Notes on Game & Game Shooting

RSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LI RSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LI 1 CHIFi IE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORKU LIBRARY OF HE UltlVERSITY <5V HE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORN NOTES ON GAME & GAME SHOOTING. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS AND ANIMALS, AND ON THE SPORT THEY AFFORD FOR THE GUN IN GREAT BRITAIN. ILLUSTRATED. BY J. J.jMANLEY, M.A., " AUTHOR OF NOTES" ON FISH AND FISHING/' ETC. LONDON: THE BAZAAR" OFFICE, 170, STRAND, W.C. LONDON : PRINTED BY ALFRED BRADLEY, 170, STRAND, W.C. OK PREFACE. THESE Notes, good reader or, as I should prefer to address you, brother sportsman were, in substance, contributed from time to time to the columns of the Country ; and are now, with some additions and cor- rections, presented in book form. They do not aspire to be considered as a complete natural history of the objects of the home sportsman's pursuit, nor as an exhaustive treatise on the science and practice of shooting. The small size of the volume precludes such an ambitious idea. They hardly aspire to be more than miscellaneous notes and jottings, the of and observation results, mainly, my own experience ; and if sportsmen generally, young and old especially the former take any pleasure in their perusal, one object, at least, of their publication will be attained. But though the volume is of a somewhat discursive character, each chapter is written on a more or less iv Preface. definite plan, the nomenclature, the natural history, the method of pursuit, and the gastronomic merits of each bird and beast of sport being discussed in order. Some apology, perhaps, may be expected for the omission of Notes on Wild Fowl and Fowling, with the exception of those on Snipe. I can only say that the subject is far too wide an one to be dealt with in a volume of the present dimensions. It would really require a large volume to itself. The introduction of Rooks, &c., may seem out of but I will that to some readers it be place ; hope may interesting. But whatever be adjudged the merits or otherwise of the letter-press for which I am responsible, I feel sure that all who take these Notes in hand will be pleased with the admirable Illustrations provided by Mr. James Temple. J. J. M. August, 1880. CONTENTS. Page. GROUSE. The Game Derivation of the . Months Etymology .of "Tetrao" " " word Grouse The Grouse Family Haunts of Grouse The Capercaillie Its Plumage Its Wooing The Capercaillie in Scotland Capercaillie Shooting Black Grouse The Blackcock and Greyhen The Mating of Blackcock Shooting of Black- game Their Flight Distribution Disease and Hybrids The Ptarmigan Its Habitat Ptarmigan Shooting Plumage The Red Grouse Is a Native Bird Southern Limits of its Range Attempts to Acclimatise further south Plumage Variation in Size and Colour Food Red Grouse Shooting Hints to Grouse Shooters Gastronomic I 5 PARTRIDGES. The First of September Partridge Season of '1879 Natural History of the Partridge The word Perdix Pairing Haunts Indige- nous Nesting Protection of her Brood by the Partridge Attempts to Tame Partridges Domesticated Partridges The "French" or "Guernsey" Partridge Netting Partridges in Olden Times Modern Means of Partridge Shooting Partridge Shooting as a Sport The Objections to Game Preserving Advantages of Partridge Shooting Dress Advice to Partridge Shooters The Sportsman's Luncheon Evening "Driving and Kiting" Partridge Shooting in France Hints to young Par- tridge Shooters Gastronomic The Praises of Partridges Test of Age of Partridges S3 112 vi Contents. PHEASANTS. Page. Association with October Natural History of the Pheasant The Pheasant hi England The Ring-necked Pheasant The "Pied" Habits of Pheasants Plumage Panegyrics of the Pheasant Ants' Eggs for Pheasants Hybridising Hen Pheasant assuming Male Plumage Pheasant Shooting Pheasants and Poachers " " Battue and Open Shooting Stonehenge's Description of the Battue Legitimacy of Battue Shooting Over-preservation of Pheasants Mr. F. R. Bevan on Battue Shooting "Rough" Pheasant Shooting October Pheasant Shooting Dogs Hints on Pheasant Shooting Shooting at Pheasants Culinary Virtues of Pheasants Pheasants for Food Poisoning of Pheasants from Eating Shot 115 162 HARES. " " Hares not strictly Game Natural History Etymology of the word "Hare" Change of Colour in the Scotch Hare The Common Hare Tricks of Hares to escape observation Likely Spots for Hares Fecundity Colour and "Weight of Hares Mosaic Prohibition of the Hare as Food Domestication Cow- per's Tame Hares Shooting v. Coursing Hares Carrying away Shot Curious Accident with Two Hares Hare Driving in Scot- land The Hare Gastronomically and Economically Age of the Hare Close Time The Cooking of Hares Coursed and Hunted Hares 165208 RABBITS. Not Game according to Law Useful in Pheasant Preserves Natural History Etymology of the Word Habits and Method of Life Prolificness Domestication Hybrids between Rabbit and Hare Different kinds of Rabbits Gambols of Wild Rabbits Rabbit Shooting Dogs Ferreting Shooting with