PRESS.] 



BY riKLD, WOOD, AND WATER. 



[hU0T-1!A<J. 



(V«. GJ. a-pioco, and tho softest and thinnest 

 ^;lOuld bo chosen. Tho trousers must be cut 

 (.fV about tlu-ee inches beK)\v the kiieo before 

 the skins nro sewn on. After coming in from 

 a dav's shootinsr, ii» ^vet turnips or lieavy 

 ground, a i'ew scrubs with a stable besom and 

 water, just as you eland, sets them all right 

 ;igain, without tho trouble of dryiiij; and 

 brushiui; that shooting trousers usually re- 

 tiiiire. The comparative invisibility of the 

 .shooting-dress named above has been proved, 

 from having grouse come Hying right on to 

 the sportsmen, when sitting at lunch in the 

 heath, and more especially on hilly moors. 



Boots a>'d Stockinqs. — Tho only sort of 

 boots worth having are good strong country- 

 made lace-up ones, with sis holes laced, then six 

 hooks, and after that two more holes. Have 

 good nails in them, and let the toes be tipped 

 with steel plates on the sole, and project at 

 least three-quarters of an inch in a slanting 

 direction downwards. This will defend the 

 upper leathers at the toe from being cut by 

 the strong shanks of the heath. In regard to 

 snipe boots, the following plan has been found 

 by far the best to be pursued : — Have the lace 

 boots made sufficiently large to wear with a 

 pair of Macintosh's waterproof fishing stock- 

 ings, over common woollen socks. Walk to 

 the snipe ground, carrying tlie waterproof stock- 

 ings (which fold up into about the size of your 

 hand) in your pocket. Then take off the lace 

 boots, and put the waterproofs on, and the boots 

 over them. The stockings reach right up the 

 leg. "When tired of shooting, rinse both boots 

 and stockings in the nearest water-hole, and 

 dry out the boots with a handkerchief, which 

 is done in a minute ; and then turn the stock- 

 ings inside out, and carry them home in your 

 pocket, and tiius save the trouble of wearing 

 them. You will not perceive the damp of your 

 boots through your woollen socks. Tou will 

 find the inside of the fishing stockings get 

 quite cold and damp after they have been oft' 

 some time ; but that is not a sign that they let 

 water in, but merely that the perspiration 

 generated by walking has condensed. Let the 

 stockings be well dried a good way off the fire, 

 and they will last a long while — about six 

 years. The original price of them is IGs., and 

 tJie cost of new footing, 8^. 



The Cloak. — The next thing to recom- 



mend is a sniall waterproof cloak, and tho 

 solid comfort of this must bo felt to bo appro- 

 ciated. Although naming a cloak, then* in n« 

 need for considering us as composed of ifithiT 

 sugar or salt. In every situation of life corn- 

 fort is everything. AVo therefore recommend 

 a cloak, one of the beautiful light ones, made 

 of black waterproof, that you can buy for about 

 twenty shillings, and which will go into a Hmall 

 case. This case, if made with a couplo of 

 buckles, is fastened into the gun-sling, and is 

 quite out of tho way. The gun-sling we mean 

 is the sort previously sold by Dean and .A.dams, 

 and may be truly called a real blessing to 

 sportsmen. It is no cockney or foreign ap- 

 paratus, but a first-rate invention ; and, fur 

 riding or walking home a long way, is in- 

 valuable. The gun sticks close to you, and 

 you hardly know you carry one, and it will not 

 move a hair's breadth if you run, stoop down, 

 &c. "We name a cloak, for a coat is detesta- 

 ble, and wets both yourself and your gun, in- 

 stead of keeping you dry. "With a cloak, you 

 only need to turn it " rear rank in front " if the 

 rain comes in your face, and you may laugh at 

 a storm, for the trousers we before named will 

 keep you dry above tho knee. 



The SnoT-BA& and Powdee-flask. — 

 For the convenience of carrying the shot- 

 bag and powder-flask, we offer the following 

 suggestions : — Have a thin leather strap sewn 

 tight round the shot-bag, where the charge 

 screws in. Another strap should be sewn to 

 the one named, and continued endways round 

 the bag through the D at the end of it, till it 

 joins the other side of the strap round tho 

 collar, where it must again be sewn to tliat 

 strap, and be continued loose for two inches ; 

 and at the loose end there must be a D. 

 "When held by the last-named D, the shot-bag 

 will hang charger uppermost. Then have a 

 strap to go round the waist, with a short bit 

 of leather, three inches long, sewn on at right 

 angles. This bit of leather should come on 

 the right hip-bone when tho strap is buckled 

 round the waist. "Wo can only say, that any 

 one who will try this plan of carrying a shot- 

 bag, will never return to tho old plan of carry- 

 ing it round the shoulder. The short hanging 

 strap must have a steel swivel to it, to hook 

 into the D of the shot-bag. 



The powder-flask should bo carried in the 



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