BAY-SNIPE SHOOTING. 309 



marlin, and willets are flying, all of which are able 

 to endure severe punishment, No. 6 is preferable. 

 Eley's cartridges are often useful with grass-plover, 

 although they ball so frequently that the majority 

 of sportsmen have lost faith in them. 



Favorable seasons for snipe, when heavy or re- 

 peated rains have saturated the meadows, and filled 

 every hollow with stagnant pools of dirty water, are 

 also favorable for mosquitoes. Persons who suifer 

 from the bites of this pestiferous insect — and the 

 difference between individuals upon this subject is 

 remarkable — should prepare themselves with mos- 

 quito-nets and ill-scented oils, as they would for a 

 visit to the wild woods; while those who are much 

 affected by the sun should bring unguents with 

 which to temper its intensity and assuage the pain 

 that its burning rays inflict. 



Shoes are the proper things for the feet, as boots 

 become heated and uncomfortable ; and a brown 

 Unen jacket with white flannel pantaloons, thick 

 enough to resist the attacks of a mosquito, and 

 with the necessary underclothes for an exceptionally 

 cold day, constitute the most practical rig. 



If the sportsman use a muzzle-loader — which he 

 should not do if he can afford to buy a breech- 

 loader — ^he must have a loading-stick which he can 

 extemporize from his cleaning-rod by substituting a 

 ramrod head for the jag. This he does by simply 

 having a piece of brass of the proper size and shape 

 to screw into the place of the latter. He should also 

 have two guns, or he loses the chance at the return- 



