A RETRIEVER NECESSARY. 247 
Strictly migratory, what an enjoyable life they must 
lead! here to-day, gone to-morrow; one week skimming 
the waters that skirt the sunny shores of Florida, the next 
seeking their food on the spongy, verdant uplands of Lab- 
rador; in the former wakened from their reveries or slum-_ 
bers by the approach of the stealthy alligator or clumsy 
turtle, in the latter by the deep growl of the Arctic bear, 
or the sudden dash into their ranks of the stealthy blue fox. 
Then the scenes they see, traversing the ocean—the over- 
freighted ship toiling in the surging storm, the taut-rigged 
coaster or pilot vessel laying-to, to wait for the war of the 
elements to cease; the giant steamboat, regardless of wind 
or weather, cleaving with scorn the mountain billows that 
oppose her course, or, more to my taste still, the white 
wings of numerous crafts lazily flapping against their spars, 
while the anxious skipper earnestly looks for the semblance 
of a breeze, or superstitiously whistles with the hope of 
producing one. 
If the doctrine of the transmigration of souls were true, 
when our earthly course in the present form was run, who 
would not wish to be transformed into one of these migra- 
tory darlings, especially if those he or she loved passed 
through the same change! 
But to leave dear dream-land, and return to cruel reality. 
A large-bore gun, say a 10, with the lightest shot, is the 
best weapon to use for the destruction of this family, unless 
curlew be the principal object of your pursuit, when heav- 
ier shot—I should prefer No. 5—should be employed. 
A retriever will be found absolutely necessary in this de- 
scription of sport, for the greater portion of the game kill 
ed, from being shot on the margin of the sea, fall in the 
water. Your dog, however, should not be large, for these 
birds, although only crippled, are easily captured, and a 
small retriever is always preferable to a large one in a boat. 
