HUNTING & SHOOTING IN CEYLON 



an absolute necessity. Presuming that you are ready to 

 start for, say, paddy-field shooting, you proceed to select 

 as many boys as you require (always available at 25 cents 

 each), hand your cartridge bag to one and snipe sticks to 

 another, and wend your way to the shooting ground. 

 Having reached the fields, and decided on the way they 

 are to be worked, you line out your boys on either side 

 of you, with orders not to get ahead, but, if anything, 

 keep a wee bit behind the guns, and, above all, not to rush 

 forward to pick up fallen birds these are to be gathered 

 as the " line " reaches them. If the fields are standing 

 paddy you must on no account walk through the paddy 

 if you do there will be a row, to say the least of it ! 

 You must travel along the narrow ridges only, and shoot 

 from them also ; you will get used to it after a bit. The 

 boys retrieving fallen birds in the paddy will not be inter- 

 fered with, as they are careful for their own sakes to do no 

 damage. If the growth of the paddy is somewhat advanced 

 a little " shoo-ing " will be needed to put the birds up, 

 but in ploughed unplanted fields silence is best, as the 

 birds see you all the time. 



In paddy fields surrounded by village lands and gardens 

 you must be careful where your shot is likely to go if 

 not, there may be a coroner's inquest ! 



In shooting round irrigation tanks it is best for the 

 shooter to walk along the very edge of the water, with 

 two or three boys only on the land side. The reason of 

 this is that most of the birds lie close to the water and 

 very often fly across or partly over it when put up. Do 

 not allow men and boys to follow you indiscriminately ; 

 if you do you will soon have such a " tail " as will 

 preclude any chance of sport, their object being usually 

 to pick up your empty cartridge cases, which they put 



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