This is a very rare bird, and few instances only are recorded of its
being killed in England. A male was shot near Bath, in the autumn of
1789, perched on the stump of a tree on the bank of the Avon. In the
month of May, 1808, a female was shot contiguous to the river Creed, and
Dr. Fleming tells us that one was shot at Sunda, Orkney, in 1805. It is
more frequent in some parts of the European continent, particularly in
Switzerland, and, as Temminck informs us, in Holland.—_Montagu._
BOOT, _s._ A covering for the leg.
All boots for going in the wet, answer much better if kept at least half
a year before they are worn; and they should afterwards never be
suffered to get too hard. Water boots should be invariably worn over an
extra pair of coarse yarn stockings, without which you do not give them
a fair trial.
So far from being hard to the feet, they are the softest possible wear,
and may be made very light. They should always be made to draw, when
required, very far above the knees, in order to protect them from cold
or wet.
Various dressings are recommended, though, perhaps, almost any grease
may answer; but the first and most effectual application might be tar,
tallow, and bees’ wax, melted, (not too warm) and then poured into the
boots; which, after having this shaken into every part of them, should
be hung up to let it run out. By this dressing, and the sacrifice of the
first pair of stockings that follows it, we may walk in the river with
more comfort than a Bond-street lounger would cross the street after a
shower.
This recipe, however, though a double defence, I do not mean to say is
absolutely necessary.