness and celerity than even the finny tribes
themselves. It lives chiefly on fish, not only devouring
great numbers, but destroying more than it consumes,
so that it has been known to kill every fish in a pond in
the course of one night. It either catches its prey by
rising under it or jjursuing it into some little creek, and
seizing it there." JNIr. Studdart observes that "the
otter, although naturally shy, and no lover of daylight,
will at times, when in the pursuit, show a bold front,
and has been known to contest its prey even with man
himself." A gentleman, when angling for pike on the
loch of Lowes, brought to land a fine fish of ten or
twelve pounds weight, was surprised to observe a large
otter swim ferociously towards him ; nor did it cease its
attack until it had succeeded in carrying away j^ike,
hook, and all. Another person, when angling in St.
iSIary's Loch at night, has frequently been followed to a
short distance by an otter, ready to pounce upon such
fish as he might happen to hook. The old ones are ex-
ceedingly strong and fierce, and never let go when once
they have got hold of their enemy. If fish happen to
become scarce and inaccessible, the otter preys on animal
food, such as rats and insects ; and Lovel states, " it
feeds on the tops of plants, fruits, and the bark of trees."
With respect to the breeding season of the otter,
Professor Bell says that " in Britain they produce from
three to five young, in March or April ;" but Goldsmith,
Avho appears to have carefully observed the animal's
habits, asserts that with us the young are never found
until the latter end of summer, in which season he has
frequently discovered them when he was a boy.

The female litters on the hollow bank, upon a bed

280 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

of rushes, flags, or other aquatic plants. AMien tamed
the otter will follow its owner like a dog, and will catch
fish for him ; but then he must be taken young, and it
is quite certain that the old ones can never be thoroughly
tamed, and if kept for the purpose of fishing, are
always apt to take the first opportunity of escaping.
As regards their food when taken young, they are fed
with small fish and water; in proportion as they increase
in strength they have milk mixed with their food, the
quantity of fish reduced, and that of vegetables in-
creased, until at length their diet may be entirely bread,
which perfectly agrees with them. To train them up to
fishing requires great assiduity and patience, but their
activity and expertness when taught amply repays this
trouble. The usual plan is first to teach them to fetch
and carry, employing for the purpose a piece of leather,
shaped like a fish, and stuffed with wool. When they
have seized it, they are made to drop it at the word of
command, to run after it again when thrown forward,
and to return with it to their master. They are next
exercised with dead fish, which are thrown into the
water for them to fetch from thence. Lastly, living
fish are thrown into the water, until the otter is perfectly
disciplined in the art of catching fish.

281

CHAP. XXVIII.

THE STOAT OK ERMrjTE. — rERSEVERANCE OF STOAT AFTER ITS
PREY. — DESTRUCTION OF GAME BY STOATS. — THE ^S^-EASEL : ITS
FEROCITY. — FOKD OF EGGS AND YOUNG BIRDS.

The stoat or ermine, though common in Britain, is
very numerous in the wilds of Eussia, Siberia, and Lap-
land, and other cold countries in Europe-Asia. It is
nearly ten inches from the nose to the rump, and the
tail is four inches and three quarters long ; the stoat is
about one-third larger than the weasel. The other
points of distinction are, that the head of the stoat is
broader in proportion to its length, and the tail larger
and more bush}^, and tipped with black ; the upper part
of the head, neck, and tail are light reddish brown, the
under parts white, tinged with yellow ; the ends of the
ears and toes are yellowish white. It is known in this
country as the stoat, but when it has been long exposed
to severe cold, either from its choosing to inhabit moun-
tainous localities, the entire fur becomes white, with a
slight tinge of yellow. The change of colour which takes
place during the colder months of the year is now as-
certained, with tolerable accuracy, to be caused by an
actual whitening of the fur, and not by the gradual sub-
stitution of white for dark hairs, as was for some time

282 REMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

supposed to be the case. The hairs are not entirely-
white, even in their most completely blanched state,
but partake of a very delicate cream yellow. In these
comparatively temperate latitudes the stoat is never
sufficiently blanched to render its fur of any commercial
value, and the hair appears to be longer, thicker, and
whiter in proportion to the degree of latitude in which
the animal has been taken. The traps which are used
for the purpose of destroying the stoat are formed so as
to kill the animal by a sudden blow, without wounding
the skin ; and many of the beautiful little creatures
are taken in the ordinary snares. Providence has given
to the stoat this white Colour of its fur as a protection
from its enemies when the ground is covered with snow.
Putting aside the mode in which the fur changes its
colour, the principal object of it appears to be to defend
the wearer against the intense cold which reigns in those
northern regions. In this country, where the lowest
temperature is considerably above that of the ordinary
winter degrees, the stoat is very uncertain in its change
of fur. In the autumn, when the stoat is beginning
to assume its wintry dress, and in the spring when it is
beginning to lose the snowy mantle of the wintry
months, the fur is generally found to be marked with
irregular patches of dark and white spots. Mr. Thomp-
son, in his " Natural History of Ireland," says that he
saw a stoat which was captured on the 27th of January
1846, which was wholly white, with the exception of a
brown spot on each side of its face, yet the winter had
been remarkably mild. Two white stoats were killed in
Ayrshire, 1839.

