2i8 WILD-FOWLING AFLOAT BY NIGHT 



such a fine shot at widgeon has been made. There 

 is also an authenticated record that on one occa- 

 sion, about forty years ago, three gunners, shooting 

 together by signal, bagged eighty teal and two ducks 

 one morning at daybreak in Poole Harbour ; and 

 Mr. J. G. Millais informs me that even heavier shots 

 than those mentioned have been obtained in the 

 Scottish firths by night or in the early morning. 



Night punting being, as I have already said, a 

 form of sport principally followed by professional 

 fowlers, it is not surprising that information regard- 

 ing record shots is somewhat scanty. Many amateur 

 fowlers do not punt by night, for the reason that they 

 dislike groping about in the dark, and prefer to have 

 their game under observation from start to finish. 

 Nevertheless, when the conditions are suitable and 

 sport is indifferent by day, night punting can be 

 confidently recommended as an effective means of 

 filling the bag and realising in some degree the 

 fowler's ambition. 



