WILD-FOWL SHOOTING. 261 



ment, to become accustomed to all kinds of hardships, to care 

 neither for the peltings of the rain, the driving of the snow, 

 whistling of the wind, or the freezing of the water. All such 

 accompaniments to his pursuits must be despised, and not regarded 

 as barriers to his enjoyments ; but, as before intimated, their presence 

 must be viewed as imparting a keener zest to the pleasure of the 

 sport. With feelings akin to these, the sportsman is prepared to 

 enter upon the hardy and exciting occupation of wild-fowl shoot- 

 ing in all its branches during the cold winter months of our 

 northern country ; and such a choice spirit will derive both plea- 

 sure and healthful recreation in the pursuit. 



It is almost unnecessary to tell the sportsman that he must be 

 provided with many essentials to assist him in holding the elements 

 at defiance, and resort to every expedient to protect his ammuni- 

 tion from dampness, his gun from rust, and his own person from 

 the effects of the cold and rain to which he will often be exposed 

 during these excursions. Water-proof boots, water-proof coats, 

 woollen shirts, drawers and stockings, and warm gloves, are all 

 necessary accompaniments to a ducker's wardrobe ; and, without 

 these essentials and a strong heart besides, he had better not enter 

 upon the rough-and-tumble sport of wild-fowl shooting as followed 

 by an old campaigner. 



A flask of good spirits is also an important accompaniment to 

 the other necessaries, but which, by-the-by, should be resorted to 

 as seldom as possible ; for the use of liquor during active exercise 

 often creates an unnatural thirst, which, if indulged in to an 

 extent sufficient to produce a flush on the cheek or a glow on the 

 body, will most assuredly make the eye uncertain or the hand 

 unsteady, and, moreover, prove otherwise injurious by opening the 

 pores of the system and making the shooter more susceptible to 

 the effects of cold. We have spoken more fully on this subject in 

 our hygienic directions. 