Ferrets The Seamy Side of Ferreting Management of Ferrets The act of Shooting the Rabbit Cautions The Rabbit Gastronomically Contents. vii Page. considered Prejudices against Rabbits Methods of Cooking Rabbit Warrens Rabbit Farming" Tinned" Rabbits Rabbit Law The Government Bill of May, 1880 211 244 QUAILS. Not recognised as Game Natural History Characteristics Ety- mology of the Word Home of the Quail Methods of Capturing The Note of the Quail Habits Quails at Malta Quails in England Districts most affected Importation of Quails Pug- " nacity Curious Ideas concerning the Flesh of Quails The " Daintiest of Eating 247272 WOODCOCKS. November the Month for Shooting Snipe and Woodcock Natural History of the Woodcock Plumage Appearance Intelligence Habits Distribution Varieties Woodcocks and theirYoung Migrations The Native Country of the Woodcock The Arrival of Woodcock Choice of Covers Traditions concerning Wood- cock Tactics of Woodcock Shooting The Haunts of the Woodcock Beating Marking Down Shooting Flight of the Woodcock Shooting in Covers Shot for Woodcock Shooting Pleasure of Woodcock Shooting Culinary Merits 275 316 SNIPE. Snipe Shooting a Winter Sport Natural History of the Snipe- Various kinds "Drumming" of Snipe The Common Snipe- Haunts of the Snipe Snipe Grounds about London Snipe Shooting on the Essex Marshes On Dartmoor The Vagaries of Snipe Shooting Snipe Hints on Snipe Shooting Shot for Snipe Shooting Dogs Beating for Snipe Marking down Snipe Terms used Merits of when speaking of Snipe Culinary Snipe 319354 vni Contents. Page. ROOKS. Rook-shooting a definitely recognised Sport Natural History of the Rook Rooks distinguished from Crows Alleged Damage to Crops by Rooks Entitled to Protection at the hands of the Farmer and Game Preserver Difficulty of Establishing Rookeries Tenacity to their Habitations Habits in their Communities The London Rook The Rookery in Gray's Inn Gardens Rook Shooting Decrease in the number of Rooks Social Aspects of Rook Shooting Advice to Rook Shooters Rook Pie . .357 389 GROUSE NOTES ON GAME & GAME SHOOTING. GROUSE. THE French, amongst other mad capers in which they nationally indulged at the close of the last century, re-arranged and gave new names to the months of the year, basing the nomenclature they invented on the real or supposed meteorological condition of each thirty days, or on the vegetable productions of the earth which ought then to be in season. Thus there was Nivose, "Snow- " " month ;" Pluviose, Rain-month ;" Ventose, Wind- " " month ;" Floreal, Flower-month ;" Thermidor, Heat- " month ;" Fru6lidor, Fruit-month," and so on : and after all there was a method in this madness, for the names were by no means badly chosen. If English sportsmen, B 2 4 Notes on Game and Game Shooting. and particularly the lovers of the gun, had to re-name the *' months, they would doubtless call August Grouse- " " month/' September Partridge-month," Oftober Phea- " (( sant-month," November Snipe" or Woodcock- month," and so forth. It is to the three first named of these months that the great body of sportsmen in the United Kingdom look forward from the time that they put away their guns at the end of January till they overhaul them at the beginning of August, preparatory to operations on the u Twelfth, through November, "Snipe" or Woodcock- month," with December and January, according to circum- stances and the season, afford plenty of miscellaneous shooting. In making a few notes and jottings on the above named birds, and the sport they afford us, I naturally take Grouse first in order, as in the Sportsman's Calendar they are the first game birds with which he deals at the opening of the shooting season. Ornithologically Grouse are classed under the order of the Gallinae, and are thus allied with various families and sub-families, which come under this order, for instance, pheasants, partridges, peacocks, turkeys, and "fowls," domestic and otherwise. The grouse family is that of the Tetraonidae and here I at the outset a ; must indulge weakness I have for etymology, and ask why this term Etymology of "Tetrao: was applied to the family in question. I know that " " " the judicious Hooker says, and says well, that he " reason for all eth all reason who seeketh a things destroy ; but I confess I like etymological reasons for nomencla- is of a scientific character and it ture which suggestive ; often happens that getting to the root of words opens up questions of interest connected with a subject in hand, in addition to settling that of verbal derivation. When writing my "Notes on Our Game Birds," in The Country, I was candid enough to confess that I was at a " loss for the etymology of Tetraonidse," or rather of "Tetrao," as applied to each species of grouse. I suggested that it might be derived from the Greek " word which signifies four," and sounds very like "Tetrao," and that it had been applied to grouse on account of their plump and sturdy configuration, which gave them the appearance of having bodies of four In equal sides, or rather representing solid squares.

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