1936 On the Continent

children—a small world, very nearly independent of the outside world, active and busy.
    In many such places almost a replica of the English country life of the beginning of the nineteenth century can be seen—leisurely, generous and self-contained. The analogy is obvious, but there are countless characteristics there which are thoroughly Polish—and these would probably be most attractive to the foreign visitor.
    Motor-cars are absent from the life of the country house, except in Western Poland, and the importance of the horse is, of course, greatly enhanced by this fact. Fox-hunting is unknown, but its absence is more than compensated by other forms of sport, such as wolf and boar shooting, stag and deer stalking, etc. Big forests, fields unbroken byhedges over miles, and stringent laws for the protection of game all combine to produce a plentiful supply of game. In the west there are big shoots not unlike those of the rest of Europe, except for numerical results, which often surpass those of most countries.
    Eastern Poland, with its different method of agriculture, with the huge forests, marshes and moors unchanged since time immemorial, offers to the sportsman a chance of meeting wild animals face to face, as his ancestors did centuries ago.
    There, shooting is sometimes far from easy and even far from safe. The difficulties presented by the land itself and by its fauna give that unique charm and attraction no longer to be found elsewhere on the continent of Europe. Shooting in the marshes and moors of Polesie evolves a type of sportsman who understands wild nature thoroughly and from whom the forest has no secrets. The choice of the most interesting game is difficult.
Boar Hunting
    I think that the wild boar, which is well known but still free from the excessive popularisation which has afflicted some smaller game, is a fairly representative example of what Poland has to offer in the way of sporting opportunities. The large number of boars to be found in Poland give even the casual visitor a chance of trying his hand at this remarkable beast. The existence of large herds is due to a suitable disposition of wooded country, with mixed undergrowth and a sufficient amount of oak, which provides an excellent breeding ground; specimens of boar killed in these forests often attain a weight of 420 lb. or more, and their winter coat is thick and heavy.
    The old boar, with his powerful tusks, is called a “single” because he lives a solitary life, unlike the younger boars which go about in herds of a dozen or more. In the great forests, stretching for many miles without a break, there sometimes are huge “singles.” The peasants tell tales about the mysterious power of such animals, each of which acquires a name, and is often known for years before being finally overcome. The keepers say that some sort of magic prevents the bullets from hitting him. There is some truth in this statement, because the layer of fatand skin is so thick that a bullet either slides off or remains stuck in the hide. This type of wild boar is more dangerous as a result of the experience which he has gained from unsuccessful shoots. This practical knowledge makes him charge directly after the first miss, sometimes with fatal results for the sportsman.
    In the forest which spreads east of the Bug, the elk, the lynx and the wolf, now almost extinct in other parts of the Continent, are still living their wild and free life. The wild animals which require from the hunter the deepest knowledge of the art of tracking and of the habits of the animals are the lynx and the wolf. The snow is an essential condition for their tracking and the shooting is best after a heavy snowfall.
The Lynx and the Wolf
    The tracks of both the lynx and the wolf are so easily discernible that no one who has once seen them could fail to identify the animal immediately. It is necessary to drive the sleigh in circles, drawing closer and closer to the spot where the lynx is supposed to be hiding. With luck, it may be possible to locate within a few acres the place where the quarry has spent the day. The lynx is very agile and there will be many tracks, some leaving and some entering the circle surrounding the suspected area of the forest. If there are more of the latter, it means that the animal is within.
    The wolf is more difficult to track, owing to his greater cunning. Winter shoots of wolves and lynxes are, however, similar and do not require separate