GAME AND ITS PROTECTION. yal 
There is no meaner mode of shooting than from a 
battery. In attaining destructiveness, every idea of 
beauty, comfort, or sportsmanship is sacrificed. The 
shooter lies on his back in a species of coffin sunk to 
the level of the water, with his decoys near by; and 
whenever a flock approaches, he rises to a sitting 
posture and fires. He cannot leave his battery nor 
move it, nor hardly turn round in it, and is unable 
to retrieve his ducks without the aid of an assistant. 
It is an invention suited solely to the market-gunner, 
and utterly unfitted to the sportsman. Bad weather 
prevents its use altogether; and in a moderate breeze 
the water is apt to break over the narrow rim and 
destroy the comfort, if not absolutely endanger the 
safety, of the sportsman. 
When ducks are scarce the confinement is weari- 
some; and when they are abundant the excitement, 
united to the awkwardness of position, often leads 
to terrible accidents. ‘‘ Cribbed, cabined, and con- 
fined,” the duck-shooter lies for weary hours ex- 
posed to the cold winds of winter, unable to keep 
his blood in circulation by exercise, and is hardly 
remunerated by the sport; although, if money be his 
object, he may be paid by the commercial value of 
his game. It is this ignoble mode of warfare that, 
more than anything else, has brought discredit upon 
wild-fowl shooting; for the upland shooter, accus- 
tomed to the free motion and active exertion of his 
favorite pursuit, naturally feels disgusted at being 
thrust into a box scarcely large enough to contain 
his body, and which cramps his every motion. 
