Bill long, straight, compressed, slender, soft, bulged at the point; the
two mandibles furrowed about the half of their length; the point of the
upper mandible longer than the under, the bulged part forming a hook;
ridge elevated at its base and salient; nostril, at the sides of the
base, slit lengthwise, near the edges of the mandible, covered by a
membrane; legs of mean length, slender, the naked space above the knee
very small; three toes before entirely divided, the middle and the outer
ones rarely united; one toe behind; wings of mean length, the first
quill of equal length, or a little shorter than the second, which is the
longest in the wing.
This division of the numerous scolopax genus of Linnæus amounts,
according to Latham, to about twenty species, besides varieties, of
which only the woodcock, common snipe, and judcock, and their varieties,
are accounted British birds.
Pennant has placed the woodcock after the curlews, as the head of the
godwits and snipes; and others are of opinion that the knot, from the
similarity of its figure to that of the woodcock, ought to be classed in
this tribe. In the subdivisions, ornithologists may vary their
classification without end. As in a chain doubly suspended, the rings of
which gradually diminish towards the middle, the leading features of
some particular bird may point it out as a head to a tribe; others, from
similarity of shape, plumage, or habits, will form, by almost
imperceptible variations, the connecting links; and those which may be
said to compose the curvature of the bottom, by gradations equally
minute, will rise to the last ring of the other end, which, as the head
of another tribe, will be marked with characters very different from the
first.—_Montagu._
SCOTER, BLACK DUCK, or BLACK DIVER, (_Anas Nigra_, LINN.; _La
Macreuse_, BUFF.) _s._ A kind of duck.
[Illustration]
The scoter is less than the velvet duck, weighing generally about two
pounds nine ounces, and measuring twenty-two inches in length, and
thirty-four in breadth.
In severe winter the scoters leave the northern extremities of the world
in immense flocks, dispersing themselves southward along the shores of
more temperate climates. They are only sparingly scattered on the coasts
of England.
The scoters seldom quit the sea, upon which they are very nimble, and
are indefatigable expert divers; but they fly heavily, near the surface
of the water, and to no great distance, and are said to walk awkwardly
erect on the land.—_Bewick._
SCRAY, _s._ A bird called the sea-swallow.
SCREECH, _v._ To cry out as in terror or anguish; to cry as a night
owl.
SCREECHOWL, _s._ An owl that hoots in the night.
SCREEN, _s._ Anything that affords shelter or concealment; a riddle
to sift sand. An artificial erection to cover the shooter’s
approach when stealing upon wildfowl.
SCREW, _s._ One of the mechanical powers; a kind of twisted pin or
nail which enters by turning; bolts which secure a gun-lock.
SCREW, _v._ To turn by a screw; to fasten with a screw; to deform by
contortions.
SCREWDRIVER, _s._ An implement to turn screws.
SCRUPLE, _s._ Doubt; perplexity; twenty grains, the third part of a
drachm.
SCULK, _v._ To lurk in hiding-places, to lie close.
SCULL, _s._ The bone which incases and defends the brain; the arched
bone of the head; a small boat; one who singly rows a boat; a
shoal of fish.
SCULLER, _s._ A boat in which there is but one rower; one that rows
a boat, singly.
SCURF, _s._ A kind of dry miliary scab; soil or stain adherent;
anything sticking on the surface.
SCUT, _s._ The tail of those animals whose tails are very short, as
the hare, rabbit, &c.
SEA, _s._ The ocean, the water opposed to the land; a collection of
water.
SEA-FISHING, _s._ The pursuit of sea-fish.
This water-sport is unknown ‘to the many,’ and yet to him whose hands
are not unacquainted with rope and oar, it affords, at times, an
admirable amusement.
The coal-fishing requires a stiff breeze, and if there be a dark sky it
is all the better. In its detail it is perfectly similar to
mackerel-fishing, only that the superior size of the coal-fish makes
stronger tackle and a heavier lead indispensable.
An eel of seven or eight inches long is the bait. The head being
removed, the hook is introduced as in a minnow, and the skin brought
three or four inches up the snoud. This latter is a fine line of two or
three fathoms length, affixed to the trap-stick and lead, the weight of
which latter is regulated by the rate of sailing.
The coal-fish, in weight, varies from two to fourteen pounds; it is
finely shaped, immensely rapid, uniting the action of the salmon with
the voracity of the pike. If he miss his first dash, he will follow the
bait to the stern of the boat, and I have often hooked them within a
fathom of the rudder.
Four or five knots an hour, is the best rate of sailing for killing
coal-fish, and upon a coast where they are abundant, the sport, at
times, is excellent.
Like the pike the coal-fish is very indifferent to the tackle used,
which is generally very coarse. Not so the mackerel; he requires much
delicacy of line and bait to induce him to take.
