SNIPE HUNT: Do snipes really exist? Apparently so.

We had mentioned recently that Bigfoot hunters had banged
together two sticks to lure the creatures out of the forest, and
were told that some Boy Scouts had also used that stick-banging
procedure when playfully sent out on “snipe hunts.”

A reader points out to us that since “snipe hunting” is usually
meant as a joke – code words for a “fruitless search” – many people
believe snipes do not exist. Wrong, she says, they are a birds and
we verified that in our reference material.

As recently as the early 1980s, snipes were listed in the
Pennsylvania Hunting Rules Book, she says.

Called a “sandpiper-like bird” in our bird book, the “common
snipe” appears to be plentiful through much of the United States.
We don’t know how it got the bad rap, but we found it interesting
that ” … these birds have a variety of calls heard only on the
breeding ground, and they perform a spectacular aerial territorial
display in which the feathers of the tail produce an eerie
whistling sound.”

TEA TIME: We hope you hung onto yesterday’s paper to see how
good you did on yesterday’s quiz about tea. Answers:

1. China.

2. Queen Victoria.

3. Tetley.

4. Charleston, S.C.

5. Josiah Spode

6. A working man’s supper served at a high table such as a
kitchen table.

7. An elegant afternoon tea served at a low table.

8. Camellia sinensis.

9. A small crustless sandwich, often cucumber.

10. Scones or some kind of toast.

11. Sweets such as cookies or cake.

12. Tisanes are made from herbs and are not true teas.

13. A thick cover for the tea pot that keeps the tea hot.

14. Years ago tea was so valuable that the lady of the house
kept tea in a locked wooden box to which she kept the key.

15. Scalding hot.

16. Sunday clothes.

17. We usually think of 4 p.m. as tea time, but any time between
3 and 5 p.m. is considered proper.

One Book Bradford committee’s Victorian Tea will be held from
3-5 p.m. Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church. Tickets for the
tea are available at the Bradford Area Public Library. The event is
being held in conjunction with the reading of Lauren Belfer’s novel
“City of Light.”