The stoat is a most determined hunter, pursuing
its game with such pertinacious skill that it very seldom

PERSEVEKA^X•E OF STOAT AFTER ITS TREY, 283

permits its intended prey to escape. Altliongh tole-
rably swift of foot, it is entirely unable to cope with
the great speed of the hare, an animal which fi-equently
falls a victim to the stoat ; yet it is enabled by its great
delicacy of scent and the singular contrivance of its
frame, to run down any hare on whose track it may
have set itself. When pursued by a stoat the hare*
does not seem to put forward its strength as it does
when it is followed b}^ dogs, but as soon as it discovers the
nature of its pursuer it seems to lose all energy and hops
lazily along as if its faculties were benumbed by some
powerful agency. This great lassitude is of essential
service to the stoat in enabling it to secure an animal
which might, in a very few minutes, place itself beyond
the reach of danger by running in a straight line. To
account for this is, I conceive, extremely diflficult, for it
seems that when the hare once ascertains the persevering
enemy that piursues him, he is deprived of that speed and
exertion which he displays when hunted by harriers or
coursed by greyhounds ; it is a sort of fascination or
terror, with which birds are sometimes seized when a
cat steadfastly fixes his eyes on his intended victim, and
he remains motionless on the bough until captured
and devoured. The stoat is an excellent swimmer,
which is proved by what has been related by Mr.
Thompson. " A respectable farmer, when crossing in
his boat an arm of the sea, about one mile in breadth
which separates a portion of Islandmagee (a peninsula
near Larne, county Antrim) from the mainland, ob-
served a ripple proceeding from some animal in the
water, and upon rowing up found it was a 'weasel,'

* This I have stated ■n-hen wTiting about hares.

284 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

(stoats are called weasels in Ireland) which he had no
doubt was swimming for IslandmageCj as he had seen
it going in a direct line from the shore, and it had
reached the distance by a quarter of a mile when taken.
The poor animal was cruelly killed, although its gallant
swimming might have pleaded in favour of its life.'
In respect of food the stoat is not very dainty, kill-
ing and eating any description of wild quadrupeds that
he is able to overpower, sucking the eggs of pheasants
and partridges, and feasting on the young birds, and even
the old ones when he is able to surprise them on the
ground.* The stoat in pursuit of its prey haunts woods,
hedges, and meadows whose sides are covered with small
bushes, and sometimes, though not so often as the
weasel, it inhabits barns and outhouses ; when this is
the case it frequently makes sad havoc amongst the
poultry, killing in one night a great number of them
by a bite in the neck and sucking some of their blood.
A trap that strikes low with round teeth, and carefully
covered over with fine sifted earth, set where the stoat
enters the poultry yard, will be sure to catch him.
White says, "In September 1834, he witnessed a furious
contest between a stoat and a water rat; the rat de-
fended himself with great courage and ferocity, but was
at length overpowered by the stoat, which seized him
just under the ear and bore him off to his retreat."

About the middle of July 1827, a gentleman at
Cathcart wounded a stoat. The animal having escaped
into a hole in an old stone wall, the gentleman explored
his retreat, when the first victims he met with were a

* I have mentioned, wlien writing on game, that a keeper of mine told
me : " I thinks as how, sir, that a stoat kills as much game in a season
as a qualified gentleman."

DESTEUCTIOX OF GAAIE BY STOATS. 285

couple of leverets, unmutilated ; furthei- on two young
partridges, also entire, and a pheasant's egg, unbroken ;
beyond these were found the heads of two other
leverets, in a state of putrefaction ; and at the extremity
of the hole the little marauder was lying dead. It
might have been thought that this extraordinary accu-
mulation was the result of a provident disposition in
the animal ; but the putrid state of the detached heads
of the two leverets seems to confirm the common state-
ment of naturalists, that the weasel tribe seldom de-
vour their prey till it begins to putrefy. The female
stoat brings forth about five young ones in April or
^lay. Mr. Blythe says that, in confinement, the stoat
has been known to breed with the ferret and domes-
ticated polecat.

There is hardly any animal which, for its size, is so
much to be dreaded by the creatures on which it preys
as the common Aveasel. Although its diminutive pro-
portions render a single weasel an insignificant opponent
to man or dog, yet it can wage a sharp battle even with
such powerful foes, and refuses to yield except at the
last necessity. The proportions of the weasel are
extremely small, the male being rather larger than the
opposite sex. In total length a full grown male does
not much exceed ten inches, of which the tail occupies
more than a fifth, while the female is rather more than
an inch shorter than her mate. The colour of the fur is
a bright reddish brown on the upper parts of the body,
and the under portions are of a pure white, the line of
demarcation being tolerably well defined ; this contrast
of red and -white renders it an extremely pretty animal.
The tail is of a uniform tint with the body, and is not

286 REMIXISCEN^CES OF A SPORTSMAN.

furnished with the tuft of jetty hairs that forms so
conspicuous a decoration of the stoat. The audacity of
this little creature is really remarkable, it seems to hold
every being except itself in the most sovereign con-
tempt, and, to all appearance, is as ready to match
itself against a man as against a mouse. Mr. Wood
says, ''I remember being entirely baffled by the im-
pertinence of one of these animals, although I was
provided with a gun. While I was walking along
a path that skirted a corn field, a stir took place
among some dried leaves by the hedge side, and out
ran something small and red along the bottom of the
hedge. I instantly fired, but without success, at the
moving object, which turned out to be a weasel. The
little creature, instead of running away, or appearing
alarmed at the report of the gun, which tore up the
ground around it, coolly ran into the middle of the path,
and sitting up on its hind legs, with its paws crossed
over its nose, leisurely contemplated me for a moment
or two, and then quietly retired into the hedge."

