HOUSEBOAT-GUN-DOG. 27 



Shanghai is usually the open port where 

 the shooter first enters, and at that port he 

 can with more intelligence take his latitude 

 and bearing. At Shanghai he will seldom 

 have any difficulty in hiring a boat that 

 will prove suitable and at a reasonable 

 price, as there are a larger number of 

 houseboats at this port than any of the 

 other open ports of the Empire and a 

 satisfactory selection is more easily made. 



But in the words of an old shooter in 

 China, as " no three men agree about the 

 dimensions, build and fittings most suit- 

 able for a perfect shooting boat," I shall 

 give the general opinion only on the 

 subject. 



The concensus of opinion among the 

 resident sportsmen is that a first class 

 houseboat should be at least forty-five feet 

 long and eleven and a half feet wide 

 outside of the guards, and with crew and 

 stores on board should not draw more than 

 fourteen inches of water. " The model 

 below the water should be like the elongat- 

 ed bowl of a spoon, point forward, but with 

 more fulness in the bilges, and the bow 

 should curv^e upwards and forwards and 



