552 AMERICAN GAME FISHES. 



bag or valise, and is an adequate protection against the rain 

 or the rays of the sun. A pair of ear-muffs should be pro- 

 vided, to wear in extreme cold weather. For mid-winter, in 

 high latitudes, a thick, knitted woolen cap is good, and this 

 should be large enough to come well down over the ears and 

 back of the neck. A silk or light worsted skull-cap is some- 

 times needed when sleeping outdoors in cold weather, but 

 should not be worn unless absolutely necessary. Never 

 wear a fur cap when hunting, if j^ou value your hair or your 

 health. If you do so, your head will get hot when you walk, 

 and the perspiration will run down your neck; you will take 

 off your cap to get relief, and will get a cold in your head 

 that is liable to last you a month. 



As to foot-gear there is a great diversity of opinion among 

 sportsmen. No boot or shoe has ever been made that was 

 perfect in every particular for hunting and fishing. Rubber 

 and l&ather are both objectionable, under certain conditions. 

 No leather is suitable for wading, nor for walking in the woods 

 in rainy weather or in wet snow, because no leather is water- 

 proof; and none of the so-called water-proofing materials 

 will make it so. They will render it partially so, for a time, 

 but you may soak your boots in the best of it, then put them 

 on and walk half a day in wet grass or wet snow and the 

 water will get in all the same. As good a thing as any 

 e.xtant for all-round hunting and fishing, aside from wading, 

 is a medium-weight leather walking-shoe with a heavy sole 

 and a broad, low heel. It should be made to fit the foot, and if 

 so made one may walk comfortably in it all day. You may 

 be compelled to wade a creek or a swamp occasionally, and 

 so to get your feet wet; but if you wear thick woolen socks, 

 as already advised, no serious trouble is likely to result from 

 this. You are not likely to take cold, your feet are not likely 

 to be blistered, and you will be much less tired than if you 

 had worn a pair of heavy leather boots. 



For wading, for walking in wet weather, or in wot snow» 