Many farmers are in the habit of destroying the
weasel, which they look upon as vermin, but it is
now generally thought that although the weasel must
plead guilty to the crime of destroying poultry now
and then, it may yet plead its great services in the
destruction of rats and mice. There is no hole through
which either of these animals can pass which will not
quite as readily suffer the passage of the weasel ; and
as the weasel is most determined and pertinacious in
pursuit, it seldom happens that rats or mice escape
when their little foe has set itself fairly on their track.
It has also got as acute a scent as the stoat, which
makes it a most formidable enemy, and it will even

THE WEASEL, ITS FEROCITY. 287

cross water in pursuit of its prey. Like the stoat, it
fixes its teeth in its devoted victim on the back of the
neck, where it retains its deadly hokl in spite of all the
struggles of the wounded animal.

Gamekeepers have good reason to wage an active war
against the weasel, as it is very fond of eggs and yoinig
birds of all kinds. So determined a poacher is the weasel
that it has been known to capture full grown birds. A
weasel has been seen to leap from the ground into the
midst.of a covey of partridges, just as tliey were rising on
the wing, and to bring one of them to the earth. This event
took place at Mansfield in the month of October. A gen-
tleman who had discovered a furtive nest made by one
of his hens in a hedge-row, was witness to a curious scene.
Just as a hen had laid an egg, she issued from her nest,
cackling triumphantly ; a weasel, which had been ob-
served at a great distance stretching its neck as if
watching for its prey, darted towards the spot, but just
before it reached the nest it was anticipated by a crow,
which seized the egg and bore it off in triumph. " In
January 1818, a man in the parish of Glencairn, Dum-
friesshire, was suddenly attacked by six weasels, which
rushed upon him from an old dyke in a field ; alarmed
by such a furious onset he took to his heels, but he soon
found he was closely pursued, and although he endea-
voured to protect himself by several backhanded
strokes with a horsewhip, yet so eager was their pursuit
that they were about to seize him by the throat, when
he hastily snatched up the fallen branch of a tree, when
he killed three of them, and put the other three to
flight." A few years ago, a boy was hoeing a quick-set
hedge, when several weasels ruslied upon him, and

288 REMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAX.

attacked his legs with determined ferocity ; excessively
terrified, he roared out lustily, and his father, who was
near at hand, ran to his help and beat off the assailants
with a hoe ; scarcely had he turned his back, when they
renewed the attack, and were obliged to be repelled in
a similar manner ; a third was even menaced before they
were finally put to the rout.

289

CHAP. XXIX.

THE BADGEE. — THE POLECAT. — TIIE MARTEN.

" Hovr oft -we seek a solitude,
Where care (we hope) will ne'er intrude.
Alas ! how oft our hopes are vain ;
Care drags us to the world again.
Just so the badger : shouts of men,
The bark of dogs, ring round his den ;
In vain to his calm retreat he goes,
Forth he is dragg'd by slaught'riug foes." — J. Pitm^vn.

The badger has suffered more, perhaps, from vulgar
prejudices than any other animah He has been accused
of destroying lambs and rabbits : the first unquestion-
ably without foundation, and it is uncertain whether the
last charge be better svipported, for many naturalists
maintain that his sole food consists of roots, fruits, grass,
insects, and frogs. But my gamekeeper assured me
that he sucked the eggs of pheasants and partridges,
having found the impression of his feet near where the
shells wer^ lying. This I think likely enough.

The badger is found in many parts of England,

Scotland, and other European countries. Its favourite

haunts are the deepest recesses of woods, and the thick

coppices covering the sides of hills. The badger is two

u

290 REMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

feet and a quarter in length from the end of the snout
to the rump. The weight varies in different specimens,
and according to the season, some weighing only fifteen
pounds and others exceeding thirty. The body is long
and robust, the skin loose and tough. The hair is
. coarse and wiry ; that on the back is long, and of a fine
reddish-grey, varying in tint in different parts ; that of
the belly is particularly long. The head is white, but with
a black band on either side, and dividing the cheek from
the forehead, and including the eyes and ears in its own
space. The muzzle is long, and terminates in a movable
snout. The eyes are small, as also are the ears, which
are semicircular, and nearly concealed in long hair.
The tongue is smooth. The feet are hairy, each with
five toes, armed with strong curved claws fitted for
digging ; the tail very short and light grey. The walk
of the badger is plantigrade, like that of the bear. The
two sexes are seldom seen together. In their secluded
haunts they dig two or three deep subterranean apart-
ments, the only entrance of which is by a slanting and
even winding passage. In these burrows they sleep
the greater part of the day, and emerge for a short
period in the evenings or night to go in search of prey.
In the summer time the female forms a nest of moss and
grass, in which she gives birth to her young, three or
four in number. The task of making the burrows and
attending to the cubs appears to devolve chiefly upon
the females. In the countries where the wild honey bees
form their nests in the ground, they are oft^n disturbed
by the badger, who, having a decided taste for sweets,
plunders their stores without ceremony. A Scotch
naturalist says that the badger digs up the nests of the
wasp and wild bee, and devom's the larvas or maggots

