. The American sportsman : containing hints to sportsmen, notes on shooting, and the habits of game birds and wild fowl of America . rried on with great spirit, sometimes con-tinue the whole night through, and the slaughter of cocks is oftenvery great; with an experienced fire-hunter it is no unusualoccurrence to bag in this way fifty couple before morning. Thisplan of taking woodcocks is very similar to that pursued ages agoby the fowlers of England, and is termed ^^Mrd-battinff. Insteadof the gun, they made use of nets to throw over the birds, andbludgeons to knock them down whenever a favou
. The American sportsman : containing hints to sportsmen, notes on shooting, and the habits of game birds and wild fowl of America . rried on with great spirit, sometimes con-tinue the whole night through, and the slaughter of cocks is oftenvery great; with an experienced fire-hunter it is no unusualoccurrence to bag in this way fifty couple before morning. Thisplan of taking woodcocks is very similar to that pursued ages agoby the fowlers of England, and is termed ^^Mrd-battinff. Insteadof the gun, they made use of nets to throw over the birds, andbludgeons to knock them down whenever a favourable opportunitypresented itself. It was also deemed very necessary in these^^bird-battings for the torch-bearer to ring a loud bell withoutintermission, as its sound at the dead hour of the night was thoughtto bewilder or stupefy the birds to such an extent that they becametransfixed to the ground, and therefore ofiered an easy mark forthe fowler. If the ringing of the bell was for a moment discon-tinued, the birds were very apt to arouse themselves from theirlethargy, fly off, and consequently frustrate the fowlers NETS AND SNARES. Formerly, when cocks were much more plentiful in England thanthey are at present, multitudes were taken in glade and spring-nets,which were hung in the moist places where their marking andmeutings were observable. These birds are very loath, whilefeeding, to pass over any obstruction that may lie in their way,but would rather pursue a confined and tortuous path than turn 236 lewiss AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. from their course for the purpose of scrambling over the slightestbarrier that may obstruct their progress. This peculiarity of woodcocks has been taken advantage of bythe fowlers and poachers of England, who are said to place theirnets between the tufts of heath, with avenues of small stonesformed on each side, leading up to them, and by this contrivanceare successful in taking great numbers. They are also capturedby these gentry by means
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjecthunting, bookyear1885
