[7] DIRECTIONS FOE COLLECTING BIRDS RIDGWAY. 



The collector, therefore, if he desires to make the most of his oppor- 

 tunities, will reverse the usual custom, and search the woods and 

 copses, fields and river-banks for birds which would pass unnoticed by 

 the ordinary observer, feeling sure that many new forms will be his 

 reward.* 



§ 2. OUTFIT FOE OOLLECTlNa. 



Guns and ammunition. — For " all round" collecting the best gun is a 

 12-gauge, double-barreled, breech-loading shotgun of approved make,t 

 with barrels 28 inches long, length of stock and " drop " to suit the 

 user. One barrel should be " choked," the other '' cylinder bored," and 

 the latter should have fitted to it an auxiliary barrel for .32-caliber 

 shells. These should be loaded with American wood powder, grade D, 

 and No. 12 shot, and the shells may be either rim or center tire, though 

 only one or the other can be used, it being necessary to decide before 

 the auxiliary barrel is made which kind of cartridge is to be used with 

 it. The writer prefers rim-fire shells, for the reason that the bother and 

 loss of time in reloading is avoided, while they are so much cheaper 

 that there is no pecuniary loss in the end. On the other hand, there is 

 the disadvantage that one may get out of ammunition ; but this may be 

 avoided by taking a sufficient supply. 



With this auxiliary barrel, which may be carried in the pocket or in 

 the game basket when not in actual use, the collector is always pre- 

 pared for the smallest specimens. Without it he will find great diffi- 

 culty in loading his 12-gauge shells with a sufficiently light charge. 



For shooting about houses, in orchards, or any places where a noise 

 is to be avoided, as well as for other considerations, a cane gun of .22 

 caliber is exceedingly useful. A good substitute is an ordinary .22 cali- 

 ber breech-loading pistol, with the barrel lengthened by soldering to it 

 a piece of brass tube anywhere from 12 to 24 inches in length, f though 

 if a long barrel is preferred it should be made into two sections, which 

 screw together, in order that the gun may be carried in a pocket or put 

 into a valise. The .22 caliber shells are, of course, rim fire. They 



* By following this course, a collector on the Lower Amazon, a region supposed 

 to bo practically exhausted of ornithological novelties, a few years since, discovered 

 19 new species in a total of a little more than 100 collected, and 3 new genera. 



t There are so many individual preferences as to the particular make of guns that 

 any recommendation in this respect would he superfluous, except to those who have 

 not had sufficient experience to have decided upon some particular liind. Every- 

 thing considered, there is probably no better gun made than the " Parker," while the 

 " Fox," though peculiar in its action, has some points of excellence over other kinds. 

 This, however, is a matter which may well be left to the person most concerned, pro- 

 viding, however, that selection be made from some one of the reliable makes, cheap 

 guns, which are cheap at any price, being avoided. 



t Such an arm may be obtained, in both .22 and .32 calibers, for about $5, from J. 

 A. Ross & Co., 29 Oliver street, Boston, Massachusetts. It is called ''The Favor- 

 ite Collecting Pistol." 



