208 WILD FOWL SHOOTING. 
might truthfully say,a deep-water boat. While it is 
light of draught, still the power so essential to give the 
propelling force can only be had where the sculling oar 
can have ample room to work, and it ought to have at 
least three feet to work in; although in still water, or 
where the current is running lightly, one can get along 
nicely in two feet of water. The water should be free 
from stumps, logs, rice spots, roots and moss. If the 
sculler gets in where his oar is constantly stopped or 
impeded, he cannot work with satisfaction, for the 
steady motion is lost, and his oar loses control of the 
boat. 
The seuller sits on the larboard side of the boat, on 
some hay or an old blanket. The sculling oar is run 
through a hole about two and one fourth inches in 
diameter, in the stern of the boat; the oar is bound 
with leather where it works in the hole, and is from six 
to eight feet long, depending on the taste of the sculler, 
some liking long, others short oars. First thing the 
sculler does, is to see that the boat is properly trimmed 
or balanced. If he is alone, he puts weight enough on 
the starboard bow to offset his own, as he sits on the 
opposite side. Grasping the oar in both hands, he holds 
the stem or handle of the oar on a level with his body, 
and shoves the handle from, then draws it to him, turn- 
ing his wrists a trifle each time as he reverses the mo- 
tion. This gives a lateral movement to the blade in 
the water, and he gets his power by shoving hard on 
the oar as it goes from him, and drawing equally as hard 
as the handle approaches him. The body of the water 
is the resistance, and whether the oar goes from or to 
him it lifts wp against the dead weight of the water, 
and the twisting of the wrists turns the blades just a 
