14 YHE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, April 5, 1859. 
“ A good beginning I am disposed to doubt,” was the reply. 
“ I shot first, and I noticed my fire was quicker than yours : the 
discharge of both barrels of my gun was almost simultaneous. 
The birds fell to the last discharge, and that was yours.” 
“I assure you, you killed one.” 
“Well, I will not dispute it.” 
“ Come, load again.” 
“ Stop,” and the gun was again laid down, and the waistcoat 
searched. “ I must register my shots.” 
He had an elaborate contrivance, stuck full of small brass pegs 
on each side. They were immovable till a spring was touched, 
and then they could be pushed in. 
“ You may smile,” said he, “ but I am fond of order and 
statistics. It has always struck me, as au anomaly, that the 
English people,—business-like, thinking people,—should be so 
averse to anything like real statistical knowledge. I will show 
you with how little trouble I am able to record my shots, and 
the success that attends them. This instrument is made after the 
pattern of the tell-tales used to detect watchmen ; only theirs act 
by clock-work, mine by a spring. This will mark up to one 
hundred. Now, you see, having had two shots and killed one, 
I depress peg No. 2. It remains so, and the peg above, still pro¬ 
truding, marks an unsuccessful discharge. You are thinking, I 
see : can you suggest any improvement?” 
He asked me this in such perfect good faith, I could not help 
smiling. “ No,” I said, “I am thinking whether I shall get 
any shooting. Your lectures are very amusing; but we have 
been out an hour and a quarter, we have not half beaten one 
field, and we have had five shots—we ought to have had twenty.” 
“ Well, I am sure I have enjoyed it very much ; but I confess 
my legs ache already. I envy you your freedom of action, and 
think I will take off my leggings.’’ 
He did so, and declared himself ready to proceed. I was 
surprised to see with what elasticity he trod ; and he was de¬ 
lighted. We soon came across birds, and his gun made but the 
report of his tubes. I suggested it was not loaded; but he was 
sure it was, because he always put file tubes in last. I suggested 
it was easy for a beginner to make a mistake—but that was 
foreign to his notions of order; aud he could not admit that 
there was, perhaps, some derangement in the mechanism of his 
powder-fiask. I asked to look at it. It had been contrived by a 
scientific friend of his. When the measure was full, it detached 
itself from the flask ; thereby, as he said, obviating the possi¬ 
bility of a serious accident, which might happen from the ex¬ 
plosion of a flask of gunpowder, as, in the act of loading, a con¬ 
tinuous stream of it might lead to the contents of the flask, and 
cause a grave accident. There was nothing to object to in his 
flask; and he was convinced his gun was properly loaded. He 
had, however, the same result the next time : birds rose ; and I 
cut a learned disquisition short by declaring I would'draw the 
charge of his gun. He tried to persuade me to wait an hour; 
as, in that time, he could, from pieces of wood cut on the spot, 
and with the aid of his knife, make a contrivance that would 
extract the charge without the"necessity of anyone being close 
to it, and, therefore, in danger. 
“ You see,” said he, “ the rotatory motion would cause the 
worm to pierce the cartridge, and then the lever would withdraw 
it. If people would only study the first principles of mechanics, 
and begin by small experiments and successes, they would not 
only be delighted to persevere, but they would be charmed with 
a pursuit that they now think abstruse and uninteresting. You 
would place yourself so that an explosion would do you serious in¬ 
jury. I would, with the aid of simple machinery, stand behind it.” 
“Well, my dear fellow, go to that wood, and cut the wood you 
want.” 
While he was gone I drew the charges of both barrels. There 
was no powder—they were loaded with shot only. It amused 
me much ; and I needed it. I was getting tired of my learned 
companion as a brother sportsman. He returned laden with 
wood. He was provided with a knife which had a saw, and he 
had used it unsparingly. 
“ Now see,” said he, “these three stout pieces will form a 
triangular scaffold, to which I will fasten the barrel of the gun, 
and which will allow the stock to rest on the ground. I will 
pass a long piece of whipcord round the ramrod ; and when the 
worm of the screw is resting on the wadding, I will, by with¬ 
drawing the whipcord, impart a rotatory movement to it, which 
cannot fail to give it a firm hold. I have then this stout stick.” 
