f320 KEMAltKS. 



and when that leg is tired, he changes it again, and 

 works away as before. Having got pretty near to his 

 birds, he lies down in the " mud boat," in which, if the 

 mud is soft, he can work along with his feet; but if 

 hard, he must " hold on," and shove this kind of sledge 

 before him. He lies close on his chest to fire, and has 

 a stock cut away at the but, which is filled with horse 

 hair. This so much eases the recoil from his collar 

 bone, that (unless in a sharp frost, when guns are apt 

 to strike harder) he can manage to fire half a pound of 

 shot at a time. Birds may be approached much nearer 

 by this means than by any other kind of " launching" 

 as the whole concern is so much lighter, and smaller. 



So much for the new system, by which the ancient 

 mode of shooting on the Hampshire coast, so well de- 

 scribed by Mr. Gilpin, and quoted by Mr. Daniel, has 

 long ago been totally superseded ! 



Although I cannot, for a moment, suppose, that the 

 generality of sportsmen would ever think of adopting 

 this method, yet I have given directions for it, because 

 I am fond of any thing original ; and for this reason I 

 have made it the subject of a little drawing. Here the 

 light launching sledge is in the fore ground ; the Hamp- 

 shire gunner contending with it in the centre, and the 

 Sussex mud-boat looking after other birds in the back 

 ground ; the latter is shown with a man in the position 

 in which he traverses the oozes before he begins to 

 crouch and advance to the birds. In order to tell the 

 story, I have found it necessary to put this, and other 

 subjects, a little " out of drawing." Here I hope the 

 R. A. gentlemen will pardon me, with that liberality 

 which is inseparable from men of talent. 



Since the last edition, Buckle has beat us all, by con- 



