surrounding the hut is too deep to admit of the stakes being driven into the ground, as is generally the case in those positions which are naturally insular, a long cord is drawn across the pool of water, and secured on the banks of the opposite sides, and the decoy-ducks are fastened to this cord at intervals, and when ducks are killed a dog is required to bring them, or perhaps a boat is used, which lies concealed in some contiguous reeds.

In the overflows, or artificial pieces of water, the huttier, who is generally provided with long marais-boots, walks into the water, and secures his ducks immediately, without any difficulty, especially if he has a dog to assist him, which most of them have, and then returns to his hut, reloads, and is ready forthwith for another chance. He ought to reload in the first instance; but no Frenchman ever thinks of loading his gun, in any sort of shooting, till he has bagged his game. The man who is surrounded by deep water cannot proceed with equal celerity, as it sometimes requires time to secure his wounded birds; however, rather than risk a delay by pursuing wounded birds too long, whereby he might lose a favourable opportunity for another shot, he secures the dead birds, and as many others as he can on the spot, leaving the remainder till morning, when he has no difficulty in finding most of them, with

the assistance of his dog, in the contiguous reeds and rushes. Some, however, of course escape, and become prizes for the snipe shooter who may chance to beat the marais on the succeeding day. I have bagged many in this way, and many more which had been only slightly wounded, and could fly very well, but, from having been touched, had not left the marais, but taken refuge in thick rushes and water: these birds generally lie very close to a point. The huttiers sometimes, however, beat the marais themselves at daybreak, with their dogs, in quest of their wounded birds, when they have shot into large flights during the night, and fancy any of them are lying in the vicinity of their huts, and often in this respect very much interfere with the sport of the snipe shooter, who is, perhaps, advancing to commence his sport just as they have finished theirs; however, on a favourable day for snipe shooting, the snipes don't leave the marais when disturbedthey merely change their ground, and when not shot at soon drop again, but they don't lie quite so well after having been once flushed. As soon as it is light in the morning snipes lie remarkably close.

November and December are the two best months for the huttier. Ducks are then most abundant, are in the best condition, and fetch the highest price. January is sometimes as good, if the weather be not too severe. "Les hut

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tiers generally take possession of their huts about half an hour before dark, so as to be prepared for the first flight. When I was in France, and in the daily habit of snipe shooting in the marais during the autumn, I used constantly to meet these nocturnal sportsmen proceeding to the scene of their operations, with their baskets of decoy-ducks upon their backs; and before I had left the marais, the quacking resounded from one end of the valley to the other, relieved by an occasional shot.

The majority of the huttiers remain all night, and, after the evening flight is over, go quietly to sleep and await the morning flight. Some go home after the evening flight, if their cottages be close at hand, and return before break of day for the morning flight.

The birds used as decoy-ducks, although tame and domesticated, are, I believe, of the wild breed: they have their exact size, shape and make, colour and plumage, and the same fineness of the web of the foot; hence their efficiency for the purpose for which they are used: their quacking is incessant, and I presume intelligible to their wilder brethren in the heavens, as it is constantly responded to by them, and occasions their immediate descent.

Some of the huttiers adopt the plan of having one mallard in the hut with them, one of his legs

being secured by a lengthy cord, so that they may occasionally let him out to stimulate the quacking, when it has from any unknown cause momentarily ceased.

Common English ducks would be useless for the purpose of hut-shooting, even if you could induce them to quack as incessantly as these foreigners, as their invitation would not be attended to by birds of passage, their language probably not being intelligible. This fact has been ascertained by experiment, and may be verified by those who have large pieces of water suitable for wild fowl, by procuring a few brace of common French ducks, breeding from them, and confining them to these localities. Roosting places may be made for them amongst the reeds, on the sides of the water, or on an island if there be one, so that they may be on the water at all times when their instinct may take them there; and it will then be seen that as soon as the passage of wild fowl, in the early part of winter, commences, your Frenchmen will have numerous companions.

If the pool be extensive, have places of concealment suitable for the breeding of fowl, and away from any thoroughfare, so that the wild fowl are not liable to be disturbed, and of course not shot at. Many will remain to breed, of both ducks and teal; the two latter breed in Scotland in the

heather, and amongst rushes contiguous to the fresh-water lochs, and give very good sport in the months of July and August, after which, they make their way down to the sea-water lochs, and remain there for winter sport.

But to return to the system of "hutting" in France, I must not omit to mention that nets instead of guns are sometimes used, and with success. These are fixed in a frame of slightly made woodwork, with two wings, one on either side of the piece of water, the decoy-ducks being in the centre; the huttier having a small cord fastened to the stick which supports either net, by the removal of which both nets fall simultaneously, enclosing whatever wild fowl may be in the centre. If this plan were well carried out, it would be much more productive than the gun; but it would seem that there are difficulties in the way, from its not being generally adopted.

I recollect a Frenchman telling me of a friend of his, a huttier, living on the coast near Etaples, having on one occasion enclosed so large a quantity of ducks that his net gave way in all directions, and he only succeeded in securing seven or eight of them his loss of course was considerable, and his friend observed, "il en a pleuré du chagrin." The probability is, that the net was some old fishing-net, half rotten; but the fact of his having been able to enclose so large a number of