1 98 WILD-FOWLING AFLOAT BY NIGHT 



we could go afloat with any prospect of success were 

 still fewer. 



Calm moonlight nights are generally considered 

 the most propitious for the sport. A gentle breeze, 

 nevertheless, which causes a slight ripple on the deep 

 water but does not blacken the shallows where the 

 fowl are feeding, is by no means a disadvantage, and 

 if the wind blows towards you as you face the moon 

 so much the better, as you will then be able to hear 

 their cries and also see the fowl on the water under 

 the moonbeams. It is a golden rule in night punting 

 that your quarry must be approached from the darkest 

 and most shady point which circumstances will permit 

 you to choose. In acting thus the form of your punt 

 is less liable to detection in the dark water astern, 

 whilst the birds themselves, being on the light side 

 and in the open, will be clearly visible before you 

 draw within gunshot. Any departure from this method 

 of procedure would be sheer folly on your part and 

 lead to certain failure. Supposing, for instance, you 

 were to attempt to approach the fowl with the light in 

 any degree astern of you, they would inevitably notice 

 your punt far out of gunshot, and although you might 

 perhaps hear them flying up in all directions ahead of 

 the punt, you would, when peering into the gloom, 

 scarcely see a single bird which flew. A background, 



