WILD SWAN SHOOTING. 197 



yoii ; for as all wild fowls have an extremely acute sense 

 of smell, there is little chance of getting a shot unless 

 you get to windward. In these expeditions strict silence 

 must be the order of the day; and as the distance on 

 water is apt to deceive persons who have not had much 

 practice in this kind of shooting, the signal for firing at 

 the swans, when near enough, should be given by the 

 boatmen, who are usually good judges, by a gentle pull 

 of the jacket. To screen as much as possible from the 

 sight of the loug-necked birds, some large blocks of ice 

 should be placed on the deck of the punt ; but at night, 

 when the sea is quite smooth, you may get as close to them 

 as you may feel inclined. The gunner should never think 

 of firing until the swans hold their heads up and swim to- 

 gether, wdiich latter is a sure sign that they are going to 

 take flight. Hearne, in speaking of the rapid flight of 

 water-fowl, observes of the wild swan, that notwitlistand- 

 ing their size, these birds are so extremely swift on the 

 wdng, when in full feather, as to make them more 

 difficult to shoot than almost any other, it being neces- 

 sar}^ frequently, to take sight ten or twelve feet before 

 their bills ; this, however, is only when they are flying 

 before the wind in a brisk gale, at which time they sel- 

 dom fly at a less rate than a hundred miles an hour ; 

 but when flying across the wind or against it, they are 

 not able to make any great progress. Colonel Hawker 

 mentions, " that on the Hampshire coast, in Keyhaven 

 and Pennington, several wild fowl were sitting in large 

 masses of ice, which when thawed, the whole harbour 

 was in arms with shooters. Having a punt which drew 

 less water than the others, it was therefore my lot to 

 have the first chance. I therefore took the precaution of 

 getting well round to windward ; and when I had arrived 

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