without feeling it, becomes a trifle boring if nothing 
comes along, and one’s wits are apt to go wool- 
gathering in consequence. It is intensely mortify- 
ing to find after a four hours’ vigil of this descrip- 
tion, that through failing to keep a proper look- 
out, one has missed the chance of securing the main 
object of one’s quest. 
The practical side of shore shooting, or whatever 
branch of sport you like to name, can only be learned 
in the bitter school of experience, where one learns 
more from one’s own mistakes than from anything 
else. It is impossible on paper to teach a man to 
become a successful “‘ hunter.’’ Strength and en- 
durance, and a quick eye, combined with ability at 
marksmanship alone, will not make a man success- 
ful. Again many a man who shoots well at a mark 
with a rifle, is a poor shot with a gun; though the 
converse of this assertion is also true. 
Possibly what counts more than all the rest is a 
knowledge of the habits of the ‘‘ game’’ sought 
after, which enables the shooter to go as if by in- 
stinct to where the birds are to be found, because he 
has calculated beforehand where they ought to be, 
and his experience and knowledge of their habits do 
not as a rule mislead him. 
A few words about the care of specimens in the 
field. One’s efforts to preserve a bird should com- 
mence immediately it is shot. All cripples should 
be caught and despatched as quickly and carefully 
as possible, and the less the specimens are pawed 
about before reaching the skinning table, the better. 
As soon as a bird is dead, plug its mouth (and in 
oe 
