172 GUNS 



As to what breed of these birds — which there is 

 Httle doubt were to be found in this island prior to 

 the Conquest — fly best, there is much diversity of 

 opinion : personally I believe in the old-fashioned 

 breed now so little seen, being under the impression 

 that they, through being lighter and also not so fat, 

 flew much better than the present birds, which are 

 almost invariably the ring-necked kind. 



To every boy on a fresh October morning there is 

 excitement and joy in walking round some hedge- 

 rows, and possibly going through a few small 

 spinneys, on the chance of picking up, besides 

 some bunnies (which, alas ! owing to the Hares 

 and Rabbits Bill, are not so plentiful as they used 

 to be in my boyhood, around the fields), a few 

 outlying pheasants, birds that get up with a whirr 

 and bustle, and — although of course an absurdly 

 easy and uninteresting mark to the experienced 

 gunner — afford the youthful sportsman the most 

 intense joy. If by chance he should succeed in 

 killing the bird, instead, as is most probable, of 

 blowing away a few tail feathers — if he hit it at all 

 — then his pride is immense, and most rightly so 

 too. For believe me, my readers, a boy who is not 

 dead keen about everything — be it work, sports, or 

 games — will grow up into a prematurely old and 

 discontented man. To get bored and blaze is, 

 alas ! only too easy for anybody ; but if in our 

 early shooting days we are not madly keen and 

 ready to face any weather and any conditions, 

 however unpleasant, for the sake of a bit of sport — 



