LAKE SHOOTINa.] 



SHOOTING, 



[lake SHOOTINa. 



•probably from the beacb, and often liable, with- 

 out great care, to be fixed in the mud, where he 

 would become an inevitable prey to the return- 

 ing tide. We have heard of a poor fellow who 

 never took a dog with him in these expeditions, 

 because no dog could bear the cold which he 

 was obliged to suffer. The tide often throws, 

 next day, on different parts of the shore, many 

 of the birds which he had killed on the pre- 

 vious night, but could not find them. 



This is the account given by Mr. Gepin, of 

 this kind of sport ; but, since his time, the 

 mode of pursuit has been greatly improved. 



The danger, Mr. Daniel tells us, of fowlers 

 attacking the wild fowl in small boats, arises 

 from the circumstance, that when there hap- 

 pens to be ice in the river, they get encircled 

 by it, and can only hope to extricate them- 

 selves by following the current, wherever it 

 may take them. It not unfrequently happens 

 that the men are detained two or three tides, 

 before they can work their way out of the icy 

 entanglement. They also suffer much, in such 

 cases, from cold and privation. 



On and in the vicinity of the Fern Islands? 

 near to Berwick-upon-Tweed, wild fowl con- 

 gregate, and breed in surprising numbers. It 

 is impossible, in walking on the ground, to 

 step upon a single square foot of space with- 

 out crushing eggs beneath your feet. In the 

 winter season, when there is a storm from the 

 east or north-east, with a heavy sea breaking 

 on the shore, the wild fowl may be shot, even 

 on the mainland, in considerable quantities, 

 by artfully concealing oneself along the beach. 

 Storms have sometimes so bewildering an effect, 

 even on these hardy birds, that they seem 

 quite stupid, and will sometimes come within 

 twenty yards of the gun, in daylight. 



LAKE AND POND SHOOTING. 



This sport can only be followed in certain 

 parts of the kingdom, as, where there are neither 

 lakes nor ponds, it cannot be pursued. In 

 the fenny districts of Lincolnshire and Cam- 

 bridgeshire, however, where the various kind 

 of wild ducks breed among the reeds and long 

 grass in the boggy grounds, this sport is to be 

 obtained. Here the young are hatched, and, 

 in the month of August, receive the name of 

 flappers ; and the shooting of them then com- 

 mences, and is found to be excellent sport. 

 592 



This kind of shooting is altogether difierent 

 from that which is practised on the coast, 

 where the birds only come to feed at particular 

 seasons, and where they never breed. These 

 fens, meres, or broads, are sometimes amazingly 

 stocked with birds of all kinds ; and great 

 numbers are shot, or taken in traps and nets 

 for the London market. 



For Hampshire coast-punt shooting, a gun 

 of Jifty ijounds' weight is that which is found 

 to be the most suitable. The old heavy pieces 

 of seventy and eighty pounds, rendered the 

 punt immovable when fouled on grass and 

 winkles, which are shells strewed over the 

 oozes in countless myriads. The sportsman, 

 in such a puut, rows with his back to the gun, 

 until he sees the fowl, when he turns on his 

 face, and works himself along with a kind of 

 prong, weighted to catch the ground. When 

 the water is too deep for the pushing-pole 

 readily to reach the ground, two paddles are 

 made use of to help the fowler forward. 

 Having given these general instructions, the 

 reader is referred to the work of Colonel 

 Hawker for further information. There he 

 will find all that relates to mud-pattens, mud- 

 boards, and to several modifications of the 

 launching-punt, the launching-sledge, the 

 Sussex mud-boat, and the Poole canoe — all de- 

 vices and instruments made to facilitate the 

 capture of the wild fowl in the creeks and 

 oozes of this part of the British coast. 



There are other matters connected with this 

 sport sufficiently important to demand a shght 

 notice, amongst which is the dress of the wild- 

 fowl sportsman. Respecting this, Mr. Daniel 

 says — " To be properly equipped for this sport 

 in severe weather, it is essentially requisite to 

 be well clothed. Flannel shirt, drawers, and 

 additional exterior and warm garments, will 

 not be found unpleasant to those who face the 

 cold winds upon the marshes, or sit fixed in a 

 punt alongside the oozes; thick yarn stock- 

 ings, and, over them, what are termed wads by 

 the fisherman (knit woollen stockings that 

 come up to the middle ; and, however inele- 

 gant in their appearance, prove very solid com- 

 forts to the wearer) ; and over these double 

 defenders of the legs, a pair of waterproof boots 

 will also be found indispensable. A cap must 

 be worn, made of skin, instead of a hat ; as the 

 wild fowl will not approach near the latter." 



