Filter-box
showing A B C, three trays of gravel, the uppermost tition which forces the water under the lower tray, so that it rises through the gravel. WL, water line. Arrows indicate the direction of the current. was found more convenient to pass it through gravel as shown in Fig. I A.
From the filter the water passes to the distributing tank, which usually consists of a long box fitted with spouts in suitable positions for its distribution into rows of hatching-boxes. Figs. 2 and 7 show the relative positions of boxes and tank, Fig. 2 PISCICULTURE] being a series of artificial ova beds constructed in the open, and Fig. 7 the interior of a hatchery.
For the incubation of ova a building of some sort is necessary as a protection from frost, especially in the North, where in- USED AT THE SOLWAV FISHERY. cubation takes about three months. The temperature of small streams exposed to the air is oftener below 40° F. than above it during the time the eggs are in the gravel, though in favoured districts, especially in the South of England, where many streams are fed by springs of a temperature constantly about 50° F. or over, incubation may be completed in 40 to 60 days.
The ova laid down in artificial ova beds have usually been protected in a hatchery during the earlier stages of incubation, so that the risk of loss through frost is not great, and can at this stage of the embryos' development be guarded against by covering the boxes in which they are, as it is not absolutely necessary to have easy access to them as in the case of freshly impregnated eggs.
In the hatchery the eggs are placed on shallow trays made of a wooden frame with a bottom formed by glass tubes so placed that they allow the eggs to rest between them in rows. Besides the absolute cleanliness of the glass, the chief advantage of this system is that the round tubes allow the eggs to rest with the least possible surface of the shell in contact with them.
When it is remembered that the embryo is dependent on a supply of oxygen absorbed through the shell, it is evident that the method described, which allows free access of running water all round the egg, is better than the old plan of laying them in gravel which soon became clogged with sediment.
In some hatcheries specially constructed metal trays are used, and where there are no acids in the water which will act as a solvent this method answers perfectly; but the safest and best plan is to use glass grilles" as described. 66 The water in a hatching or incubating box is about 4 inches deep. This is convenient and sufficient. The egg trays are arranged so that there is a space between them and the bottom of the box, and about two inches of water over the eggs. A subdued light is most favourable for the development of the embryo, and direct sunlight should never be allowed to fall on the eggs. Lids are usually fitted to the boxes, which do not quite reach to each end, so allowing sufficient light and air. Freshly spawned eggs may be handled or packed for a journey, but after forty-eight hours it is not advisable to move them, and they are exceedingly sensitive to vibration. From this time until the faint outline of the embryo may be seen in the egg they will not bear handling or any movement which is harsher than a gentle oscillation caused by the passing of a current of water. Even this is attended with risk. It is probable that the loss during spates in the streams while the ova are in this exceedingly delicate condition is enormous.
So soon as the slightest movement of the embryo is observed within the shell, the eggs may be carefully handled. At this stage they may be packed for long voyages, and they have been successfully sent to every quarter of the globe. The eye spots are first visible when a little more than a third of the period of incubation is passed.
The pisciculturist does not allow the parent fish to shed and impregnate the ova.
This is too haphazard a process, and is invariably attended with great waste of eggs. The males and females, if wild fish, are netted at spawning time and kept in ponds till ripe, or, if domesticated, are taken from the large stock ponds to stews of convenient dimensions for quick and easy manipulation.
Very much of the success attending the operations is dependent on care at this stage, and it is important that the parent fish should not be disturbed or handled more than is necessary, and, above all, that they should not be kept crowded together for a week or two waiting till they are ripe.
On the absolutely fit condition of the fish depends the vitality of the embryo. Slipshod methods may appear to yield good results, for trout at this season are extraordinarily hardy, but if this is taken too much advantage of the vitality of the eggs will suffer, and this may not be apparent till months afterwards. The importance of care in minute details and the far-reaching Z2 34° effect of carelessness has become increasingly evident as experience has been accumulated. The result of this knowledge is that from the time of impregnation through all the stages of development till maturity is reached the percentage of loss is very much less than it used to be.
The taking of the eggs is done as follows:
Ripe males and females are placed in separate tanks through which there is a good run of water. A clean, dry basin is placed on a table. The operator takes his stand by this, and an attendant hands him two, three, or four female fish (according to size) in a landing-net. These are allowed to kick the water off themselves and quieten down a little; then one is taken in both hands in such a way that the head and tail are firmly but gently secured, and with a light and rapid movement of the right thumb the ova are expressed into the basin.