^rODE OF TAKIXG THE BADGER. 291

which they contain. It eats also the fallen beech-nuts
and the roots of various plants. The badger possesses
great strength, which, together with the toughness and
looseness of its skin, enables it to offer considerable
resistance when attacked. It defends itself with much
agility, biting its assailant very severely, and frequently
holding him fast between its teeth. It is killed with
difficidty, except by a blow on the snout, a part
where most animals are very sensible to injury. Hunt-
ing the badger is only performed by moonlight. In
this sport the hunters are obliged to oppose art to
cunning, and obtain by stratagem what they cannot effect
by strength. At a late hour in the evening, when the
badger is supposed to have left his kennel in search of
food, some of the party proceed to place a sack at length
within the burrow, so constructed that the mouth of the
sack directly corresponds with the mouth of the earth,
and is secured in that position by a willow hoop. This
part of the business being completed, the parties with-
drawn, and the signal whistle given, their distant com-
panions lay on the dogs, either hounds, terriers, or
lurchers, encouraging them through the neighbouring
woods, coppices, and hedge-rows, which the badgers
abroad no sooner find than, being alarmed, and well
knoAving their inability to continue a warfare so much
out of their element, instantly make to the earth for
shelter, where, oppressed with fear, they rush into certain
destruction by entering the sack, being entangled in
which they are soon secured by those who are fixed near
the spot for that purpose. If the badger escape by the
ill-construction or accidental falling of the sack, and
safely enter the earth, digging him out is not only a
very laborious but very precarious attempt, for the

292 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAJf.

badger will be generally found to have made his retreat
before he can be reached, to render which the more easy-
he usually constructs his kennel among the roots of some
old pollard, or underneath some hollow tree, that his
assailants are often compelled, after tiring themselves
by digging fifteen or twenty feet, to relinquish the
pursuit. Badger baiting is a different sport, and of a
lower description. It consists in attacking the animal
at a distance from his burrow, generally with well-bred
terriers. The badger is so rapid in his motions that the
dogs are often desperately wounded, and compelled to
give up the contest. The looseness and thickness of his
skin are admirably contrived for his advantage.

These sports have given rise to a very expressive
proverb of " Badgering a man with a request for pay-
ment of debts," &c.

The polecat or fitch inhabits the temperate parts of
Europe, its range extending from Italy to Poland. In
Britain, France, and many other countries, it is very
common. From the nose to the extremity of the body
its length is nearly eighteen inches, or, including the
tail, one foot eleven inches. The edges of both jaws
are white ; the ears are short, semicircular, and tipped
with white ; the feet are short, toes long and separated
to the very origin, the claws are sharp and hooked,
white underneath and brown above ; the head and legs
are entirely of a dark chocolate, approaching to white.
The hairs on the sides of the body are of a blackish
brown colour, but yellowish about the middle and base.
The coat consists of two sorts of fur, the shorter of
which is the more warm and downy, and the adult
animal reta,ins both throughout the year ; but the young

THE rOLECAT OR FITCII. 293

have only one sort of fur, which is of a very uniform
dark brown, close and woolly. It generally resides in
woods, or thick coppices in the neighbourhood of farm-
houses. In such places it burrows under ground, form-
ing a shallow retreat from two to three yards in length,
generally terminating in a round chamber, situated for
better security among the roots of some tree. Some,
however, instead of forming a subterranean retreat, con-
tent themselves with a lodging under hayricks. During
the daytime they usually remain in close concealment,
but at night they sally forth in search of prey. The
fitch is very nimble and active in its movements, run-
ning very fast, and accelerating its progress with a suc-
cession of leaps, arching its back each time it is about
to spring from the ground. It also creeps up walls with
great facility. In walking, the belly seems to touch the
ground, owing to the shortness of its legs. Being a
pursuing animal instead of pursued, it has its external
organs for conveying impressions to the senses placed as
favourably as possible. Its external auditory tube.
Dr. Farrar observes, " is similar in leng-th and diameter
to the hare's, placed at an angle of forty-five degrees,
but pointing from behind, in a direction downwards and
forwards ; in fact, the very opposite to its position in the
hare. From this tube being placed very forwards, we
should naturally conclude that this animal's sense of
hearing is much less acute from behind than before, and
this supposition is strongly supported by the following
circumstance : — A farmer in my neighbourhood had his
poultry disturbed on several successive nights, and one
day he discovered near his residence a couple of fitches
gamboling in a very frolicsome manner ; approaching
them cautiously from behind, he was enabled to coma

D 3

294 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPOETSM.IN".

within a very few yards of them. He levelled his loaded
gun, but it missed lire. This occurred five or six times
without a single spark being elicited from his flint, and
notwithstanding all this hammering in their rear, the
animals were never the least alarmed. At last, however,
he was successful in obtaining one of them, but the other
made its escape. On my examining the skull of the
one he had shot, I was satisfied that though the fitch
may hear sounds behind it, yet they are only heard im-
perfectly; otherwise, indeed, it must have taken the
alarm at the many attempts to fire the gun. It preys
upon various species of birds and reptiles; it commits
great destruction ujjon hares and rabbits ; and with that
thirst for blood which is natural to all the weasel kind,
it kills much more than it can devour. Groldsmith says
that he has seen taken out of the bm-row twenty dead
rabbits at a time, and which it had destroyed by a wound
hardly perceptible. A writer residing in Selkirkshire
says he has indubitable evidence of a single fitch killing
fifteen turkeys in one night. Pheasants, partridges, and
pigeons are equally liable to its attacks. The reptiles
which he preys upon are frogs and toads. The Selkirk-
shire naturalist before quoted says, " That in the month
of June he noticed a narrow track leading from the long
grass of a meadow towards the banks of the river Ettrick,
and which track he concluded was the morning track of
a fitch ; having traced it to the termination in a hole in
the ground, he procured a spade and dug out five young
fitches, nearly half-grown, sleek, clean, and well fed, and
really pretty, innocent-looking things. They were com-
fortably reposed in dry withered grass. From an apart-
ment or larder at the side of them, he poked out and
counted forty large frogs and toads, all of which possessed

THE riNE MARTEX. 295

enough life, and only enough, to sprawl their limbs out
a little. On examining them he found that they had
all been dexterously bitten through the brains ; no other
animals were found in its larder."

