THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
One of the reasons why the Caucasus has been so little visited by 
Englishmen is probably due to the paucity of literature on the subject. 
Clive Phillipps-Wolley, who wrote so enthusiastically of the country as 
it was some thirty years ago, does not seem to have met with much success 
on his shooting trips, and few others seem to have recorded their experi- 
ences ; and although much may be learned about peaks and passes from a 
study of the records of the Alpine Club, still this does not very much help 
the hunter. 
Besides the difficulty of the language, the sportsman will find that it 
takes no little time and trouble to get his rifles and camp outfit into the 
country. An application should be made through our Ambassador at St 
Petersburg a long time in advance, describing the rifles and the place on 
the frontier at which they are to be imported, also the approximate date 
of entry; even when everything seems in order, the delays and annoyances 
of a Russian Custom House are sometimes very trying. 
Although the duty on rifles is not excessive, the traveller will be sur- 
prised to find that they are carefully weighed, together with their cases or 
covers, and the duty charged on the gross weight. 
The amount charged on tents and camp outfit is considerable, and I 
have known the authorities insist on having the tents unpacked and weighed 
separately from the poles, which takes time and is very trying to the 
temper. 
On one occasion, at Batoum, where I landed, the authorities insisted 
on opening six sealed tins of tobacco which were to last me for a long trip, 
as they wanted to weigh the tobacco without the tins; and it took a great 
deal of persuasion before they would content themselves with performing 
the operation on one tin only, selected at random, and multiplying the 
result by six. Another time I was fined three pounds, and thought I was 
going to be imprisoned as well, for trying to import twelve tins of bacon, 
as I was unaware that it is illegal to introduce pig in any form into 
Russia. 
In order to avoid as many of the preliminary difficulties as possible, I 
should advise the sportsman to content himself with the stores he can 
purchase in the country itself, as there are quite good shops in all the 
large towns, such as Batoum, Tiflis, or Baku. The Russians make a 
species of rusk, or dried bread, which can be purchased at any baker’s 
shop and is very useful on the march, as it saves baking, and is probably 
more digestible than what the camp cook will produce. It is curious that 
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