272 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. X111. 
wad above and below the sawdust, and the whole rammed down well to - 
form one thick wad, For small birds a special small-bore collecting gun 
is of course better, and for this a °28 or ‘410 bore is most suitable. 
The “ walking-stick guns ” of the latter gauge are cheap and handy, 
One thing I may mention in connection with the shooting of birds that 
are destined to be prepared as specimens, and that is the advantage of always 
using the smallest quantity of the smallest size of shot that will serve the 
purpose. The great point is to injure the bird as little as possible in killing 
it. A pellet must necessarily at times strike and shatter the beak or tarsus, 
but the smaller the shot and the fewer there are of them the better chance 
there is of avoiding such accidents, The disadvantage, of course, is that the 
bird willmore often not be killed outright when shot, but, with a little 
care and practice, it can be quickly and effectively despatched without 
injury to it as a specimen, I cannot do better, I think, than quote the 
following instructive paragraph from Mr. Hume’s useful little “ Ornithological 
Vade Mecum ”’ on this subject, which unfortunately is now out of print :— 
“The moment a bird is shot, it should be carefully picked up by the feet 
or beak, and if still alive not allowed to flutter and bedaub itself with sand 
or blood, ‘The feet, beak, and wings should be firmly held,and, if it isa 
small bird, it can be killed by pressing firmly with the thumb under one 
wing and the fore or middle finger under the other 
Where the bird is very large,it should, if possible, be killed eae prussic neta 
or cyanide of potassium, But these are dangerous things to carry about, 
and very often cannot be kept in hand onthe march, In such cases the 
wings, beak, and feet being firmly held, the bird should be laid on its breast 
on a piece of cloth stretched on a smooth stone or piece of ground, and 
strong pressure exerted on the upper back, If the bird is only the size of a 
kite or large duck, this can be done with the hands; buat inthe case of 
eagles, vultures, geese and the like,a man must stand on the bird throwing 
all his weight on to the one foot he stands on, Whether hands or feet are 
used, a cloth or handkerchief should first be placed on the back to prevent 
injury to the plumage,” 
On the subject, too, of the treatment and bringing home of dead birds, 
Mr. Hume’s instructions, as the result of his great experience, are worthy of 
the attention of all collectors, He writes :— 
“The bird dead, all the feathers should be at once carefully smoothed, 
any shot-holes plugged, well washed, sand (not dust) sprinkled on any place 
from which blood seems oozing, shaken off when saturated, again sprinkled, 
and so on, until the issue seems stopped. In the case of blood issuing 
from mouth, nostrils, ears or eyes, these should be firmly plugged with 
cotton wool, after having been dried, as much as possible, with sand, 
‘For carrying all small birds I take a rod about three feet long, and, at 
distances of three or four inches apart, tie on pieces of string each with two 
