A LA HUTTE... : TROIS SIECLES DE CHASSE AU GIBIER D'EAU. By Jacques Beal.

2008 1st edition. Square 4to (265 x 262mm). Pp165[see note*]. Colour and b/w photographs and illustrations, bibliography. Black boards.

"At the Lodge/Hide... : Three Centuries of Wildfowling". The hutte at its crudest is simply a hide. At its most sophisticated, it is a camouflaged shooting lodge, boasting a "piscine" of captive ducks as decoys, a palatial interior with a kitchen/dining room, and often, sleeping quarters. This book describes the history of wildfowling in northern France, its current practices and prey species. There is much material on the activities of societies and clubs, as well as sketches of notable personalities. Text in French, accessible to anyone who remembers O Level and knows a bit about the subject. Well worth a read. Chapters include: A very pointless passion [une passion hutte]; Space for the birds; Wetlands; Some exceptional locations; Other places, other shoots; "Le Droit de Chasser", a revolutionary liberty; Methods of hunting wildfowl; Techniques and tricks of shooting; Life at the hutte; Of legendary huttes; The social and cultural rites of wildfowling; Gastronomy of the chase. Appendices give a map of migration routes, legal species, the economy of shooting, a very useful glossary, useful addresses, and a bibliography*. The pagination runs from p3 (the front end-paper). This is simply a collation error and does not indicate any missing pages.