Berwick says that a fitch was repeatedly seen to resort
to the banks of a river to catch eels, and that eleven
were found in its retreat. The female makes her nest
either in a rabbit burrow, a hole in the rock, or amongst
a heap of stones grown over with grass or shrubs
situated in some retired spot, though often in the vicinity
of farms ; she has from three to six young ones in a
litter. As the young have been found in the nests in
May and June, it is not altogether improbable that the
fitch has two or more litters in a year. In winter the
fitch, which cannot stand excessive cold or heat, leaves
its abode in the woods, and betakes itself to barns, hay-
lofts, &c., remaining hidden about them during the day,
only leaving them at night, when it makes its attack in
the hen roosts or in the dairy. It is impossible to
thoroughly tame this animal."

The pine marten is so called because it is generally
found in those localities where the pine trees abound,
and is in the habit of climbing pines in search of prey,
ft is a shy and wary animal, withdrawing itself as far
as possible from the sight of man ; and although rather
a dangerous and fierce antagonist when brought to ba}^,
is natm-ally of a timid disposition, and avoids collision
with its enemies. It delights in trees and traverses the
trunks and branches with astonishing activity, and being
enabled by its rapid and silent movements to steal
imuoticed on many an unfortunate bird, and seize it in
its deadly gripe before the startled victim can take to

296 REMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN.

flight. It is a sad robber of nests, rifling them of eggs
and young, and not unfrequently adding the parent
birds to its list of victims. Even the active and wary
squirrel sometimes yields up its life to this agile and
stealthy foe ; for in a hole which had been made the
head-quarters of a marten were found several of the
bushy tails which are such predominant decorations of
the squirrel's person. That the squirrels had been
captured and eaten by a marten is placed beyond doubt
by the fact, that the dead body of the destroyer was dis-
covered within the hole, itself having fallen a victim to
the venomous bite of a viper : there had evidently been
a combat between the reptile and marten, both having
succumbed to the deadly weapon of their adversary.
It is probable that the viper was an intruder on the
marten, and that the latter animal had, after receiving
the fatal wound, retained sufficient strength to inflict
such injuries upon its antagonist as to deprive it of the
power of escape, and ultimately to cause its death.
The damage which a pair of martens and their young
will inflict upon a poultry-yard is almost incredible. If
they can get into a fowl-house, they will destroy a whole
brood of chickens, suck the eggs, and destroy the parents.
To give an example of these little vermin, Mr. W.
Thompson relates : " A farmer in Ireland who had
possessed twenty one lambs, found one morning that
fourteen of them had been killed by some destructive
animal, and none of the flesh had been eaten, but had
contented themselves with sucking the blood ; on the
following night the remaining seven were treated in a
similar manner, and the destroyers, a pair of martens,
were seen in the morning taking their departinre from
the scene of their sanguinary exploits ; they were traced

THE BEECH MARTIN. 297

to a magpie's nest in Tollymore Park." This is a
favourite abode of this animal, because its arched
covering and small entrance affords great security.
The fur of the pine marten is very valuable, especially
if the animal be killed in the winter : a gamekeeper of
mine shot and trapped two at this season. I had the
furs dressed at a furrier's, and they made a handsome
trimming to a cloth pelisse belonging to my lady. It is
esteemed little inferior to the sable. A gamekeeper
can generally get half a guinea for the skin if it is
trapped during the winter. It is thought not to be so
prolific an animal as the beech marten, seldom produc-
ing above three or four at a birth.

The beech marten may be distinguished from the
pine marten l>y the white tint of the fur on its throat
and upper portion of its breast. A slight yellow tinge
is sometimes observed on its throat. This animal is
also known by the name of stone marten ; in Grermany,
stein marten. In its destructive habits and thirst for
blood it resembles the animal just described, and has
earned for itself the title of domestic, which was
applied to it by G-esner, as it frequents the vicinity of
houses, and conceals itself in the barns and outhouses
for the purpose of gaining access to the poultry. The
marten, when taken young, may be made tame ; so much

so, that Lady 's coachman had one so thoroughly

domesticated that it sat with him on the box of the
carriage. One of these was procured when young by a
shoemaker, and remained with him until it reached
maturity. It then escaped from its adopted home, and
commenced a series of depredations among the fowls
kept by the neighbours, returning every night and con-

298 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN".

cealing itself in the house : its depredations became at
last so annoying that there was a general outcry that it
should be killed, which sentence was immediately put
into execution. The marten is a good swimmer, as well
as an excellent leaper and climber, and has been often
seen to swim across a tolerably wide river, when it has
been hard pressed in the chase. It is free from all
offensive smell.

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

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NEW WORKS IN GENERAL LITERATURE

PUBLISHED BY

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39 Paternoster Row, London.

CLASSIFIED INDEX

Agi-iculture and Rural Affairs.

Bttflclon on \':iluinz Bents. S.c

■ " on Road LeKislatiun
Caircl's Prairie Fiiiming
Cecil's Stud Farm .
HoRkjns's Talpa .
Loudon's Agriculture
Low's Elements of Aariculture
Morton on Landed Estates

Arts, Manufactures, and Archi-
lecture.

