136 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 



One can never be over-observant in wildfowling matters. 

 It might seem strange to an ordinary shooter to see a careful 

 puntsman who has not been down to the coast for a few days 

 throw a twig into a running creek, then place a long-booted 

 foot into the water, feel the silt or mud with the fingers at the 

 bottom, pull out his watch, time the twig for twenty yards, 

 then look up at the sky, pull out his pocket aneroid and tap 

 it, and with a sniff, remark, "No good going to-day." All 

 this may seem a mystery to the land-gunner. We will deduce 

 from the foregoing actions to our best. The twig tests the 

 speed of the run of fresh water from inland ; his leg feels the 

 weight or pressure and quantity of water running, and even if 

 more or less is to follow ; his observations of the sky assist 

 his calculations of the weather ; his barometer corroborates or 

 contradicts his prophecy ; and his sniff denotes a worthless 

 trip. Worked out, he knows that the run of fresh water will 

 soon be exhausted, and from the hardness of the silt at the 

 bottom of the stream that a lot of water has flowed down. 

 The weather is fine, and the barometer shows steady. The 

 run of the stream would not last long enough to take him 

 to the ebb (which means stranding until the rise of the tide) ; 

 and, the weather being fine, ducks he would be likely to fall 

 in with before stranding are far out at sea. Thus he saves 

 himself what would be a worthless trip. 



It is by such observations also that we wish dangers to be 

 avoided. We must admit, however, that all dangers cannot 

 be foretold ; but with some knowledge of their possibility, 

 one is better prepared than if totally ignorant of them. Of 

 course, we cannot enter into, nor do we know, every possible 

 danger which might arise when punting ; but by referring to 

 the most general, the others may be guarded against on some- 

 what similar lines. 



First of all, regard the handling of a gunning-punt as a 

 very serious undertaking, at no time to be fooled with. Care- 



