154 THE SHOOTER'S GUIDE. 



oakum, or any soft substance. The sooner this me- 

 thod is applied after the bird is killed the better. In 

 forwarding them to any distance when fresh killed, 

 for their being preserved, tow should be put into the 

 mouth and upon every wound, to prevent the feathers 

 being soiled; and the bird should be wrapped smooth 

 at full-length in paper, and packed close in a box : if 

 sent from far the entrails should be extracted, and the 

 hollow filled with tow dipped in rum or other spirits." 



Tlie Hare. 



My intention originally was not to have mentioned 

 this animal, as it is, strictly speaking, an improper ob- 

 ject for the shooting sportsman; in fact, there is an 

 act of parliament which subjects any person to a pe- 

 nalty for shooting a hare ; but as this act is super- 

 seded by a posterior one, and the practice of shooting 

 these animals become so very general, this work 

 might perhaps be deemed incomplete without a few 

 remarks on this head. 



The hare is one of the most timid animals in na- 

 ture ; fearful of every danger, and attentive to every 

 alarm, it is continually upon the watch : and being 

 provided with very long ears, which are moveable at 

 pleasure, and easily directed to any quarter, it is 

 warned of the distant approach of its enemies. As 

 the hare is destitute of the means of defence, nature 

 has endowed it with powers of evasion in a superior 

 degree : every part and member of this animal seems 



