148 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
at-home sportsman who draws upon his imagination for a theme 
to dwell upon. He is never happy unless wandering in search of 
sport, be it with gun, rod, or deep-sea line, not only in this our 
“ sea-cirt isle,” but in any part of the European continent which 
may seem to promise occupation to an enthusiastic gunner and 
fisherman. The two volumes before us may be described as 
‘a third series” of his former works,* for although the title has 
been slightly, and, as we think, unnecessarily, altered in each 
series, the scope and plan of the book are much the same, and 
the ‘ Adventures’ here narrated do not differ in kind from the 
‘Trips’ with which he has on former occasions made us 
acquainted. 
To say that there is much novelty in the subjects dealt with 
would be misleading, for those of our readers who delight in 
shooting and fishing will find in many of the chapters merely an 
echo of their own experience, and little is related which might 
not happen, and no doubt has happened frequently, to most 
sportsmen. We must admit, however, that in some of the 
chapters we find exceptions to this; such for instance as 
“Peculiar Duck Shooting on the River Saone” and “ Netting 
Black Ducks at Cape Grisnez.” In the former of these two 
chapters the author describes a mode of shooting wild ducks at 
night, which he saw practised in France, where the birds were 
approached in a bachot, or large flat-bottomed punt, painted 
black, and with sides which ‘‘rose about a yard above the 
stream” to conceal the guns. A pot of congealed grease, with 
a handful of tow stuck in it for a wick, is placed in a copper-pan 
and rigged to the end of a bowsprit about ten feet long; a 
reflector being placed between the light and the boat, by which 
means the light is projected forward, and the gunners behind 
remain in comparative darkness. The light appears to exercise 
an extraordinary fascination over the fowl, which, instead of 
taking to their wings in alarm, swim towards the boat with 
every sign of curiosity, and pay the penalty as soon as they are 
within range. This ¢an scarcely be called a sportsman-like 
practice ; and, beyond the novelty which it presents to those who 
witness it for the first time, has nothing to recommend it to any 
save those who, being dependent on their guns for a living, are 
* A notice of the “ Second Series” appeared in ‘ The Zoologist,’ 1878, p. 145. 
