162 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 
stand a heavy strain. Its length may be between five and six 
feet, according to the size of punt it is to be used aboard. 
One of the most handy articles in punting is a small boat- 
hook. It may be employed for many things besides that in- 
dispensable purpose it serves of holding the punt up to shore, 
etc. Along under the bank of a deep creek, where sculling is 
impracticable, and the setting-pole too long and clumsy to 
manipulate, a stiff, short boat-hook will be found a useful 
article with which to push the punt. The construction 
of a boat-hook is simple. A wrought-iron end, with two 
prongs at right angles to each other, fixed in the iron ferrule- 
shod end of a round ash pole, about 14 inches in diameter, and 
about six feet in length, completes the boat-hook. 
We figure a folding grapnel. This lies snugly in a punt, 
and perhaps that is all which can be said in its favour. To 
undertake to undo a folding anchor covered with mud is never 
pleasant. We prefer a small ordinary three- or four-prong 
grapnel, which is the essence of simplicity, and is all that is 
required, besides stowing away in the punt easily enough. Our 
chief reason for mentioning this tool is due to the fact that 
many of its kind are used by punt-shooters. Anchors, like 
rudders, are almost endless of design. We dread to mention 
some of the curious grapnels we have seen used in punts. 
Loose-head lever cranks to mushroom heads and drag rods 
might all be included in the anchor category of the inventive 
punter’s grapnel. The folding anchor here depicted may be 
forged and fitted for the wildfowler by any country blacksmith 
‘ whose tools extend to a common set of stocks and dies. 
One is ever anxious to reduce manual labour to a minimum. 
In doing so we seek the assistance of mechanical devices and 
ingenious tools to assist us. This is particularly true in regard 
to punting, as the latter sport involves a good deal of hard 
work, if the shooter is one who intends to take the bull by the 
horns and pit his strength against the task from the very start 
