I have examined a number of these birds, and in no instance have I found fish in them.

The brent geese are very fond of sanding, and resort to the bars for that purpose, at which places they are killed in great numbers by the gunners, who secrete themselves in excavations made in the sand. The bar known as "Fire Island Bar," on the south side of Long Island, is a celebrated place for procuring them. It is included in Nichols's patent, and rented by two brothers by the name of Alliby, at one hundred and twenty dollars per annum. I am informed that these men send to the New York market annually several hundred dollars worth of birds, the largest proportion of which is brent.

This species, when passing over our bays, avoids as much as possible the points and "kussicks," which makes it very difficult to be obtained, unless procured in the manner just mentioned, or by shooting from "batteries" anchored in the shallow parts of the bay. These batteries are constructed in the following manner, by making a box six feet long, two feet and a half wide, one foot deep, with the sides and edge shelving on which sand is placed to imitate a bar, as well as to assist in sinking the "machine" as it is called-that its uttermost edges may be about even with the surface of the water. The gunner, by lying in the box on his back, is perfectly concealed, and having a large number of decoys around the battery, the deception is so perfect, that the birds often approach so near as to give him an opportunity of discharging with effect two double-barrelled guns into a flock. Great havoc is made in this way, particularly among young birds. This mode of shooting requires two persons-one to shoot from the battery, the other to attend with a boat, to collect the dead birds, and drive up flocks sitting on the bay. It is, however, objected to by many, they supposing it to be too destructive, as well as the means of driving from the bay those that escape. The brent, especially, is a wanderer, seldom remaining more than a few days in one place, under any circumstances -which induces many to suppose that they have a right to secure them in any way that fancy dictates.

In 1838, a law was passed in the state of New York, prohibiting batteries. For a short time it was respected, but the gun

ners who depend upon water-fowl shooting for a great part of their living, considered it such an invasion of their rights that they defied it; at first shooting with masks, at the same time threatening to shoot the informer, should one be found. They finally laid aside their masks, and the law became a dead letter, and has since been repealed. A far greater evil is that of firing, from boats, while sailing on their feeding-grounds. After having been shot at in this way, I have seen them rise high in the air, and steer for the sea. I think it would be as well if gunners generally would agree to abandon this unsportsman-like practice.

The brent never dives for its food; but when wounded, it is not unusual for it to attempt escape by diving. As it seldom passes thirty or forty yards under the water, it is generally secured. With the lovers of water fowl the brent is highly esteemed. Even the adult birds are tender and juicy, and free from a fishy flavour, but at times, from the nature of its food, its flesh acquires a sedgy taste. It is considered superior for the table late in the spring. The epicure well knows the merits of the "May Brent."

In the plumage there are no markings by which the sex can be distinguished. Many undertake to determine it by the white markings on the side of the neck of the male; but this cannot be depended upon. I have frequently selected them by this supposed distinction, and on dissection the male and female organs have appeared without reference to such characters.

Their unwillingness to give up their wandering habits, makes it difficult to domesticate them. I have frequently tried it with young birds, having taken the precaution to cut off a joint from one of their wings, thus rendering them incapable of flying; still they would wander to the creeks leading to the bay, and doubtless have fallen an easy prey to some passing sportsman. With a good deal of attention, particularly when associated with Canada Geese that have been domesticated, its native propensities are more easily subdued; but in the domestic state they have never been known to breed.

The average weight of the Brent is four pounds. The adult can be distinguished to a certainty from the young, by its wings, which are entirely black, while those of the latter are broadly

tipped with white. As soon as the ice begins to form in our bays, it retires southward. Returning in April, it continues its visit until late in May, when they assemble at the "great nursery" at the north.

The White-Fronted Goose is very rarely met with at the north, yet according to Mr. Audubon, "it passes through the interior of the Southern and Western States during winter, as well as along the coast, from Massachusetts to Texas; and is said to pass through the interior of the fur countries in large flocks, to its breeding places, which are the woody districts to the north of the seventy-seventh parallel, and also the islands of the Arctic Sea."

