THE sportsman's vade mbcom. 49 



his barrels are soft. Moore & Gray sent some eighty dollar 

 guns to this country last year, the best and cheapest common 

 guns I have seen. Bar finish, I would as soon have them as 

 Westley Richards' guns. There is not much choice between 

 any London maker, and there are several Birmingham 

 makers fully equal, if not superior to, Richards. Always keep 

 your powder dry, and in a dry place. Never shoot with any- 

 thing but English powder, Curtis & Harvey's diamond grain, 

 Hall's glass or rifle, both same quality, and Pigou and Wilks' 

 best powder. There is very little choice between them. 

 They are strong and clean shooting powders. Don't use too 

 large, nor yet loo small shot. Six, seven, and eight are 

 about your mark for ordinary work ; for duck, from common 

 gun, number four. Never leave your dog whip at home : 

 you always want it most on those occasions. A gun thirty- 

 one inch barrel, fourteen gauge, and eight pounds weight, is 

 as useful an article as you can have. Never poke at a bird, 

 that is, try to see him along the barrels. If you do, you 

 never can be a good or a quick shot. Fix your eye or eyes 

 on the bird, lift up your gun, and fire the moment it touches 

 your shoulder. Practise this a little, and believe me you 

 will give the pokers the go by in a short time. It is the 

 only way to be a sharp shot. And now I will have done, 

 trusting I have not wasted your time in reading so far to no 

 purpose. 



CREDIT GIVEN FOB RECEIPTS. 



In the following receipts you will find those of Blaine, 

 Youatt, Myres, Herbert, and several other people, but as I 