As quickly as possible the other fish in the net are treated in the same way, and returned to the water as soon as they are stripped. While the last fish is being spawned the attendant lifts a few males in the landing-net, and by the time the operator is ready for them they will have kicked the water off themselves and become quieter. A male is taken, and by means of an adroit pressure of the forefinger and thumb of the right hand the milt is expressed into the basin amongst the eggs. One good male is sufficient. The milt is then stirred amongst the eggs by hand and a little water added. The basin is then placed in a shallow tank prepared for the purpose, just overhead in water, so that the milt and any urine which may be amongst the eggs is allowed to float away.
The eggs must now be left alone for from fifteen minutes to half an hour while they absorb water and swell. During this process they adhere to each other and to the basin, and any abrupt separation would probably result in injury.
By gently tilting the basin, one may ascertain whether the eggs are ready to be taken away and laid down in the hatchingboxes. Here they are evenly spread so that, while making the most of the room, they are not crowded or allowed to rest thickly on the top of each other. A feather may be used for this purpose, but an adroit attendant manipulates the eggs by means of a gentle shaking of the tray which receives them. As they are so nearly of the same specific gravity as the water, the very gentlest motion is sufficient to accomplish all that is required. It may here be pointed out that the fact that the eggs are, as stated, so nearly of the same weight as the water, [PISCICULTURE safeguards them, in a stream where currents are strong, from damage. It is as impossible for a trout egg in water to strike anything hard as for a feather to do so in the air. To this natural provision they also owe the fact that so many escape being crushed by moving stones. The displacement of the water removes the egg before the stone reaches it.
Eggs which are destroyed by pressure of the gravel (as a great many are) are nipped after being drawn and wedged between two stones by the current. Even where the egg is not killed this pressure produces an irregular development of the embryo which results in deformity. It is needless to add that deformed trout die. Nature does not allow them to exist.
On first emerging from the eggs the little creatures are called "alevins," and do not bear much resemblance to fish. The word is derived from the French. 2 3 3 4 6 7 The accompanying figure (3) represents an alevin trout magnified. (1) The cranial cavity containing the brain; (2) the gills or breathing apparatus; (3) the heart; (4) one of the pectoral fins, used at this stage for assisting respiration by causing currents, and acting like a fan to the gills; (5) an oil globule; (6) the vertebral column; (7) the anus. The rudiments of the dorsal fin are quite apparent, and the rays of the caudal fin or tail may also be traced. The sketch is taken very soon after hatching, and the daily development of the fish from this point is a most fascinating study, and well worth the attention of any one interested in such matters. Any one may keep a few alevins for a week or two in an ordinary basin by changing the water daily, and very interesting little creatures they are. There is attached to each individual at this stage a large transparent bag, known as the umbilical sac, and this contains the nourishment necessary for the next thirty or forty days, during which period of their lives they are very easily managed. When the sac is nearly absorbed, the alevins begin to look like fish, and are soon in the fry stage.
PISCICULTURE] One of the greatest difficulties pisciculturists have had to contend with is the rearing of the fry. In the case of salmon and trout these difficulties have been largely bridged over. Study, research, and experiment have done a great deal, and now, when much practical skill is combined with the knowledge which has been gained, a large percentage of fry may be reared to the yearling stage. It will be apparent to any one that delicate little creatures like trout gregated together in hatching- or rearingboxes, it is most improbable that we should find sufficient natural food in the water to maintain them, so we are compelled to resort to foods which are convenient and easily procurable. Of these the most generally used is liver very finely grated, but as this is deficient in phosphates every endeavour should be made to procure some form of food to mix with the liver which will provide these. The feeding of fry in fry require delicate treatment. A very little disorganisation, be it external or internal, is sufficient to kill them, and the constant and unflagging care of an attendant is absolutely necessary. When they begin to take food by means of their mouths, which is usually a little while before the complete absorption of the umbilical sac, they must be carefully and regularly fed.
The natural food at this period of their existence has been found to consist of minute crustacea, and on these we are largely dependent for the successful rearing of the fry, especially at this early stage. It is important that the water entering the hatchery should be no longer filtered or at any rate only so as to exclude matter which may be injurious.
Where a large number of fry are conthe earliest stages (and, indeed, later) must be regarded as supplementary to the natural food supply, so that it is important on the one hand to choose a site for piscicultural operations where the water is rich in the minute crustacea which are so valuable, and, on the other hand, to avoid crowding the fry. It is obvious that the more room and water the young fish have, the greater will be their share of natural food.
