SHOOTING ON THE WING. 53 



study^ as we do not believe any such thing, and would be sorry 

 to attempt the promulgation of such a fallacy. But we do 

 assert that the young beginner will much sooner, and with 

 much more pleasure to himself, arrive at this desirable end, by 

 giving heed to the experience of those who have gone before 

 him, no matter whether the instruction be imparted orally or 

 by means of the pen. That there are certain fundamental rules 

 for acquiring this accomplishment, no one will deny; and these 

 rules should be made as simple as possible, and as few as pos- 

 sible; in fact, reduced down to a few words of caution, which 

 may be embodied in the following line: Be cool arid deliberate, 

 and never draw the trigger till the Bird is ivell covered. We do 

 not wish to bother the novice with a long array of written 

 instructions for shooting, as information obtained in this way 

 is too often a mere matter of rote, and cannot be of any great 

 practical utility; we desire, however, to impress upon his me- 

 mory a few short rules that will secure him from the commis- 

 sion of many faults, and prevent him from falling into the 

 common errors that most beginners do. This end being ac- 

 complished, we abandon him to the practical operations of the 

 field, which of themselves will soon make him skilful, if he 

 possesses any of that aptness for Sport which seems inherent 

 in many of those who follow the Dog and Gun as a source of 

 the most healthful and exhilarating amusement. \ 



Although b}'' strictly adhering to the golden rule, Be cool and 

 deliberate, and never dratv the trigger till the Bird is well covered,\j 

 the novice without doubt will miss many Birds, as they will ^ 

 often get beyond the reach of his shot long before he has fairly 

 covered them, more particularly if shooting in thickets or 

 woods; nevertheless, he will find, at the conclusion of the day, 

 that he has not made out so very bad, and, we can assure him, 

 much better than if he had shot at every Bird before it had 

 flown ten steps from the spot whence it sprang. To be sure, 

 he will often feel much mortification and disappointment at the 

 sight of a Partridge sailing off untouched by his fire, although 

 well covered by the gun: this chagrin, however, will be of short 

 duration, as, on the springing of the next Bird, he will invo- 

 luntarily strive to be somewhat smarter in his movements, but 



