396 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



SHOOTING-STOCKINGS. 



Woollen stockings are preferable for walking to any other kind. 

 They should be regular made, that is, woven without any seam ; for, 

 if they be joined together at their heels or toes with a needle, the 

 irregularities of the seam are very apt to rub the parts and pro- 

 duce considerable uneasiness, and often blisters. Do not suppose 

 that any common-made stockings, such as can be bought for a few 

 pennies the pair, will answer every purpose and may then be thrown 

 away at the termination of the trip. The plan, in the first place, 

 is not an economical one, neither is it a convenient one ; for with 

 the addition of a few more pennies an excellent article, that would 

 last a whole season, might be obtained, and, by always having 

 them on hand, we would not, as is often the case when the stockings 

 are thrown away, find our sporting-wardrobe partially, if not en- 

 tirely, deficient of these essentials just on the point of starting. 

 These low-priced common stockings are never regular made, but 

 are sewed together at the seams; they are also badly shaped, 

 particularly at the heels, and generally uncomfortable to walk in, 

 as well as very rotten, and in every respect unserviceable to a 

 sportsman. 



We are now using stockings sent to us by a friend from England, 

 and said to be unversally used there for ordinary shooting : the 

 soles, toes, and heels, are made of fine wool, the other parts of the 

 stocking being formed of soft and stout cotton. 



We have given several pairs of these stockings very hard ser- 

 vice, and find them to answer admirably ; in mild weather they 

 certainly are preferable to stockings made wholly of wool, as they 

 heat the feet less, absorb far less water, and get dry much sooner. 



If our shooting-boots be too large, the difficulty will often be 

 removed by wearing two pairs of stockings. 



CLEANING GUNS. 



The process of cleaning a gun, although simple in itself, is not, 

 however, thoroughly understood, much less practised, by many of 