It is very unusual to find good water for incubating purposes rich in food, and for this reason a site is usually chosen where both the pure water necessary for incubation and water charged with "insect" life may be had. We find in nature that the fry leave the spawning beds when they come on the feed and drop down to localities where natural food is more abundant. This dropping down stream is very gradual, but is influenced largely by the increasing need for more abundant food on the part of the growing fish.
When the fry in a hatchery are nicely on the feed they are removed to suitable ponds specially provided for them, where they remain for some months. By this time they are nice little fish approaching two inches in length, and those which have grown rapidly are sorted out from the smaller ones and placed in separate ponds.
This sorting is important, not altogether, though partly, for fear of cannibal tendencies, but chiefly because the stronger fish interfere with the feeding of the smaller ones, and these are apt to become weakly and die in consequence. The percentage of fry reared to yearling stage varies greatly in different localities. Three important factors determine the measure of success: (1) The amount of careful and intelligent attention given; (2) the quality (vitality) of the eggs which have been hatched; (3) the amount of natural food in the water. Thirty per cent. of yearlings used to be considered good work. Nowadays we look for fifty to eighty per cent. After the yearling stage the loss amongst good fish is trifling.
One of the most economical methods of maintaining or replenishing the stock of trout or salmon in any water is by planting the eggs, when almost ready for hatching, in artificial ova beds. The heavy losses which occur in nature at spawning time and during the period of incubation are by this means saved, as the ova can be purchased for comparatively little, all ready for laying down, every egg containing a living fish. The loss on such eggs should be very trifling; indeed, it has been found in practice to be usually something under three per cent. A great advantage possessed by these artificial beds is that they can be fixed in any convenient situa- [PISCICULTURE tion. They may be away from the stream or near it, as desired, so long as they are in such a position that a supply of water can be led to them, and this may be done either by means of a pipe or by an open spout. An ordinary two-inch drain tile answers very well, and, being carried under ground, has the double advantage of keeping out the frost. Of course, the beds should be out of the reach of the highest floods.
In addition to a suitable supply of water, it is necessary to provide for its proper exit, and the arrangement must be one that will suit the little fish when they incline to drop down stream, for herein lies one of the great secrets of the ultimate success of the system. The bed itself may be simply dug out, or an ordinary ditch may sometimes be made use of, the bottom and sides being lined with brickwork or concrete. The width may be from one to two feet, and the bottom should be covered with a good coating of fine gravel about the size of a pea. The eggs are laid upon this, and a nice ripple run over them. When they hatch, the "alevins" remain in the bed till they come co on the feed. They can be kept in it for a while by keeping it dark, and this should be done, but if any attempt be made to confine them by means of screens or gratings, the whole object of the apparatus is nullified.
The best and most practical ova beds are constructed of wood, and as they can be made perfectly tight and a false bottom of perforated metal easily fitted, the gravel can be laid upon this and the water conducted underneath, so that it rises up through the gravel, upon or amongst which the eggs should be placed. Below the hatching-bed suitable provision should be made for the welfare of the nurslings. A tiny streamlet, widened out into narrow ponds, nicely gravelled and planted with aquatic vegetation, forms an excellent nursery in which they are absolutely in a PISCICULTURE] state of nature. The growth of natural food can here be encouraged, and all surroundings kept in favourable condition for the welfare of the little creatures. They can be protected by wire netting from the onslaughts of birds or other animals, and they finally drop down at will into the stream or the lake which is to be their future home. Such a sanctuary will be the means of saving a large number of them, and herein lies the great advantage of the whole system. Sometimes it is most conextent much study is needed, or the result will be failure, as is so often the case in agriculture where the worker does not understand his business.
The cultivation of water for the purpose of increasing or improving stocks of fish is a matter which has hitherto largely escaped notice. Fish cannot live in unsuitable water any more than wheat or any other crop will succeed on unfavourable land. Close attention must be given to the flora and fauna of any piece of water, be it natural or arti- venient to place the ova bed alongside a stream into which the fish can escape as soon as they like, and even without the provision of any nursery ponds good will result, but a system such as I have described will, if properly carried out, do much more towards replenishing the stock in any water. ficial. First of all, the plants must be considered, and desirable species should be carefully cultivated, whilst noxious forms should be kept down or, if possible, eradicated at once. In addition to a good supply of water, trout are dependent upon liberal contributions of food, and this food nature produces in limited quantities, but by means of cultivation the quantity can be increased enormously. In a lake the natural stock may thus be largely augmented; in a pond the fish may be given daily rations of artificial food to supplement the limited supply provided by nature. In such a case a much larger number of fish may be kept, and a supply be always at hand-a consideration of no mean kind.
