of Swimmers have thin Feathers bedded upon a soft, close, warm Down; and are furnished with a Natural Oil, supplied from a Gland in the Rump. This Oil they press out with their Bills from a kind of Nipple, and with it preen and dress their Plumage, which is thereby rendered impenetrable to the Water, and in a great Degree to the extremest Cold.

The Birds inhabiting the different Fens are extremely numerous, and may be all, or mostly, named, although this Work is not designed to give the peculiar History and Properties of each; yet of many, both Fen and Wild Fowl, there will be found specific Descriptions. Wild Ducks, Geese, Garganies, or Summer Teal, Pochards, Shovelers and Teals, Pewit Gulls and Terns, Herons, Bitterns, Coots, Waterhens, Water-rails, Ruffs and Reeves, Knots, Godwits, Redshanks, Lapwings, and many others, here breed and rear their young. Should any Cambridge Man, who was a Fen Shooter Thirty years ago, ho. nour this Book with his perusal, he will not wonder at seeing the Name of Old MERRY, of Stretham Ferry, mentioned as a truly scientific Conductor of this kind of Sporting.

In his Knowledge of the Haunts of the different Species of Birds which visited the Fens, he was most precise; and in the Navigation of his Punt (a small boat) along the ditches, which are in fact the only Roads through the Fens, his judgment and assiduity were alike conspicuous; he knew if a Drought had lowered the Water where he could make good his point; and frequently, whilst Shooting parties with other Guides were wearying themselves with towing,

or from the noise occasioned by being towed all the Birds in the vicinity were disturbed, Old Merry was steering his Punt silently to the scene of Action; and in the Fogs, which are so thick as to exclude objects at the smallest distance, or in the Dark, he was equally collected, and knew how to proceed in the Morning, or return at Night, in spite of all Obstacles. As a Marksman he was extraordinarily expert; with a Gun upwards of six feet in the barrel, and that placed in its Stock by the Village Carpenter, and altogether of a Weight which nothing but a most powerful Arm could extend and elevate, would he kill a Snipe flying. Before exhibiting this proof of Dexterity, he usually requested to be supplied with a fresh Charge, in lieu of what he threw away (as he termed it) after so worthless a bird: the charge of this Demi-culverin was two pipes and a half of powder, and three of shot, and the wadding was a little dry sedge, of which he always took a whisp in the Punt. At Wild-Fowl, either single or in. Trips, he was a fatal shot; from long habit his Eye and Ear were both singularly keen at the approach of Wild-fowl in their flight, and his Gun generally verified the truth of this observation, when fired at them in the twilight, or in the fogs; and for the most part his Caution to look out at the coming of the birds was so exact, that no person could well complain of want of shots, if they obeyed his Direc-tions; his knowledge (either from the Wind, or some other cause) in seeing the wild-fowl fly, to what particular spot they would direct their Course, was accurate, and his Punt was certain to be either in a

Direction to intercept them in their Flight, or to be concealed among the Reeds close to where they assembled to feed at Eve or Morning. Old MERRY had not been much troubled with Education; rude as the Country in which his occupation lay, he possessed, perhaps like that, Materials which would have received and well requited the labour of Cultivation; he had an innate Civility, and evenness of Temper, which very few could ruffle, always preserving the most unassuming Behaviour; and, whilst reciting a fund of Fen-shooting Anecdotes, was ever indefatigable in procuring Amusement for his Employers.

One Circumstance happened in the Course of our shooting acquaintance, which, however it may evince Old Merry's attachment to his Dog, might have been attended with serious Consequences. This favourite Dog was of the old English water-spaniel kind, and constantly went with his Master, to whom he used to bring Coots and Wild-ducks when moulting, or the young flappers, in astonishing quantities. One afternoon the Dog shewed symptoms of being unwell, refused the Food offered him, and took no notice of the Birds as usual, and scarcely roused himself at the discharge of the Guns. Upon our return, the Dog was at one end of the Punt, and the Howl it almost incessantly uttered, added to the Darkness of the Evening, and the reflections upon the Cause by which. these Howlings were produced, rendered it as unpleasant a Voyage as ever was made; for MERRY had no doubt but that the Dog was going mad, and meant to secure and

administer some famous never-failing Remedy so soon as he got him home; the Dog, however, frustrated his intention, for when landed at the House, he directly set off, and what became of him was never discovered.

For the Summer Fen-shooting nothing was necessary but two Guns, one with a long and the other a short barrel, a pair of Boots made to resist the Water, and which were to be had of excellent leather from the Shoemakers in the Neighbourhood.

Of the Fen-birds within the Cognizance of this Work, those that are not web-footed will be first noticed; the others will be mentioned under the gene. ral head of Wild-fowl.

Dotterel

are common in some parts of England, in others unknown; they are found in tolerable plenty in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire.

These Birds are migratory; on Lincoln Heath, and on the Moors of Derbyshire, they appear in small flocks, of eight or ten only, in the latter end of April, staying there all May and the greater part of June; during which time they are very fat, and much esteemed for their excellent flavour. In Cambridgeshire their appearance and abode are nearly similar. In the Months of April and September they are taken on the Wiltshire and Berkshire Downs: they are also found, in the beginning of the former Month, on the Sea side, at Meales, in

Lancashire, and continue there about three weeks, attending the Barley fallows: from thence they remove northward to Leyton Haws, and stay there about a fortnight; and at the same time are plenti. ful about Holderness, and upon the Yorkshire Wolds. It is not perfectly ascertained where they breed; it is probable upon the Mountains of Cumberland and Westmoreland, as they appear there in May, and are not observed after the breeding Season: ten or twelve were once shot on the top of Skiddaw, in June; and from Keswick, in the former County, Dr. HEYSHAM once received some Dotterel's Eggs they are likewise said to breed on several of the Highland Hills. LINNEUS says they are frequent in Dalecarlia and the Lapland Alps, and visit Sweden in May. They are common in the North of Europe, where we may suppose they breed: in the Northern parts of Russia and Siberia they are known to do so, appearing Southward only in their Migrations. Their Winter residence is unknown.

The Dotterel is reckoned a very foolish bird, and was believed to mimic the Action of the Fowler, by stretching out a Wing when the other extended his Arm, continuing his imitation, regardless of the Net that was spreading for him. To follow this sport of catching them WILLOUGHBY states, six or seven persons go in Company; when they have · found the Birds, they set their Net in an advantageous place, and each of them holding a Stone in either hand, they get behind the Birds, and striking the Stones often one against another, rouse them from their natural Sluggishness, and by de