The Snow Goose is nearly pure white in plumage. It is much more rare than the Canada Goose, with which it usually associates. The whiteness of its plumage renders it a conspicuous mark for the sportsman, who usually selects it in preference on account of its juiciness and flavour.

The American Swan is in plumage pure white; bill and feet black. Length 4 feet, wing 21 inches. The Swan passes the season of reproduction at the dreary regions of the far North. At the approach of winter he returns to the warmer parts of the continent. In its migratory course, it is frequently met with in the Middle Atlantic Districts, and is quite common on the Chesapeake Bay during winter. The Trumpeter Swan differs from the former by being superior in size as well as in anatomical

structure.

This elegant bird is frequently domesticated, and by its spotless plumage, and graceful movements when on its native element, fails not to attract the attention of the passer-by. The young are highly esteemed for the table.

THE WILD TURKEY.

THE great size and beauty of the Wild Turkey, its value as a delicate and highly prized article of food, and the circumstance of its being the origin of the domestic race now generally dispersed over both continents, render it one of the most interesting of the birds indigenous to the United States of America.

The unsettled parts of the States of Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana, an immense extent of country to the north-west of these districts, upon the Mississippi and Missouri, and the vast regions by these rivers from their confluence to Louisiana, including the wooded parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, and Alabama, are the most abundantly supplied with this magnificent bird. It is less plentiful in Georgia and the Carolinas, becomes still scarcer in Virginia and Pennsylvania, and is now very rarely seen to the eastward of the last mentioned States. In the course of my rambles through Long Island, the State of New York, and the country around the lakes, I did not expect to meet with a single individual, although I was informed that some exist in those parts. Turkeys are still to be found along the whole line of the Alleghany Mountains, where they have become so wary as to be approached only with extreme difficulty. While in the Great Pine Forest, in 1829, I found a single feather that had been dropped from the tail of a female, but saw no bird of the kind. Farther eastward, I do not think

they are now to be found.

Good dogs scent the Turkeys, when in large flocks, at extraordinary distances, I think I may venture to say half a mile. Should the dog be well trained to this sport, he sets off at full speed, and in silence, until he sees the birds, when he instantly barks, and pushing as much as possible into the centre of the flock, forces the whole to take wing in different directions. This is of great advantage to the hunter, for should the Turkeys all go one way, they would soon leave their perches and run again. But when they separate in this manner, and the weather happens to be calm and lowering, a person accustomed to this

kind of sport, finds the birds with ease, and shoots them at pleasure.

When turkeys alight on a tree, it is sometimes very difficult to see them, which is owing to their standing perfectly motionless. Should you discover one when it is down on its legs, upon the branch, you may approach it with less care. But if it is standing erect, the greatest precaution is necessary, for should it discover you, it instantly flies off, frequently to such a distance that it would be vain to follow.

When a turkey is merely winged by a shot, it falls quickly to the ground in a slanting direction. Then, instead of losing time by tumbling and rolling over, as other birds often do when wounded, it runs off at such a rate that unless the hunter be provided with a swift dog, he may bid farewell to it. I recollect coming on one shot in this manner, more than a mile from the tree where it had been perched, my dog having traced it to this distance, through one of those thick cane-brakes that cover many portions of our rich alluvial lands near the banks of our western rivers. Turkeys are easily killed if shot in the head, the neck, or the upper part of the breast; but if hit in the hind parts only, they often fly so far as to be lost to the hunter. During winter many of our real hunters shoot them by moonlight, on the roosts, where these birds will frequently stand a repetition of the reports of a rifle, although they would fly from the attack of an owl, or even, perhaps, from his presence. Thus sometimes nearly a whole flock is secured by men capable of using these guns in such circumstances. They are often destroyed in great numbers when most worthless, that is, early in the fall or autumn, when many are killed in their attempts to cross the rivers, or immediately after they reach the shore.

Whilst speaking of the shooting of turkeys, I feel no hesitation in relating the following occurrence, which happened to myself. While in search of game one afternoon early in autumn, when the males go together, and the females are by themselves also, I heard the clucking of one of the latter, and immediately finding her perched on a fence, made towards her. Advancing slowly and cautiously, I heard the yelping notes of some gobblers, when I stopped and listened, in order to ascertain the direction in