PUNTING BY DAYLIGHT. 147 



island, far removed from human assistance, where the tide will rush 

 upon him in a few hours, and his fate will then be inevitably dreadful. 

 The punter should not only be cautious to anchor his boat in an 

 available spot, but take care to see that the cable is properly made 

 fast; and when the tide is rising he must watch his boat, and 

 be cautious not to wander so far away, or be g-one so long- that 

 on returning- the boat cannot be reg-ained. He must be doubly 

 cautious at night, for then the danger is considerabl}^ greater ; but in 

 foggy weather worse than at any time. It is strongly urged upon 

 the punter, never, under any circumstances, to g'o out of sight of his 

 punt in a fog* when away from the mainland. Let him know the 

 locality ever so well, if once he turns about, after being* out of sight 

 of any landmark, he becomes bewildered and finally lost. 



It is a wise precaution to be provided with a pocket-compass when 

 wild-fowling" on open waters, during foggy weather ; but this is never 

 a desirable time for punting, because objects look so much larger on 

 the water during- foo-s than in clear weather. 



The punter may dress himself in any fashion he pleases, though the 

 colour of his hat and jacket, as a general rule, slioidd be white, 

 especially in frosty weather, or when there is ice upon the water or 

 snow on the ground. As to disguising the punt, a practice by no 

 means uncommon, it answers best in rivers and inland waters. There 

 are various suggestions ; but none are better than strewing- small 

 boughs of trees about the punt, or distributing- a few tufts of grass 

 and rushes upon it, or anything of like verdure to that growing in the 

 locality frequented by the birds. The most complete disguise of the 

 kind in winter, is drift ice and snow ; but these, as well as all other 

 weighty substances placed on the head of a punt, require care in ad- 

 justment, or they incur danger to the punter, by rendering- his frail 

 little craft less steady ; and the elevation of the gun is very likely to 

 be disarranged by the process. When the boat is artfully disguised, 

 the punter is generall}^ rewarded with success. It is, however, a 

 practice seldom resorted to, except when the birds have become very 

 wild, and shown themselves awake to all other stratagems on the part 

 of the punter. 



The sportsman who would be successful at the pursuit of punting- 

 by daylight, must be very watchful during- the seasons when wild -fowl 

 are expected, for they sometimes arrive suddenly, and leave equally 

 so. Thousands of birds may be in a particular locality ou one day, 

 and gone the next. The punter shoidd not put off his excursion till 



