STALKING GAME. I 25 



the coat, and a few patches of red-earth stains on these add to their effectiveness. 

 The breeches may be of some Hghter colour such as khaki. A pair of dark-coloured 

 putties are a distinct advantage, on the same principle that an animal's legs are 

 darker than the lower part of its body, and are often black or blackish. They may 

 thus be easily mistaken for the stems of bushes or trees when the animal is not in a 

 good light or is partly concealed. 



The idea to bear in mind with regard to all clothes for stalking is to break up the 

 appearance of the body into different pieces or layers of different colours and shapes, 

 but all of which must be so coloured as to assimilate easily with possible surroundings. 

 These different parts should convey the appearance of being at a distance from one 

 another, and each one unconnected with any other. 



This is accomplished by having the different layers of the body of different 

 shades It is only in insect and small animal life that it is usual for an animal to be 

 of one uniform colour for the sake of concealment. As such they are coloured to 

 represent some common inanimate object such as a stone, clod of earth, stick, or leaf. 

 With larger animals this is not often feasible. It would be difficult to mistake a man 

 standing erect for an ant-hill or a tree, however suitably coloured he might be. 



However, if properly dressed his legs might appear as trunks or stumps of trees 

 and the lower half of his body as grass, whilst the upper might be confused against 

 background of bush. 



When the hunter is coloured so as to blend with surrounding objects he may 

 remain invisible, or at any rate undetected, almost anywhere so long as he does 

 not move. 



He may be sitting beside the thinnest and scantiest of little bushes, but at a 

 distance he will only appear to add to its size. He may even be sitting in the open, 

 and if he remains perfectly still he may pass for a bush. He may move from behind 

 a bush and sit down in its shade ready for a shot, and if only he gets into position 

 slowly enough he will not be observed. To be quite certain of keeping undetected he 

 must always, wherever practicable, remain in shade. Shadows falling on him of their 

 own accord blend him with them — the darker they are, the more is he protected. 



