A VARIED BAG 



SEAL SHOOTING 



THERE was some talk of a sportsman's badge being earned 

 by the person who had killed a seal, a stag, and a golden 

 eagle. The former is very easy to kill, but very difficult to 

 bag. It must be shot absolutely dead instantaneously, or it 

 struggles into the water and there sinks. It has to be caught 

 when basking on the rocks or sands, and this generally means 

 shooting from a boat in a sea which will not be still, so that the 

 chances of a brain shot are not great. To shoot seals when 

 they come up to have a look at a passing boat is to wound them 

 generally, but if they are killed they sink. Possibly the only 

 advantage of shooting seals is to save some fish. The salmon 

 waiting to run up rivers are made to suffer greatly very often. 

 The seal of our coasts is not the fur seal, and has little value 

 when shot. 



CAPERCAILZIE 



This is the finest game bird we have, unless it be considered 

 that the lately introduced wild turkeys are finer ; both are the 

 offspring of imported birds, for the turkeys never were British 

 birds, and the capercailzie after extinction were re-introduced 

 in the Taymouth Castle district by the then Earl of Breadalbane. 



The birds do not grow in Scotland to nearly the size of those 

 of the Continent, and fine as they are they give but little sport, 

 and are thought to be objectionable in many ways. One of 

 these is said to be that they eat the leaders of the Scotch pine 

 and so ruin the trees ; but it is difficult to believe this to be 

 correct, for the leaders of the pines could hardly be reached 



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