In the past we have treated our waters as waste when on land something to be got rid of when in river something into which to turn every sort of pollution that man could produce, and this is still going on.
We have, however, at last found the water to be an exceedingly valuable commodity from which a considerable revenue may be derived. Its cultivation is now no mere theory, but is a realised fact; but in order In dealing with these and kindred matters to carry out the work to any appreciable it is well worth while to have skilled advice, as otherwise much benefit may be lost by inattention to some apparently trifling point, or the work may be completely spoiled.
So far as the increase of salmon is concerned, it cannot be shown that in this country pisciculture has been rewarded by marked success. At the same time, it may be said that, having regard to the nature of the work, no experiment of sufficient importance has been undertaken. When we realise that a twelve-pound female salmon produces about 10,000 eggs, we can form an idea of how paltry the hatching of 200,000 or so of eggs is. It simply means that the eggs of twenty fish are saved to the river on which operations are being carried on. This may not be and probably is not as much as one per cent. of the fish in the river, and yet great results are expected. The output of salmon ova from a hatchery should bear some definite relation to the mileage of the river and tributaries in question, and a reasonable calculation made as to the number of fry per mile, which ought to make a difference to the annual return from the sea. Any such calculation would show that we have not in any case come near a reasonable expectation of success. From 20,000 to 50,000 fry per mile of river would not be an over-estimate of the quantity one should aim at, having regard to the natural conditions and the enormous loss which takes place in fresh water and salt. A small salmon hatchery is of very doubtful use to any river, and to turn down less than a million fry into fifty miles of water is hardly worth the trouble. Two millions would be nearer the mark judging by what we know of the productiveness of the fish on the one hand, and the poor return realised on the other. a Pisciculture undoubtedly has its work to do for the salmon, and it is a most important one. Carried out in the right way and on a sufficiently large scale, there can be no doubt as to the benefit that will result, but the work must not be played with. Professional pisciculturists have had a great deal to learn, and experience has often been very dearly bought, but a mass of knowledge has been gained upon which we can now build with safety, and we are too sure of our ground to hesitate even for a moment in going forward.
In conclusion, I would briefly refer to the accompanying illustrations of a portion of the work of cultivation carried on at the Solway Fishery, near Dumfries. Fig. 4 represents a scene at spawning time, and in Fig. 7 we have a view inside one of the hatcheries. There are two distributing [PISCICULTURE tanks overhead at the far end of the building, with fall pipes for conveying the water to the hatching boxes, through which it is running. Fig. 8 shows a few of the nursery ponds for rearing fry, with the preparation house on the left and the keeper's house on the right.
Coarse Fish Culture has not been followed up so enthusiastically as the cultivation of the Salmonida, probably because the fish are not so valuable, and therefore do not pay for cultivation in the same ratio.
There are, however, so many waters that are peculiarly adapted to the requirements of coarse fish that their cultivation is well worth attention, and many of them are quite easily managed. In contradistinction to the members of the Salmonida, they are known as summer spawning" fish, although this is not strictly correct, as many of them spawn in spring. ،، Instead of keeping the ova in cold water, as in the case of salmon, that which has been warmed by the rays of the sun to a temperature exceeding 60° F. is necessary; instead of being incubated in a hatching house, they do better out of doors; instead of being kept in the dark, light is good for many of them, and instead of being fecundated by artificial means, it is often best to allow the fish to spawn naturally, in a nest which the pisciculturist has built, and which he can afterwards remove along with its contents. It is true that they can be taken and stripped by hand like trout, but as the natural impregnation of the ova is usually almost perfect and the fish are much more delicate and do not bear handling so well, it is often much better to allow them to do for themselves than to attempt to strip them by hand. Many coarse fish eggs are adhesive, and therefore, if we take them artificially, we must use some sort of apparatus and strip the eggs into it direct. This can be done, and the eggs milted successfully, but there is no need for it.
If, however, we wish to do it, we must provide a hatching box containing some frames and resembling Fig. 1, but instead of covering them with flannel they should be made with a cross-bar in the middle, to facilitate the intertwining of some twigs, or they should be covered with galvanised wire netting, into the meshes of which suitable water plants may be twined for the purpose of receiving the ova. The fish may then be spawned by hand in the usual way.
Care should be taken to run a current through the tank in order to get rid of the milt, and a slight trickle should be kept going all through the period of incubation.
PISCICULTURE] The eggs of most coarse fish hatch in as many weeks as trout take months, and this at once makes a great difference in the mode of procedure.
