HUNTING & SHOOTING IN CEYLON 



Patch soon found, and almost at once ran the hare out 

 at a corner about 70 yards from where I stood. It was 

 a hopelessly long shot for my right barrel with No. 6, but 

 I fired, with, of course, no effect, following it up almost 

 instantly with my left loaded with swan-shot. The hare, 

 however, ran on towards the tea field and disappeared in 

 the belt of scrub bordering it, so I ran round into the tea 

 to the point where I had seen the hare disappear and called 

 up the dogs. Vic and Carbolic only turned up to range 

 the tea, when I soon heard the latter growling, and running 

 up, found the hare dead and Carbolic, as usual, standing 

 guard against Vic. I found that one swan-shot had caught 

 it, breaking the left shoulder and probably damaging the 

 lungs. Sent the hare to the bungalow by a cooly, and 

 went to k have a look at my pluckers in the * Elwela ' field. 

 There I put the dogs into an isolated bit of scrub, having 

 tea field on three sides and a paddy field watercourse on 

 the other. Patch again found, and, after a lively chorus 

 from her and Vic, turned the hare out near where I had 

 taken my stand on an ant-hill, giving me a fair view 

 amongst the tea, and, as it ran almost towards me, it gave 

 an easy shot which I took advantage of." 



So much for a successful stroll round, but many and 

 many are the days when I have not even had a run, besides 

 which I should think that for every hare shot at I run 

 three at which I never get a chance, not to speak of an 

 occasional miss. The following " scores," taken haphazard 

 from my diary, show the style of sport my dogs give me : 



March 1 6 . . . . . . I hare 



,,20 ...... i 



,,22 ...... i 



,,26 . . . . . . 2 



29 ...... i 



30 



