120 HAKE SHOOTING. 



did we suppose you would ever condescend to look 

 for hares. 



But we see you in the midst of a preserve, where 

 they are as numerous as the sands upon the sea- 

 shore. Accept some of our maxims as applicable 

 to such a case. Should you by any accident espy 

 a hare on her form, don't fire at her sitting; if 

 not because it is unbecoming a sportsman, at all 

 events, because by putting her up, you will have 

 the best chance of putting her into your bag. A 

 hare, when running, especially across you, is very 

 easily shot; whereas an old puss on her form, is very 

 far from being an easy object to hit. In shooting 

 them when the lands lie in high ridges, should 

 a hare run across ridge and furrow, take care not to 

 fire till she is rising, and about mid-way between the 

 furrow and the ridge. If you wait till she has got to 

 the top of the land, her head, which is the most 

 vulnerable part, will be covered by her haunches : 

 for the same reason, when a hare is running straight 

 from you, on level ground, just aim so that you may 

 seem to skim her back with your charge. 



When a hare approaches you, wait till she is well 

 within reach of shot; then whistle, or make some 

 sign upon which she will stop for an instant, and 

 then turn to one side or the other. Take her when 

 her side is towards you : it 's long odds you miss her 

 entirely should you fire when she is coming " stem 

 on," as the sailors say. It is within the letter of the 

 law to shoot leverets at all times ; but it is unsports- 