Many of the Cyprinida deposit their ova on the stems and leaves of water plants, to which they adhere, not in batches, but singly. These eggs can be dealt with in such an apparatus as I have described.
Other fish again spawn among the gravel in streams. Pike deposit their spawn stocked with water plants, and in this pond breeding perch should be placed, say in February or March. The sides of the pond should be perpendicular, or nearly so.
These fish will deposit their eggs on the water plants when the time comes, usually in April, when they may be collected and removed to another pond called the hatching pond. It should be constructed like the one used for spawning.
Obtain a number of dead spruce chiefly in bays and ditches amongst the aquatic vegetation found there, and the spawn may be hatched in the apparatus to which I have alluded. The eggs of the Percida (Perch) are only adhesive for a while, when first they come from the parent fish, but they are shed in batches and not singly. These batches, if examined, are found to be in the shape of hollow ribbons, and in nature they are to be found deposited on water plants, masses of sticks or twigs, heaps of stones, and submerged branches of trees.
I have cultivated perch successfully for many years, and have long since given up the plan of artificially spawning them, or of using anything in the shape of hatching apparatus. A pond twenty feet square and three feet deep should be prepared and branches, cut the stump or butt-end of each to a point, and insert them into the bank of the pond in a horizontal position, about six inches or a foot below the surface of the water. Owing to their fan-like shape, it will be apparent at once that these are very handy contrivances for receiving the ova.
What is more, the ova do very well upon them. A batch of perch spawn being adroitly spread over them by a gentle but dexterous movement of the hand, it settles down on the twigs, which present a very irregular surface, whilst offering the least obstruction to the motion of the water.
Some of the spawn is borne up by the projecting twigs, whilst another portion settles down between them; so it hangs suspended from twig to twig and every egg has an equal chance. When huddled together in a heap many of them will die from suffocation.
Perch ova can be hatched most successfully in the manner described. The period of incubation varies from fourteen to about twenty-one days, according to temperature.
Some warm day, on inspecting the hatching twigs, the eggs will be found to be empty, the embryos having emerged and left nothing but the empty shells and the tougher portions of the gelatinous substance with which the eggs were enveloped, and which held them together. On closer inspection the water in the immediate neighbourhood of the twigs is found to be crowded with young perch, which may be seen swimming in all directions. They are helpless little creatures, and an enemy coming among them would have a fine time of it. Here, however, they can be protected from many depredators, and it is evident that a great advantage is to be gained by caring for and hatching them in this way.
From the hatching pond the fish may be allowed to drop down to a larger one in which they can grow, all other fish being carefully excluded. Most of the coarse fish will eat their own progeny, so that one essential is to separate the spawning fish from their eggs. Either the fish must be removed from the pond as soon as they have spawned, or the ova must be transferred to another pond. In the case of those which spawn amongst gravel, the fish will enter a raceway at the head of the spawning pond, and here their operations should be carefully watched, and, as soon as the eggs are safely deposited, a sluice should be inserted at the mouth of the raceway, so as to prevent it running dry, and the pond should be let off and every fish taken out. If done properly, a good stock of fish may be raised in this way, as I have proved by experiment. In dealing with carp, a small pond should be constructed from which the fish can easily be withdrawn after spawning, or the alternative plan may be adopted of removing the ova to another pond as in the case of perch. It is done in this way: make a few wooden frames and stretch wire netting over them. Upon the netting place some thinly cut sods, grass downwards. Then dig from the bottom of a pond or stream a quantity of healthy growing water plants; these should be carefully washed and examined to see that no enemies are lurking among them. Lower the apparatus into the pond with the plants attached. The carp will deposit their eggs upon these, and the frames should then be lifted out and transferred to another pond, from which all enemies have been excluded. [PISCICULTURE The spawning pond should contain no plants but those on the frames. Carp ova usually hatch in about fourteen days, and the spawning season lasts some time, the fish shedding only a portion of their eggs at once. When the plants bearing the ova are removed, therefore, others should be introduced to take their places. By these methods many of our coarse fish may be easily cultivated, larger ponds being required as they grow older. W. H. ARMISTEAD. [See also CONSERVANCY OF RIVERS.] name PLOVER, - Classification. The plover, as accepted by writers on systematic ornithology, is of wide signification, since it includes not only the short-billed, three-toed species, with long narrow and pointed wings, which are comprised in the genera Charadrius, Eudromias, and Ægialitis, and the four-toed, rounded winged birds of the peewit type, belonging to the genera Vanellus, Chetusia, Hoplopterus, and Lobivanellus, but also such aberrant, though undoubtedly related, forms as the thick-knees or stone-curlews (Edicnemus), Oystercatchers (Hamatopus), Turnstones (Strepsilas), Coursers (Cursorius), and Pratincoles (Glareola). All these, and some others that might be named, belong to the great family of Plovers (Charadriida), which are related on the one hand to the Snipes and Sandpipers (Scolopacida), and on the other to the gulls (Larida).
