The Wild-fowler: A Treatise on Ancient and Modern Wild-fowling, Historical and Practical |
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Common terms and phrases
abundant ancient fowler appear approach bank barrel Bedford Level bird-lime boat Brent geese capturing wild-fowl chance CHAPTER coast coots curlew decoy decoy-ducks decoy-pipe decoyer decoyman distance diversion diving dotterel driving ducks dun-birds employed enticed falconry favourable favourite feeding feet fens fire flight flight-pond fowl frequently gannet garganey geese Giles Jacob goose gunning-punt habits haunts hawk head heron inches inland killed land lapwing large numbers Lincolnshire mallard manner marshes means nets never night night-punting numbers of wild-fowl oakum ooze paddles pipe placed plovers pond position punt and gun punt-gun punter purpose pursued pursuit range resort rise river sail sailing-punt screens season seldom shooter shooting-yacht shore shot shoulder-gun snares snipes sometimes species sport sportsman stanchion-gun success surface swans swim take wing taken taking wild-fowl teal tide Vide water-fowl weather whilst widgeon wild wild-ducks wild-fowl shooting wild-geese wild-swans wind winter yacht yards
Popular passages
Page 102 - But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend, The first to welcome, foremost to defend, Whose honest heart is still his master's own, Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone...
Page 185 - ... the legs of the bird hanging out ; and, as it groweth greater, it openeth the shell by degrees, till at length it is all come forth, and hangeth only by the bill...
Page 105 - I SHALL not ask Jean Jacques Rousseau,* If birds confabulate or no ; 'Tis clear, that they were always able To hold discourse, at least in fable ; And e'en the child, who knows no better Than to interpret by the letter, A story of a cock and bull, Must have a most uncommon skull.
Page 185 - ... when it is perfectly formed, the shell gapeth open, and the first thing that appeareth is the foresaid lace or string : next come the legs of the bird hanging out, and, as it groweth greater, it openeth the shell by degrees, till at length it is all come forth, and hangeth onely by the bill : in short space after it commeth to full maturitie, and falleth into the sea, where it gathereth feathers, and groweth to a fowle bigger than a mallard, and lesser than a goose...
Page 185 - ... but sharper pointed, and of a whitish colour, wherein is contained a thing in form like a lace of silke, finely woven as it were together...
Page 148 - ... that the weight of the frame sinks the figures to their proper depth; the skiff is then dressed •with sedge or coarse grass, in an artful manner, as low as the water's edge; and under cover of this, which appears like a party of ducks swimming by a small island, the gunner floats down sometimes to the very skirt of a whole congregated multitude, and pours in a destructive and repeated fire of shot among them.
Page 204 - August, when collected in a small stew or pond, the number annually varying from fifty to seventy, and many of them belonging to private individuals," they begin to feed immediately, being provided with as much barley as they can eat, and are usually ready for killing early in November. They vary in weight, some reaching to twentyeight pounds.
Page 185 - What our eyes have seen and hands have touched we shall declare. There is a small island in Lancashire, called the Pile of Foulders, wherein are found the broken pieces of old and bruised ships, some whereof have been cast thither by...
Page 208 - ... thereof, give to the owner so much wheat as may cover all the swan, by putting and turning the wheat upon the head of the swan, until the head of the swan be covered with wheat.
Page 104 - ... to teach a young one this useful habit until you are satisfied that there is no risk of making him blink his birds. You can then call him off when he is swimming towards dead birds, and signal to him to follow those that are fluttering away. If the water is not too deep, rush in yourself, and set him a good example by actively pursuing the runaways ; and until all the cripples that can be recovered * are safely bagged, do not let him lift one of those killed outright. If very intelligent, he...