“ I can save you all the trouble,” I said, “ I have drawn your 
charges, which consisted of shot only. There was no powder. 
Let me see your flask again." 
I soon found the cause. He had detached the top at the 
wrong screw, and the powder was spilled on its way to the gun. 
He was annoyed, when I smilingly pointed it out. 
With a shade of sadness on his face, he said, “ My dear friend, 
these things could not have happened to me when I was younger. 
I was not so absent and stupid as this when I left school. But 
I am become part of my studies. I am little more than a part 
of one of my own lectures, or a principle of one of my own 
machines. Will you let me keep on ? I have been led to expect 
health from this pursuit—and if it fail, so do I; I did not think 
I was so bad. I have felt light and well since I have been 
here, and I should like to try it longer.” 
“ So you shall, Charley ; but let me be your guide in spoiling, 
as you shall be mine in science. I owe you many turns for your 
lifts at school. You kept me straight then; let me do as much 
for you now.” But he was depressed all day; and, I think, it 
was a relief to both when it was over. 
He rallied in the evening, and was himself again ; but showed 
trepidation at breakfast the next morning. He had no sporting 
costume on. My wife joked him, but he was nervous. How¬ 
ever, I took him away, and rigged him in clothing of my own, 
allowing him his own hat and boots. I also divested him of all 
his scientific apparatus for shooting. I lent him a percussion 
single gun of my own, and had the satisfaction to see him enjoy 
his sport, and recover his health. I limited him to one lecture 
per day, and that at luncheon time. 
He has still fits of science at times, and threatens to employ 
part of his leisure in writing some papers on field sports, which 
he thinks of forwarding to The Cottage Gardener. 
Eepobted Death of Me. Hewitt.— In The Field of 
Saturday last is given a statement of Mr. E. Hewitt’s 
death, at Birmingham. Our readers will be rejoiced to 
hear that there is no foundation for this too-readily 
admitted report. 
YOLKS OF EGGS GEEEN. 
“ A Constant Subscriber would be very much obliged to the 
Editor of The Cottage Gardener if he could give any ex¬ 
planation for the very peculiar colour of the yolk of her liens' 
eggs this year. Her hens are all pure Dorking, and have nothing 
unusual in their food. The eggs are perfectly good to the taste 
and smell, but the yolk is of a dark greenish colour, which 
is anything but pleasant to look at; and nobody would eat them 
if it were not known that they were perfectly fresh.” 
[We can do but little for you in this case. It is common for 
eggs to be flavoured by any particular food—as garlic, malt- 
dust, or anything of the sort; but we do not know what affects 
colour. Our panacea for all such things is castor oil; and we 
advise a table-spoonful for each hen that lays the eggs com¬ 
plained of, repeated every third day while necessary.] 
OUE LETTEE BOX. 
Hens Picking the Feathers from the Cock ( G. II. L.). — Nothing 
is a more certain proof that fowls are out of condition than their picking 
off and eating each other’s feathers. Your first care should be to remove 
the cock. This will not interfere with the laying of the hens. If they are 
short of green food, that is the cause—the remedy is easy. Throw in some 
sods of growing grass. If they have been fed on meat, that causes it— 
give them no more. Give them plenty of green meat, feed them on oat¬ 
meal mixed with water, and put the cock back when his feathers are 
grown. If the hens eat each other, dose them well with castor oil. 
LONDON MAEKETS. —April 4. 
POULTRY. 
We have had but a moderate supply, and a very dull trade. There is 
little change since last week. 
Each—s. 
d. 
S. 
d. 
Each—s. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
Large Fowls. 5 
G 
to 
6 
6 
Ducklings. 
. 4 
0 
to 4 
G 
Smaller ditto . 4 
0 
4 
6 
Guinea Fowls 
. 2 
6 
„ 3 
0 
Chickens . 3 
0 
4 
0 
Pigeons . 
. 0 
9 
„ o 
10 
Cock Turkeys. 9 
0 
10 
0 
Rabbits . 
. 1 
4 
„ 1 
5 
Goslings. 7 
0 
>> 
7 
6 
Wild ditto.... 
. . 0 
8 
0 
9 