Distribution. Geographically speaking, they are of wide distribution, having representatives in every part of the world, for the most part migratory in their habits, and all of them to some extent the object of pursuit by sportsmen. The reason for this is two-fold. In the first place, with a few exceptions (as, for example, the Oystercatchers), they are not only edible, but some of them, like the Golden Plover and Dotterel, are of renowned excellence for the table; in the second place, the wildness of their haunts, the wariness of their habits, and their strong rapid flight cause them to be at all times and in all countries much sought after by lovers of shooting.
To give an account of all of them, however brief, would necessitate a review of more than one hundred different species, and would occupy an amount of space which cannot here be accorded. It will suffice to notice only some of the more typical genera, and in so doing to confine attention to those species which are most sought after by sportsmen.
PLOVER] Without much risk of provoking dissent we may place at the head of the list the Golden Plover (Charadrius pluvialis), in every respect a typical plover and one well GOLDEN PLOVER. known to wildfowlers, not only in the British Islands, but throughout the greater part of Europe and Africa, from Iceland and Scandinavia to the Cape Colony, and from the West of Ireland to the tundras of Siberia, as far east as the river Lena.
Eastward of the Yenesei, and throughout Asia generally to Behring Sea, its place is taken by a smaller species, the Asiatic Golden Plover (Charadrius fulvus or orientalis), with grey instead of white axillary plumes, which in winter migrates southwards to China, Japan, India, the Malay Archipelago, Australia, New Zealand, and Polynesia. This smaller race is found also on the Prybilov Islands and the coast of Alaska, where it approaches the American form Charadrius virginicus (or dominicus), which also has the axillary feathers grey, but is said to be distinguish able by its somewhat larger size, relatively shorter secondaries, and less brilliant yellow spots. The comparative measurements of the three species, as taken by the present writer from a series, will be found stated in Proc. Zool. Soc., 1871, p. 116.
The American Golden Plover (Charadrius virginicus), according to the concise statement of Mr. Howard Saunders (Manual, p. 533), nests in the barren grounds from Alaska to Davis Strait, as well as in the northern part of Greenland; while on passage it traverses Canada and the United States, seldom occurring in the west of California, but rather inclining to the east of the Rocky Mountains. In September and October large flocks arrive in the Bermudas, while on Antigua, Martin- THE TATE LIBRARY, BRIXTON, S.W. ique, Barbadoes, and other West Indian Islands they are sometimes so tame or exhausted after their long flight that they can be knocked down with sticks and stones.
The migrations of this bird extend through tropical America to Buenos Ayres on the east side and Chili on the west.
All three species of Golden Plover, as well as the Grey Plover (Squatarola helvetica), undergo a singular change of plumage during the nuptial season. The underparts, so white in winter, become more or less black, and the dorsal plumage, which in winter is so closely spotted with yellow as to suggest the name "golden," becomes in summer considerably suffused with black and dark brown. It is remarkable that the young of the Grey Plover is golden for many months after it has left the nest, and birds of the year which are able to fly as well as their parents may be easily mistaken for Golden Plover by those who are not familiar with the distinguishing characters. As above stated, the feathers under the wing known as the axillary plumes are in the Golden Plover white, in the Grey Plover black, and while the former bird has only three toes anteriorly directed, the latter, like the Peewit, has a small hind toe which serves to identify it at all ages.
It is the habit of the Golden Plovers, as it is also of the Dotterel, in all countries where these birds are known to breed, to resort in the nesting season to the wild, desolate moorlands, often at some elevation above and away from the sea. As soon as the young are able to fly well, they descend to the low grounds and spread over the uncultivated marshes near the sea, and wide, open fields inland where the latter are sufficiently large to induce the flocks to alight; for they seem to fear danger from the proximity of fences that might mask the approach of gunners.
On the mud flats at the mouths of rivers, and in tidal harbours, large flocks of these birds may be seen in autumn, as well as in winter during frost, when the soil further inland is too hardened to admit of their getting their usual food.
