The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-10-01

| millponds at whose heads are coves and runs,
| then to quiet lakes whose borders hold all
| growths that thrive where water is Take the
wide. smooth roads. made firm and dry with
| gravel from the river hunks. and drive among
the smaller hills. and find in dale and upon tho
| gently sloping side hills great alder patches
| growing in the soft, oozy ground beneath
| them. Here. too. are the old wood lots. where
chestnut sprouts are making their embryo
trunks and branches among the charcoal pits.
| White birclIes, sumachs. baby pines and hem
! lock are here and there sprnkled about.
and on tho wet side hills are hardhacks in
| among evergreens. tamaracks, and laurels.
| The dry hiIlsides hold their long. wide
stretches OF alder and Of birch with raspberry
and blackberry vines galore and ferns. In
| valley and on hill is the landscape gladdened
| with frugal fields OF corn, potatoes. and buck
| wheat. Above and below the cosey lake that,
| Glistening in the sunlight snuggles in its
| pocket hole OF valley. are bog meadows
| fringed with small trees and alder growth.
| while in the distance stretches far and wide
out into the largest valley the great swamp
that is cut in twain by the father Of all the
| rivers that run In this shire.
To this country. long ere the Melting SHOWS
| have left the woods, the hollows. and the zig
gag, fences. comes PhiHohe!d minor. the wood
cock. the doodle bird" Of jocular Nimrods.
the bs brown spiGs with ,b the
T%D s3sfs3s4 S Is NsFdS 'sRT
other test6ered friends at this period ID.
his sh'ly turns nr;as to thoughts
himself. It is at this time of his wooing tina.
he proceeds IN fashion peculiar t. himself
er's boy can tell You how at dusk. when the
light OF uny is turned down low. the woodcock
s in q Ss S BY sp
tions to n height Of 100 feet or more. uttering
nearly the IDENTICAL spot Of ground from which
his mate and she often Joins him in This
strange performance. The note "quock
time. for upon being suddenly flushed or
wounded. or when squeezed In the hand. the
yoand MAKE Sha hS hnys
barely wing tipped him; and see what large.
soft; ustrous eyes OF dark hazel this night
seem. VIVA. orSs to make love with il
the, bright moonlight, in which he reNseIs
doings. Poor chap: he Is at great disadvan.
tage in the daylight. and. from his want o:
men call dolt Jeie CONNIE ans Stcasse;, be-
cause his ,contrcrs. SnoIopar rnsticoa, Of Eng
a Rhs AND thus wnoGcosR ssG
caused by the peculiar use Of his wings ~
sns ,r0% thS St fSo d SHf IN his Sh it
pose The Intensity OF this ',wh!stline seems
to vary wilt tho angle at which he rses-thc
sound. This Is not always noticeable in III,
fight by day. and at mig hit one is only made
Of his wings: It Is presumable that he dies
about them to-, too as in the daytimrs,, without
cock birds who ,arry late in the fall. veterans
with hard, dry, reddish logs. are often ,desig
the sI prera f Of ibis sound with them they "
are ieet of foot and upon being flushed two
or three times. leave foi parts unknown.
tynnlpnpk's prAnla "A dr. IanNy
and gEnss.. rudely and with little apparent
care. The fayorite spot for breeding is on the
a little ,rll and at the foot OF some tree clump
Of bushes or aHrels TIE ipyenl" nroo! 70
too. in tho iowland swamps,. undcre stump OF
fallen log. At times they viii build on top Of
pGt e them @ before they cam "N their wings
1t Is rountrvmen's tell that the parents tote
them on their backs to rares Of SAFETY y,, at
miniature bi! and light "oJt-Hu.'HH down 80
They have three reddish brown stripes that
run from head to tail along The back and
Underneath the eyes. It is in July that they hey
are most esculent and delicate, to the gour-
ss .he and nP e ssa the sussr
side hi, where springs abound and tho
dry one they are all forced TO resort to tho
moist lowland covers, though they too always
liz this month unless Hooded hy continuous
rains. Later on in the season the wooicock
feeds to a moderate extent on the uplands by
turning over leaves and subsisting upon such
bugs and insects as meet his fancy. During
the winter months in the South this is tho
main source Of their Rustenance, hut the ma !
ture Of their food imparts less desirable
taste to the flesh.
The operation of "horing" consists in fore |
Ing the bill into the earth neariy M to whore !
tho feathers begin to grow at it's base, and up-
parently re- iuirss some little eXeriiOn, though
ono hungry and Industrious bird will make
tho ground appear rs though the woods
wore fill of EN-" to tho neophyte. 1t is well
known that the woodcock lives by suction as
well as by extracting worms from the soil He
has long, slim. sharp pointed tongue that.
no doubt. is extremely sensitive. and enables
him IN discern what he is In search OF beneath .
the ground. A friend says that he has
watched woodcock feeding, and that he first
hores numerous holes. and then patters with |
feet and wing tips on tho neighboriug ground |
In imitation OF tho gentle falling OF rain that
he may coax the earth worms through tho |
behring's to the surface and thus have them |
fall an easy rroy to his ingenuity and appetite. |
During the early part OF August begins tho !
moulting Reason. which lasts TIL the first week
in October. though there are always some lag |
CARDS who fall to get their new fall suits home |
from the taiors aud dressmakers as soon as |
the most Of thCar brethren. The great essen |
woodcock now seeks high ground. and takes |
n IN II hi ~ ala a. LII -