covert. He has then only to sow buck-wheat, sunflowerseeds, and plant Jerusalem artichokes for the pheasants ; and Swedish turnips, Dutch clover, or parsley, for the hares, on his own side, and cut down a space broad enough to shoot, on the enemy's side, in the hedgerow, which will soon induce him to compromise on equitable terms: because, should his competitor even do the same, he will most probably still have his share; and, if not, he will get away a great part of his game.

If the hedgerow is hollow at the bottom, he should send some one to the end of it, as many of the old hares would probably run forward rather than cross him, or take away from home.

If a rival shooter (some stranger) races to get before you, push him hard for a long time, always letting him have rather the advantage, and then give him the double without his seeing you. Having done this, go quietly round (supposing you have been beating up wind); and, on reaching the place where you began, work closely and steadily the whole of the ground or covert that you have both been racing over, and you will be sure to kill more game than he, who is beating and shooting in haste, through fear of your getting up to him; and (if the wind should rise) driving the dispersed, and, consequently, closest-lying birds to your beat, as fast as he finds them.

When staying in a town, take care not to let every one know where you shoot, by pompously riding through it with a display of guns and dogs; but either send on the latter in the dark, or take them closely shut up in your dogcart. If driving, cover your shooting-dress with a macintosh if on horseback, ride out of the town on some road diametrically opposite to where your sport lies, and then

double back again on other roads, or by crossing the country. If you return by daylight, enter the town again by this means, or at all events in the most quiet and private manner, otherwise you will soon have your beat (if on a neutral place) worked by every townsman who can muster a dog and gun.

If there is one month worse than another for the amusement of shooting, I should be apt to consider that it is November. The warmer weather of September and October is then gone by, and the birds become wild and cunning. The sports of rabbit, woodcock, and wildfowl shooting, are not in general to be fully enjoyed till December and January; so that, in the event of a sportsman finding it necessary to leave the country during the shooting-season, on any business, the precise time for which might be at his own option, I should advise him to choose this, the middle month, for laying aside his gun.

COCK SHOOTING.

The pursuit of woodcocks, with good spaniels, may be termed the fox-hunting of shooting!

A real good sportsman feels more gratified by killing a woodcock, or even a few snipes, than bags full of game, that have been reared on his own or neighbour's estate; and one who does not, may be considered a pot-hunter. In a country where cocks are scarce, be sure to put a marker in a tree, before you attempt to flush one a second time; and when you have marked down a cock, remember how very apt he is to run, instead of rising from the spot in which you may have seen him drop. If a cock flies away,

and continues to rise wild, go safely beyond where he may have last dropped, and then back again to beat for him (leaving some one to make a noise on the side where you had before advanced on him), and he will then most likely either lie close, or fly towards you. If this will not do, take your station quietly to windward (as cocks generally fly against the wind), give a whistle when you are ready, and let the other person then draw on, and flush him. His cry of "Mark!" will assist in frightening and driving the cock forward, and be a signal for your preparation.

No more on cock shooting, as directions enough about it have been given by other authors.

SNIPE SHOOTING.

The pursuit of snipes is declined by many, who plead their inability to kill them; than which nothing may be more easily acquired by a pretty good shot. Snipe shooting is like fly fishing: you should not fix a day for it, but when you have warm windy weather, shoulder your gun and start with all possible despatch. Should there have been much rain, allow the wind to dry the rushes a little before you begin to beat the best ground, or the snipes may not lie well. Although these birds frequent wet places, yet the very spot on which they sit requires to be dry to their breasts, in order to make them sit close; or, in other words, lie well.

If they spring from nearly under your feet, remain perfectly unconcerned, till they have done twisting, and then bring up your gun and fire; but, if you present it in haste,

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they so tease and flurry, that you become nervous, and, from a sort of panic, cannot bring the gun up to a proper aim. If, on the other hand, they rise at a moderate distance, down with them before they begin their evolutions. When they cross, be sure to fire well forward, and (if you possibly can) select, as I have before said, a windy day for this amusement; as snipes then usually lie better, and, on being sprung, hang against the wind, and become a good mark.

In springing snipes, always contrive to get to windward of them, by which you will be more likely to prevent their moving, and seldom fail to get a cross shot; in taking which a young sportsman is not so liable to be confused by their twisting.

To kill snipes, first go silently down wind to walk up the wilder ones; afterwards let go an old pointer up wind to find those which may have lain so close as to allow you to pass and before you spring them, take care to make a circle, and head your dog. Look always for snipes in places which are not frozen. I have always found, that the worst time to shoot snipes is in a white frost, as these birds then generally take to the uplands, or get into some rivulet, in small whisps, or flocks, and spring up all together, instead of being well dispersed, and thereby affording a number of shots, as they do in boisterous weather. But, after a frost has brought the snipes into the country, you are pretty sure of good sport on the first open windy day that follows it. Stick to these birds when once you find them, as they may all disappear in one night. In the New Forest, however, Old Primmer, the celebrated keeper, told me that snipes will generally remain in, or near, the same quarter, when not disturbed; so

that, by leaving them quiet awhile at the fall of the year, they will call down all the passing flights, and, if you have patience to wait, you may get a brilliant day's sport.

There is sometimes a peculiar difficulty in snipe shooting, which every old sportsman must acknowledge (though I have never yet heard it remarked!), and that is, the inconvenience of the place from which you have frequently to stop and fire: -sometimes up to your knees in a rapid stream, or having to pull your leg out of a stiff bog, at every step; and then being obliged to "look all ways at once," lest you may slip in over your boots; and all this while the snipes keep flying up so fast as to require the quickest shooting. This is the reason that these birds are never so sure a mark as other game; and hence the cry-out about extreme difficulty. But even in this there is a little tact required: for instance, a sportsman should go as quiet as possible till he is firm on his legs; and he should at all times walk slow in treading a bog; because if he steps too fast, he is neither so steady nor so ready to stop and fire; and, of course, more liable to stumble on the springing of a snipe.

Before I conclude under the head of "snipe shooting," I'am induced to insert a letter that I wrote to Mr. Martin, wherein I had occasion to introduce this subject. I hope my readers will pardon me for copying the letter at full length; as, although in other parts wholly irrelevant to the present subject, yet it all, more or less, may concern young sportsmen. They may, however, say, and with reason, what can snipe shooting have to do with fly fishing? With their indulgence, then, I will tell them :—most young sportsmen, probably some old ones, are not aware, that no two sports may be better combined than snipe