Peewit, Lapwing, or Green Plover (Vanellus vulgaris or cristatus ;-Kiebitz, German German; Dixhuit, French; Kiewiet, Dutch; Pavoncella, Italian) is the most abundant of the plovers (Charadriida) in temperate Europe, where familiarity diminishes the admiration it deserves for exceeding grace and beauty. The plumage is very similar in both sexes, the female differing only in having a slightly shorter crest than her mate. In winter the throat, which in summer is black, becomes white, the crest shorter, and the black head tinged with brown. Though this bird is usually classed as a resident species, being PEEWIT. commonly seen at all seasons in most parts of the British Isles, it is in truth as regularly migratory as the rest of its kin. The birds bred on British ground move southwards in autumn, and are replaced by others reared further north. The northern limit of winter habitat runs not far north of the Moray Firth, for lapwings are wholly absent from Caithness between the middle of October and the middle of February, though exceedingly abundant there in the breeding season.
The lapwing is one of the best and most industrious friends to agriculture, its food consisting exclusively of worms, grubs, insects, and small molluscs. In some recent books on sport, directions are given how YOUNG PEEWIT, NEST, AND EGGS. to approach and shoot it; but one of the old school of sportsmen would as soon think of making his target of thrushes or larks. [PLOVER It is true that, when persecuted, the lapwing becomes shy and watchful; but by nature it is more confiding than any other plover, especially in spring and summer, and its wavering flight and conspicuous colour render it an inglorious quarry. In addition to their habits as an admirable land police, these birds deserve more consideration than they receive by reason of the abundant supply of "plover's eggs" which they afford. Concern is sometimes expressed lest the heavy toll levied each spring on the nests should unduly reduce the stock; but there is no danger of this, provided the parent birds are not shot down. The race is replenished by second layings. which do not suffer so much as the first from egggatherers, owing to the growth of young corn and herbage concealing them better.
It is much to be regretted that the consignments of lapwings to the London market have greatly increased of late years.
The flesh is very inferior to that of PEEWIT, SHOWING BREAST MARKINGS. resthe golden plover, though hundreds of lapwings are eaten annually in taurants under the name of the greater delicacy. It is the only wild bird of which civilised man devours habitually both eggs and parents. It is a cruel, yet not uncommon sight to see strings of lapwings hanging above baskets of their eggs in poulterers' shops; and sportsmen are earnestly entreated to refrain from shooting the pretty peewit. are It is not uncommon to see the peewit paying grievous penalty for its beneficial love of insects and slugs by imprisonment in a garden, of course pinioned. It is a barbarous practice to deprive a bird of its leading characteristic - flight - especially when it is considered how strong is the migratory impulse in all the Limicola.
Companions of the Peewit and Golden Plover on the dreary mud-flats and along the edges of the channels, we find the Ringed Plovers, Ringed Dotterel or Sand Plovers, as they are termed abroad, of PLOVER] which three species only, out of five-andtwenty or thirty different kinds, are to be met with in the British Islands.
These are the common Ringed Plover (Ægialitis hiaticola), to be met with on all parts of the coast, where, on the great stretches of shingle beach, and amidst the marram grass of the undulating sand-hills, it deposits its four spotted eggs, which curiously resemble the speckled stones by which they are surrounded; the Kentish Plover (A. cantiana), a local and much less numerous species to be found breeding on the coasts of Kent and Sussex, and the Little Ringed Plover (Æ. curonica), which, as an irregular visitor from Europe, has been occasionally met with in England.
The Ringed Dotterel of the sea-shore is not to be confounded with the Dotterel of the hills (Eudromias morinellus), a very different bird in appearance, as may be seen on comparing the portraits of both in Yarrell's British Birds, in which work a full account of their different habits is given. a These may be said to be the typical forms of Plover which have their representatives all over the world, and we have now to consider their particular status in relation to sport. Those which have a market value are the Golden Plover, Peewit (known also as the Lapwing and Green Plover), and the Dotterel, the last named finding such favour as a delicacy in the London season as to command with Westend poulterers as much as nine shillings a couple, the price of Woodcocks being from seven to eight shillings a couple. The smaller Sand Plovers have no commercial value, and are objects of attraction only to the naturalist and shore shooter.
Plover Netting.-Large numbers of Golden Plover and Peewits are received every winter from Holland, and a great many also reach London from Ireland, where they are captured by professionals in "plover-nets" with the aid of decoys.
This method of capturing them has been well described with illustrations by Sir R.
Payne Gallwey in his Fowler in Ireland, in which volume full directions are given for making and working the nets. This author states: "Golden and Green Plover netted in Ireland in thousands, if the winter be mild, by men who make a living thus.
