BOATS. Sid 
of it as you would of your gun. TI know itis lots of trou- 
ble, but your reward in having a tight boat in excellent 
condition, ought to be sufficient recompense for the 
labor spent. In such a case one should feel, * Labor 
Ypse voluptas, ’—labor itself is a pleasure. 
Canvas boats are made which are good and safe for 
hunting purposes. The Bond-metal boat is good and 
very handy, being sectional, it can be divided, and two 
shoot in it with safety, one in each section. For wild 
rice and marsh shooting the Wilson duck-boat is one of 
the finest I ever saw, but quite expensive. This boat 
ismad. of very heavy tin, equal to No. 24 iron, weight 
about 70 pounds. Any practical boat-builder can build 
you a boat, but be sure and have it made as you and 
notas he wants to make it. Following are the measure- 
ments of boats I use. They can be rowed, sculled or 
punted. 
Length, 12 1-2 feet: beam, 8 ft. 6 in. to 4 ft.; 
depth, 10 1--2 inches; deck, 4 feet. There should 
be a rake of 10 in., commencing 5 feet from the 
stem, running back to the stern, so it will not dragand 
make a noise, and ripple. Stern board, five and a half 
inches. A rake should run up to bow, leaving bow 6 
to8 in. high. The bow should be shape of sled runner 
so as to glide easily over sticks and moss. Keelson, 5 
inches wide, of oak. The best way to build a boat is 
of five-eighths strips midship one and a half inch wide, 
tapering to half an inch at ends; oak bows on inside 
3-8ths in. thick, one and one quarter inch. wide, about 
10 to 12in. apart. Knees of oak, the edges of the strips 
forming the sides, should be thoroughly covered with 
white lead and nailed together every 4 to 6 in. through 
the edges. These strips should also be well nailed 
