202 The Gamekeeper at Home. 



shoot the starlings on the thatch, or the sparrows and 

 chaffinches which congregate in the rickyards in 

 such extraordinary numbers — in short, to fire off a 

 gun anywhere near inflammable materials — made it a 

 rule to load with green leaves, which would not burn 

 and could do no harm. The ivy leaf was a special 

 favourite for the purpose — the broad-leaved ivy which 

 grows against houses and in gardens — because it is 

 stout, about the right size to double up and fold into 

 a wad, and is available in winter, being an evergreen, 

 when most other leaves are gone. I have seen guns 

 loaded with ivy leaves many times. When a gun gets 

 foul the ramrod is apt to stick tight if paper is used 

 after pushing it home, and unless a vice be handy no 

 power will draw it out. In this dilemma the old plan 

 used to be to fire it into a hayrick, standing at a 

 short distance ; the hay, yielding slightly, prevented 

 the rod from breaking to pieces when it struck. 



Most men who have had much to do with guns 

 have burst one or more. The keeper in the course 

 of years has had several accidents of the kind ; but 

 none since the breechloader has come into general 

 use, the reason of course being that two charges 

 cannot be inadvertently inserted one above the other, 

 as frequently occurred in the old guns. 



I had a muzzle-loading gun burst in my hands 