Br.ande's Dictionary of Science, Sc. . 6

** Organic Chemistry . . . (>

Cresy's Civil Engineering . . .8

Fairbairn's Information for Engineers . 0

Guilt's Encjcloptedia of Architecture . Ill

Harford's Plates from M. Angelo . . 10

Humphreys's Pnfahles Illuminated . Vi

Jameson's Sdcred and Legendary Art . 13

" Commonplace-Book- . . 13

Konig'8 Pictorial Life of Luther . . 10

IjOudon's Rural Architecture . . .14

Mac Dongall's Campaigns of Hannibal . Jo

" , Theory of War . . 15

Moseley's'Engineering

Scollern on Projectiles, <.S:c. .
Steam Engine, by the Artisan C
Ure'8 Dictionary of Arts, &c. .

Biography.

Arago's Lives of Scientific Men .
Baillis's Memoir of Bate
Brialmont's WcUington .
Bunsen's Hippoljtus
Bunting's (Dr.) Life
Crosse's (Andrew) Memorials

Gleig's Essays

Green's Princesses of England
Harford's Life of Michael Angelo .
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopredia
Marshman's Lif» of Carer, Marshma

and W'iTi . . .' . .
Maunder's Biographical Treasury

Morr:

Life of Bee
n's(C<

Parry's (Admiral) Memoirs .
Russell's Memoirs of Moore .

f Dr.) Life of Meizofanti
ScliimmelPenninck's (Mrs.) Life
Southev's Life of Wesley
Steplien's Ecclesiastical' Biograplr
Stnckhuid's Queens of England
Sydney Smith's Memoirs

al) Memoirs

I'aylor's Loyola

" -Wesley

Uwins's Memoirs and Correspondence

Waterton's Autobiography and Essays

Books of General Utility.

Acton's riread-Book
" Cookery-Book

Black's Treatise on Brewing

Cabinet Gazetteer .
" Lawyer

Cust's Invalid's Oira Book

Hints on Etiquette .

Hudson's Executor's Guide
" on Making Wills

Kesteven's Domestic Medicini

Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopsedi;

Loudon's Lady's Country Companit

Maunder's Treasury of Knowledge
" Biographical Treasury

" Geogranhical Treasury

" ScientiHc Treasury

** Treasury of History

Na'ural History . .

Piesse's Art of Perfumery

Pitts How to Brew Good Beer

Pocket and the Stud

Pjcroft's English Reading .

Rich's Companion to Latin Dictionary .

Richardson's Art of Horsemanship

Riddle's Latin Dictionaries .

Roget's Engluh Thesaurus .

Rowton's Debater ....

Short Whist

Simpson's Handbook of Dining .

Thomson's Interest Tables .

Webster's Domestic Economy

WiUich's Popular Tables

■Wilmot's Blaotstone

U •
16 i

Botany and Gardening.

s British Freshwater Alga
3 British Flora .

Guide to Kew Gardens .
'3 Introduction to Botany .

Synopsis of the British Flora

Theory of Horticulture .
'3 Hortus Britanuicus

Amateur G;irdener .

Trees and Shrubs .

Gardening . .

Plants ...
s Materia Med-.ca
Rose Amateur's GuiJe
's rjbele Britannica
s British Mosses .

Chronology.

Jaquemet's Two Chronolo,:;ies

Commerce and Mercantile
Affairs.

-ing
anki
3S Maste

Gilbart's Losic of Bankin
" Treatise on Banking

Lorimer'i

M't^uUoch's Commerce and Navigation
Thomson's.Interest Tables . . . .i-i
Tooke's History of Prices . . .23

Criticism. History, and Memoirs.

Brewer's Historical Atlas ... 6

Bunsen-sAncientFgypt ... 7

'* Hippolytus .... 7

Chapman's Gusta\'us Adolphus . . 8

Connolly's Sappers and Miners . . 8

Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul . 8

Crowe's History of Frar.ce ... 9

Fischer's Francis Bacon .... 9
Frazer's Letters dnrin? the Peninsular
and Waterloo Campaigns . . .10

Glei^'s Essava 10

Gurney's Historical Sketches . .10

Hayward's Essays H

Herschel's Essavs and Addresses . . 11

Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions . . 13
KemWe's . ' "

History of England .
" Speeches ....

Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Works
" History of England .

M'CuUoch's Geoffraphical Dictionary .
Maunder's Treasury of History
Merivale's History of Rome .
" Roman Republic .
Milner's Church History ...
Moure's (Thomas) Menioirs, &e. .
Mures Greek Literature
Normanbv's "i'ear of Revolutica .

Perry's Franl-s

Porter's Knights of Malta

Raikes's .Inurnal

Riddle's Latin Dictionaries .
Rogers's Essays from Edinb. Review .

" CSaiii.) Recollections
Roset's Engl sh T'nesnurus .
Schimrr.elPeuninck's Memoirs of Port
Koyal

SchimmelPenninck'sPiinciples of Beauty 20 I
Schmitz's History of Greece . . . ""

Southey's Doctor

Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography

Lectures on French History .
Sydney Smith's Work- ....
" Lectures

Memoirs . . .

Taylor's Loyola

" Wesley

Thirlwall's History of Greece .
Turner's Anglo-Saxons ....
L'wins's Memoirs and Letters
Vehse's Austrian Court ....
W'ade's Enffland's Greatness .
Young's Christ of History

Geography and Atlases.

Brewer's Tlistorical Atlas
Butler's Geography Lnd Atlases .
Cabinet Gazetteer ...
Johnston's General Gazetteer
M'CuUoch's Geographical Dictionary .
Maunder's Treasury of Geography
Murray's Enevclop;pdia of Geography .
Sharp's Eiitish Gazttteer

Juvenile Books.

