WHAT TO OBSERVE. 263 



it had subsequently become sun-dried. Old trails of 

 this description, made upon dry plains, may, and in 

 fact often do continue distinctly visible even after the 

 lapse of years. 



These things show what an amount of trained ob- 

 servation has to be exercised to correctly interpret even 

 so apparently plain a matter as the probable age of a 

 footprint ; to be able to do so correctly however, is all- 

 important, as success in hunting depends upon it in 

 many cases. 



To recapitulate therefore the main points to be borne 

 in mind about it: 



i. Observe the state of the weather at the time, 

 and also what it has been during the previous twenty- 

 four hours, making mental note of all changes. 



2. Keep the ground far to the front constantly 

 under observation, as well as what is at your feet. 



3. Watch the long grass, weeds, bushes, etc., for 

 indications of the recent passage of animals, brushing 

 through it, as already described. 



4. Examine all marks upon the ground, watch for 

 footprints in soft places and in spots shaded from 

 the sun. 



5. Keep a vigilant look-out for " droppings." 



6. Keep face to wind as far as possible. Where 

 it is calm, test the wind with a bit of feather, or a 

 little dust, or by the smoke of a pipe (if you smoke). 



7. Keep as far as possible to the high ground. 



8. Avoid exposing yourself to view on the crest of 

 a hill, etc., without first ascertaining that no game is 

 in sight on the other side. 



For the rest, to tell the exact age of a trail, the 

 kind of animal that made it, and other minutiae, we 