I have known one man, an adept at this work, take twenty pounds' worth of Plovers in a week, which at a low estimate of value would represent at least a thousand birds." are On some parts of the east coast, as in Norfolk and Lincolnshire, a different mode of netting is pursued with what are termed "flight nets." These are long nets stretched upon poles, and set at right angles to the sea, designed to intercept the birds RINGED PLOVER. as they fly low in flocks along the shore.
By means of such nets, which are described and figured in Rowley's Ornithological Miscellany, different kinds of shore birds have been captured, and forwarded alive to the London Zoological Gardens, amongst them Golden Plover, but these birds are less frequently taken in this way than by the "plover-nets" above mentioned.
The various methods adopted by French fowlers have been described in a chapter on "Plover Catching in France" by the present writer (Essays on Sport and Natural History, pp. 201-205), and include the use of nets, bird-calls, "stales" or decoys, and lanterns at night, when the birds, attracted by the bright light, are shot as they fly towards or past it.
The mode adopted in Holland and North Germany has been described by Baron von Droste in the Journal für Ornithologie, 1869. A translation of his description is given in Mr. Macpherson's recently published History of Fowling (Edinb., Douglas, 1897), in which volume will also be found some additional remarks by Mr. Blaauw on plover catching in Holland, and by Professor Giglioli on the methods of netting employed in Italy. It is obvious that these devices are practised by professional fowlers for profit rather than by amateurs for sport, and that, in this country at least, plovers are generally said to show sport when they afford shooters the opportunity of approaching them with the gun.
Plover shooting may be said to be of two kinds, according as the birds are (I) inland, and have to be outwitted by stalking or driving, or (2) on mud flats or sand banks, where they are only to be approached in a punt. In either case they are usually so wary as to require all the skill and patience of which a wildfowler is capable in order to get near them. In nine cases out of ten, probably, a good bag of plover is made more by good luck than anything else; for usually the flocks are met with by chance when the shooter is after snipe or grouse; the time of their arrival is more or less uncertain, depending on the weather; and at the period of migration they seldom remain long in the same place.
All plover will be found hard of approach when congregated in an open field, should the shooter try to steal directly towards them. He should boldly skirt the "stand" (as advised by Sir R. Payne Gallwey) without looking anxiously at them, gradually narrowing the circle with each round he takes, and finally with a rush take his chance of a shot. Some excellent remarks by J. A. Harvie Brown on the best mode of shooting plover on the coast of Stirlingshire will be found in the Zoologist for 1878, pp. 210-212.
If several guns are available, “driving" may be resorted to, the guns being posted as for a grouse drive, down wind of the flock, and the drivers being sent well round the birds with orders to approach them very slowly and noiselessly. "Another method," says The Fowler in Ireland, "of getting within range of plover congregated in a field, is to tie a dog to a short stick and peg it down into the ground, leaving the animal a tether of five or six yards. Secure him a couple of hundred yards away from the 'stand' to windward, and every bird's eye will be turned in his direction as he moves or struggles. You may then steal up to them on their other flank against the wind, and will always get within fair, often easy shot."
If plover are passing overhead out of shot, and powder is to spare, it is a common custom to fire in their direction, well ahead of them. The sudden alarm will often cause them to drop quickly downwards and sweep within range, thus affording a good chance of a shot. Why they do this, and so run into danger, one cannot say. Perhaps, when alarmed, they are not conscious of more than an effort to change their direction, ignorant from whence the startling noise proceeds; and it is naturally easier for them suddenly to lower their flight than to ascend. "In shooting plover from a punt," says the author just quoted, " or with a heavy shoulder gun, however close their ranks, it is seldom that a good shot can be made on the ground-that is to say, a shot that does execution in proportion to the number [PLOVER a of birds fired at. Indeed, no shot is successful one to a fowler that does not attain this end."
Golden Plover sit so low and small that it is well-nigh impossible to send the weight of a charge among them; if it were feasible to raise them by making a noise, all the better, but this with plover is very risky.
They are apt to straggle up too far apart to fire at, and yet afford a scantier shot on the ground. If they do happen to rise well together, and you send the charge straight when their wings are just extended, you will bring down three times as many as if you had taken them sitting.
They must not, however, be allowed to rise too high before firing-four or five feet from the ground at most. The circle of shot will then take those on the wing, those in the act of rising, and any standing as well. Large numbers of birds that have been closely huddled on the ground soon open out when sprung, for mutual freedom of flight. They then, perhaps, still offer a good shot for some distance, though not the best, which is what one should strive for-a lesson only learnt by repeated failure.
Golden Plover and Peewits are often met with on the coast in large numbers, sometimes several hundreds in a flock. The