Amy Herbert . . . .
CleveHaU . . . .

Earl's Daughter (The) .
Experience of Life .

Gertrude

Howitts Boy's Country Book
(Mary)ChUdren'sYe

Katharine Ashton

Laneton Parsonage ....
Margaret Percival . . . .
Piesse's Chymical, Natural, and Phy-
sical Mag'ic

Pycroffs CoUegian's Guide .

Medicine, Surgery, &c.

Brodie's Psychological Inquiries
Bull's Hints to Mothers .

" Management of Children

" Work on Blindness
Copland's Dictionary of Medicine
Gust's Invalid's Own Book
Holland's Mental Physiology .

" Medical No'tesnnd Reflections H
Kesteven's Domestic Medicine
Pereira's Materia Medica
Richardson's Cold-water Cure
Spencer's Principles of Psychology

Miscellaneous Literature.

Bacon's (Lord) Works ....

Defence o? Eclipse of i'aifk .

De Fonblanqup on Array Administration

Eclipse of Faith

Greathed's Letters from Delhi
Greyson's Select Correspondence .
Gurney's Evening Recreations
Hassall's Adultf rations Detected, &c. .
Haydn's Book of Dignities
Holland's Mental Physiology

CLASSIFIED IKDEX TO CATALOGUE.

Hooker's Kew Guide

Hewitt's Rural Life of England .

" Visits to Remarkalilo Pl.ues
Jameson's CommonpUice-Book
Jeffrey's (Loiei) Essays .
Last of the Old Squires .
Lettersof a Betrothed ..
Macaulay's Critical and Hist. Essays

" Speeches ...
Mackintosti's M iscellaneous Works
Martineau's Miscellanies
Pycroffs Enghsh Heading .
Rich s Companion to Latin Dictionary
Riddle's Latin Dictionaries .
Rowton's Debater .
Sii Roger De foverlcy .
Smith's (Rev. Sydney) Works
Southey's Doctor, &c. .
Spencer's Essays
Stephen's Essays
Stow's Training System .
Thomson's Laws of Tlinueht
Trevelyan on the Native Languaces of
India ....'.,

Zumpt's Latin Grammar

Natural History in general.

Agassiz on Classification ... 5

Catlow's Popular Conchology . . 8

Ephemera's Book of the >almon . . 9

Garratt's Mari els of Instinct . . . 10

Gosse's Katural History of Jamaica . 10

Kirby and Spence's Entomology . . 13

Lee's Elements of Natural History . 13

Maunder's Natural History . . . li!

Morris's Anecdotes in Natural History 17

Quatrefages' Rambles of a Naturalist . 19
Stonehenge on the Dog . . . .22

Turton'sShellsof the British Islands . 23

Van der Hoeven's Handbook of Zoology 2i

Waterton's Essays on Natural History . 24

I Youatt's The Dog .... 24
1 " The Horse . . . .24

I One-Volume Encyclopaedias and
Dictionaries.

Blaine's Rural Sports .... 6

Brande's Science, Literature, and Art . G

Copland's Dictionary of Medicine . 8

Cresy's Civil Engineering ... 8
Gwilt's Arcliitecture . , . .10

Johnston's Geographical Dictionary . 13

Loudon's .\gnculture .... 14

" Rural Architecture . . 14

" Gardening .... 14

Pla

Trees and Shrubs .
M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary .
** Dictionary of Commerce ,

Murray's F.ncyclopredia of Geography .
Sharp's British Gazetteer
Lre's Dictionary of Arts, &c. .
■yVebster's Domestic Economy

Religious and Moral Works.

Afternoon of Life

Calvert's Wife's Manual . . .8

Catz and Farlic's Moral Emblems . 8

Cleve Hall 20

Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul . 8

Cotton's Instructions in Christianity , 8
Dale's Domestic Litui;2y . . . U

Defence of Ecli/jse of Faith ... 9
Earl's Daughter (The) . . . .20

Eclipse of Faith u

Englishman's Greek Concordance . 9

Heb. & Chald. Concord. 'J

Eiperience (The) of Life . . . 20

Gertrude 2ll

Harrison's Light of tlie Forge . . JO

Home's Introduction to Scriptures . 11

Abridgment of ditto - . . 11

Hue's Christ.aiiity in China ... 12

Humphreys's J'nia6to Illuminated . 12

Ivors, by tlie Author of yl»ii/ifcfie)( . 20

Jameson's Saints and Martyrs . . 13

" Monastic Legends . . 13

" Legends of the Madonna . 13

** on Female Employment . . 12

Jeremy Taylor's Works .... 13

Katharine Ashton 20

Koiiig's Pictorial Life of Luther . . 10

Laneton Parsonage 20

Letters to my Unknoivn Friends . .13

Lyra Germanica 7

Maguire's Rome 15

Margaret Percival 20

Marshman's Srrampore Mission . . 15

Martineau's Christian Life . . .15

" Hymns .... 15

" Studies of Christianity . 15

Merivale's Christian Records . . 16

Milner's Church of Christ ... 16

Moore on the Use of the Body . . 17

" " Soul ana Body . . 16

" 's Man and his Motives . . 17

Morning Clouds 17

Neale's Closing Scene . . . .17

Pattison's Earth and Word ... 18

Powell's Christianity without Judaism . 19

„ Older of Nature . .19

Readings for Lent 20

" Confirmation . . .20
Robinson's Lexicon to the Greek Tes-
tament 19

Self-Examination for Confirmation . 20
Sewell's History of the Early Church . 20
Sinclair's Journey of Life . . .21
Smith's (Svdney) Moral Philosophy . 21
" (G!) Wesleyan Methodism . 21
" (J.) Shipwreck of St. Paul . 21
Southey's Life of Wesley ... 21
Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography . 23

Taylor's Loyola 22

" Wesley 22

Theologia Germanica .... 7

Thumb Bible (The) . . . .22

Young's Christ of History ... 24

" Mystery 24

Poetry and the Drama,

Baillie's (Joanna) Poetical Woiks .
Calvert's Wife's Manual .
Goldsmith's Poems, illustrated
L. E. L.'s Poetical VVorks
Linwood's Anthologia Osoniensis

4 CLASSIFIED IKDEX TO CATALOGUE.

.

