152 Sporting Notes in the Far East. 



running parallel to the sea-walls of the Yang-se, being careful not 

 to miss what remains of the standing cotton. A few pheasants, 

 with perhaps three or four couple of quail, may be killed in a 

 day's shooting. 



In the snipe seasons April, May, August, and September; land 

 the same side, above the leading marks for the bar, and shoot over 

 the low lying ground beyond ; the dry bean fields are the most 

 favoured spots ; also up the river as far as Black Point, trying the 

 same kind of ground ; in fact, it almost pays the gunner to walk 

 straight from one bean patch to another, leaving the intervening 

 spaces to take care of themselves. 



A cheap and primitive way for a stranger to get down from 

 Shanghai for this shooting, is to await the opportunity of two 

 favourable tides, hire a two-man sampan for the day (price sixty 

 cents), go down stream with the ebb, shoot for four or five hours, 

 and return with the flood. 



There is no European settlement to speak of at Woosung : but 

 it is nevertheless a necessary and important port, through being the 

 recognized anchorage for all big ships, and vessels of deep draught, 

 who cannot with safety get up the Woosung river to Shanghai. It 

 is also in conjunction with Port Arthur the headquarters of 

 the " North China Fleet," which fleet has lately assumed such 

 proportions, that it is now without exception, considerably the 

 finest and strongest squadron anywhere in Eastern waters : and 



