374 lewis' AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



SHOOTING STOCKINGS. 



Woollen stockings are preferable for walking to any other 

 kind. They should be regular made, that is, wove 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 produce 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 pur- 

 pose for shooting in, and then can be thrown away at the termi- 

 nation of the trip ; the plan, in the first place, is not an econo- 

 mical 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 partiall}^, if not 

 entirely, deficient of these essential articles just on the point of 

 starting. These low-priced common stockings are never regu- 

 lar made, but are sewed together at the seams ; they are also 

 badly shaped, particularly at the heel, and generally very un- 

 comfortable to walk in, as well as very rotten, and in every 

 respect good for nothing. 



We are now using a stocking sent to us by a Sporting friend 

 from England, and said to be very generally used there for ordi- 

 nary shooting ; the soles, toes, and heels are made of the finest 

 wool (that is, the finest ever employed for a good walking-stock- 

 ing) ; the other parts of the stocking are formed of soft and stout 

 cotton. 



We have given several pairs of these stockings very hard 

 service, and find them to answer admirably ; in mild weather 

 they certainly are preferable to stockings made wholl}'" 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 difiiculty will often be 

 removed by wearing two pairs of stockings. 