„

Stable Talk and Table Talk

. in

. 23

M^iulliyTLa^s of Ancimt liome"

Stonehenge on the Dog

MacDonaWs Witliin and Witliout

" " Greyhound

Poems . . .

The Stud, for Practical' Purposes

'. 11

Montgomery's Poetical Works
Moore's Poetical Works .

" Selections (illustrated) .
" LallaRookh

Veterinary Medicine, &c.

" Irish Melodies .

" National Melodies .

Cecil's Statde Practice . .

" Sacred Songs [u-Uh Music)

" Stud Farm ...

B

" Sonjs and Ballads .

Hunt's Horse and his Master

. 13

Shakspeare.bvBowdler .

Hunting- Field (The) . .

. 11

Southey's Poetical Works .

Miles's Horse-Shoeini .

. 16

Thomson's Seasons, illustrated .

" on tlie Horse's Foot
Po,ket and the Stud . .

. 16
. 11

Practical Horsemanship .

. 11

The Sciences iu general an

a

Richardson's Hoiseminship
Stable Talk and TaMe Talk .

. 19
. 10

Mathematics.

Stonehense on the Dog .
Stud (The) ....

. 23

Youatt's The Dog .

'. 24

Araso's Meteorological Essays
" Popular Astronomy . .

5

" The Horse

. 24

5

Bourne on the Steam Engine

" 's (Catechism of Steam- Engine
Bovd's Naval Cadet's Manual

Voyages and Travels.

Brande's Dictionary of Science, &c.

" Lectures on Organic Chemistrj
Conington's Chemical Analysis .

Baker's Wanderings in Ceylon

Earth's African Travels .

Cresy's Civil Engineering

Burton's K.asl Af.ica

7 •

De la Rive's Electricity .

Grove's Correlation of Physical Forces

" Medina and Mecca .

Domenech's Deserts of North Am

Herschel's Outlines of Astronomy .

Texas Hud Mexico

H olland 's Mental Physiology .

First Impressions of the New Wor

Id '. 9

Humboldt's Aspects of Nature

Forester's S.irdinia ami Corsica

" Cosmos

Hinchlifl's Travels in the Alps

Hunt on Light

Howitt's Art-Student in Munich

Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia .

(VV.) Victoria .

Marcet's (Mrs.) Conversations

Hue's Chinese Empire .

Morrll's Elements of Psychology .

Hudson and Kennedy's Mont Blan

C . 13

Moseley's Engineerina and Architectur

Humboldt's Aspects of Nature

Ogilvie's Master-Builder's Plan .

Hutchinson's Western Africa

Owen's Lectures on Comp Anatomy

Kane's Wanderings of an Artist

Pereira on Polarised Light .

Lady's Tour round Monte Rosa
M'f'lure's North West Passase

Peschel's Elements of Physics

Phillips's Mmeralogy . . .

Mac Dougall's Vnv.iEe of the Iteso

ute '. 15

" Guide to Geology .

Minturn's New York to Delhi

Powell's Inity of Worlds . .

Mbllhausen's Journey to the Pacifi

c . 16

" Christianity without Judaisn

Osbnrn's Quedah

" Order of Nature . .

Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers .

Smee's Electro-Metallurgy .

Scherzers Central America

Steam-Engine, by the Artisan Club

Senior's Journal in Tuikey and G

recce 'JO

Webb's Celestial Objects for Commor

Snow's Tierra del Fueso .

Telescopes

24

TennenfsCevlon

Von Tempskv's Mexico and Guat

mala 23

Wandermffs in thf I,;.nd of Ham

Rural Sports.

Weld's Vacations in Ireland
" Pyrenees, West and East
" United States and Canada

Baker's Rifle and Hound in Ceylon

• ^

Blaine's Dictionary of Sports .

Cecil's Stable Practice . . .
•' Stud Farm ....

8

Works of Fiction.

Davy's F.shing Excursions , 3 Se, ies
Ephemera on Angling . .
Book of the Salmon

9
9

Connolly's Romance of the Rank

. ft

9

Cruiksh^nk's Kalhtafi .

Freeman and Salvin's Falconry

10

Howitt's Tallangetta

. 13

Hawker's Young Sportsman .

n

Mildred Norman .

. 16

The Hunting-Field ....

11

Moore's Epicurean .

Idle's Hints on Shooting

. 12

Sewell's Ursula

. 21)

Pocket and the Stud

i;

Sir Roaer De Coverley

Practical Horsemanship.

11

Sketches (The.i.Tluee Tales .

. 21

Pycroft's Cricket- Field .
Richardson's Horsemanship .

19

Southev's Doctor. *c. .
Trollop'e'sBarchester Towprs .

. 21
. 23

. . 23

Eonalds's Fly-Fisher's Entomology

20

" Warden

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