March i, 1891] 



THE HUMMING BIRD. 



23 



An 



Easy Way of Making One Hundred 

 Pounds Sterling a Year. 



BIRDS AND MAMMALS. 

 By Mr. Walter Burton. 



In collecting birds, mammals, &c, the first neces- 

 sary is the gun and its appurtenances, I need not 

 say that it is advisable to purchase these of good 

 quality. I have collected in North Western Australia 

 with a very simple breech-loading walking-stick gun, 

 by Cogswell & Harrison, 410 bore, with paper shells; 

 but should recommend solid-drawn brass rifle shells, 

 which can be reloaded many times. For humming 

 birds a friend of mine has used a "380 bore " Excel " 

 gun, purchased in New York, of American make, 

 which he found very useful for the purpose, using 

 solid-drawn rifle shells. A 12 bore breech-loading 

 double-barrelled gun, with shells loaded with large 

 and small shot, is the most useful for all-round work, 

 when, if you are after large birds and a small bird 

 turns up, you can perhaps bag it without doing too 

 much harm to its plumage. As for powder, get the 

 best that can be procured in the district in which the 

 collecting is being done. I may mention that Curtis 

 and Harvey's black is the most reliable in my estima- 

 tion, if it can be got. This I had to pay 5s. per lb. 

 for in Derby, N.W. Australia ; but in Sydney for 3s. 

 or 3s. 6d. Be very careful to keep the caps for re- 

 capping the shells, in well closed boxes ; a tightly 

 corked bottle in a wooden case is a good way of 

 carrying them, so as to keep the air and damp from 

 them as effectually as possible ; even an immersion in 

 water will do no damage to them. I am rather a 

 believer in shot of small size, as a rule, one gets 

 pretty close to the bird before one sees it. For wads, 

 a thick felt one over the powder and a thin card- 

 board one over the shot is all that is required, unless 

 a great quantity is loaded at one time, when a thin 

 greaseproof wad between the powder and thick wad 

 can be used to prevent the grease from the thick wad 

 soaking into and caking the powder, which reduces 

 its strength and fouls the barrel of the gun. In hot 

 climates it is absolutely necessary to clean the inside 

 of the barrels every evening, as the residue left of the 

 powder dries hard, and it requires a tight fitting piece 

 of tow wrapped around the cleaning rod to dislodge 

 it ; vaseline is the very best cleanser and lubricant, a 

 pound tin goes a long way, and, moreover, it is useful 

 in a number of instances in camping out, for softening 

 leather straps, saddles, boots, abrasions of the skin, 

 etc. Particular attention should also be paid to the 

 break-off, the extreme breech of the barrels and the 

 face of the breech piece where the strikers come 

 through, to see that it is well lubricated and free from 

 dirt and grit, as it is important that these parts should 

 fit well. The tools for reloading the shells are a de- 

 and re-capper, a graduated powder and shot measure, 

 a short wad rammer and a resizer, a piece of steel 

 with a hole the size of the shell to drive the empty 

 shells through to the flange in case they should 

 bulge. This is necessary in the case of paper shells 

 as they expand more readily than the brass. 



A strong cleaning-rod should be taken, one 

 nearly the size of the bore, by which less tow 



is required, it is much firmer to grasp and not easily 

 broken. In the manner of carrying the gun there 

 are so many ways, one's experience will tell the best 

 and handiest ways of carrying with the least fatigue. 

 If there are two guns to carry, a sling over the 

 shoulder can be used for one, the other carried ready 

 in the hand. With a pack-horse do not put the gun 

 in the pack in case the horse should knock against a 

 tree or rock or the pack be dislodged, when, perhaps, 

 some irreparable damage may be done. In riding on 

 horseback the butt should be rested on the thigh, the 

 barrels pointing upward, or laid across the saddle in 

 front in open country ; if travelling by waggon, the 

 spare guns should be placed in their respective cases, 

 and the one to be used carried in the hand. Do not 

 rest a gun upright against a tree in the forest or lay 

 it on the ground, as it is so easy to overlook it, and 

 perhaps lose a lot of time hunting after it ; lay it on 

 top of a dead bush, or, if convenient, across the 

 trunk of a tree, as it is then more easily seen than 

 when standing upright. If travelling by canoe, spare 

 guns should be packed away in the driest place ; the 

 one in use laid so that it will not fall down or be 

 trodden upon. In a permanent camp, or one in 

 which a long stay is made, some natural forks of 

 hranches can be stuck in the ground inside the tent 

 in which to lay them like a gun-rack, or two straight 

 sticks with loops tied at intervals. 



To be a good shot the principal things are plenty 

 of practice and a liking for shooting. x\s a rule 

 collectors are not good shots in a sporting sense, for 

 if a collector sees a good bird sitting he will shoot it 

 without risking the chance of losing it by making it 

 fly, and in forests very few flying shots are to be had, 

 and powder and shot are not to be recklessly thrown 

 away ; still some little skill with the gun and rifle 

 is very useful in an emergency. I have found 

 sometimes a great difficulty in finding the birds I 

 have shot which have dropped into the grass or 

 undergrowth, the colours of the birds in many 

 instances assimilating with those of the vegetation 

 among which it has fallen. If you have a dead bird 

 lay it on the place where the other was seen to fall 

 and so accustom the eye to the look of the bird in 

 that situation, this 1 have found a great help. I have 

 also found it awkward to carry the birds after they are 

 shot, to keep them clean and in good condition, the 

 best way I know of for small birds is to pass a needle 

 with thread through the nostrils, tie the thread into a 

 loop and pass a short stick through the loop and 

 carry them in the hand : large birds may be carried 

 in the hand by the legs ; as soon as the bird is shot a 

 little cotton-wool should be thrust into the throat to 

 prevent any saliva running from out the bill, notes 

 should now be taken of the colours of the soft parts 

 such as the eyes, cere, bill, legs, feet, toes, claws and 

 any bare skin as a help to the mounter who eventually 

 stuffs the birds as well as the naturalists who describe 

 them. A small note book can be conveniently carried 

 in a pouch fastened to the belt ; these notes can be 

 copied out in the evening after work, with anything of 

 interest observed of the birds, habits, etc., in this 

 manner : — 



No. 1. Name of bird. Sex. Length. Colours 

 of soft parts. Remarks. Locality. Date. 

 (To be continued.) 