In light winds, or when the fish are out of humour, I have killed
mackerel by substituting a salmon casting line of single gut, for the
hempen snoud commonly employed by fishermen, which with a newly-cut bait
of phosphoric brilliancy, commonly overcame his resolve against
temptation. But there are times when a change of weather, or some
inexplicable phenomena of sea or sky, render these fish dull and
cautious—for usually it requires but trifling art to kill them.
A little experience is necessary. The bait must be cut from the freshest
mackerel, and assimilated in size and shape to the herring-fry, which
they generally follow—and the way of the boat must be so regulated, as
to preserve the deception by a sufficient velocity, without breaking by
its rapidity the mackerel’s hold. The mouth of this fish is particularly
tender—and if care be not taken many will drop from the hook before they
can be secured on board.—_Wild Sports._
SEAFOWL, _s._ A bird that lives at sea.
_Shooting Seafowl._—To venture after fowl at sea you must have a large
boat with good bearings, that will carry plenty of canvass. Rowing after
them scarcely ever answers; but when it blows fresh a fast sailing boat
may often run in upon geese, and sometimes other birds, before they can
take wing; and after a coast has been for some time harassed by the
gunning punts, I have seen more birds killed under sail from a common
boat, than by any other manner of day shooting. But, to do the business
well, a stanchion gun must be fixed in the boat, and this, by all means,
contrived so as to go back with the recoil, or you run the risk of
staving your boat, and therefore of being really in danger. Recollect
when you get on the outside of the harbour an accident is no joke; and
you have, as Dr. Johnson observes, but one plank between you and
eternity.
A boat for this work should have plenty of bearings, and have as little
keel as she can well go to windward with, in order to get, at times,
within shot of the mud and sands, and also to run through a harbour at
spring tides without getting aground. You should therefore, for this
sport, always make choice of a day when the wind is off the land, and a
time when the tide is flowing; as you have then no danger of filling
your boat with the hollow sea of a lee shore, or running her so fast
aground as not to be able to get her off immediately. In following wild
fowl under sail, command, as much as you can, a windward berth, in order
to bear down on them at pleasure; and if they rise out of shot against
wind, as they usually do, luff up directly, and try to head them for a
cross shot. As the gun, when on one tack, is in the way of the jib, you
must have the man who attends the jib-sheets always in readiness to haul
the weather one to windward; but this must be done only just before you
want to fire, or you deaden the boat’s way. Take care also to let the
sheet be under the barrel of the gun, in order that your line of aim may
be clear of every thing. In this pursuit, when the more wind sometimes
the more sport, never go with less than three good hands; and be careful
in squally weather not to make too fast the mainsheet, as nine-tenths of
the misfortunes that we hear of, have occurred from this very
circumstance.—_Hawker._
SEAGREEN, _a._ Resembling the colour of the distant sea, cerulean.
SEAGULL, _s._ A sea bird. _Vide_ GULL.
SEAHOG, _s._ The porpoise.
SEAL, _s._ A stamp engraved with a particular impression, which is
fixed upon wax; the seacalf, or phoca.
Seals are very numerous on the coast, and at this season a number may be
seen any warm day you make an excursion up the Sound of Achil. We shoot
them occasionally; the skin makes a waterproof covering, and the fat
affords an excellent oil for many domestic purposes. It is difficult,
however, to secure the animal, for numbers are shot and few gotten. The
head is the only place to strike them, for even when mortally wounded in
the body, they generally manage to escape. This fact we have
ascertained, from finding them dead on shore many days after they were
wounded, and at a considerable distance from the place where they had
received the bullet. I shot one last autumn at the mouth of the river,
and a fortnight afterwards he was taken up in the neighbourhood of
Dhuhill. There could be no doubt as to the identity of the creature, for
on opening him to extract the oil, a rifle-ball, such as I use, of the
unusually small size of fifty-four to the pound, was found lodged in his
lungs. Unless when killed outright, they sink instantly; and I have seen
the sea dyed with blood to an extent that proved how severely the seal
had been wounded, but never could trace him farther.
Formerly, when seal-oil and skins were of value, some persons on the
coast made the pursuit of the animal a profession. There is one of these
persons living near the Sound, a miserable, dwarfish, red-bearded
wretch, whom you would consider hardly equal to grapple with a salmon,
and yet he secures more seals than any hunter in the district. His
method of effecting it is singular; he uses neither gun nor spear, but
kills the animal with a short bludgeon, loaded at the end with lead.
Adjacent to the seal-killer’s residence there is a large rock, uncovered
at half-tide, and this appears the most favourite haunt for the animal
to bask upon. The rock is easily approached from the main land, and on a
sunny day, when the wind favours the attempt, the hunter, undressed, and
armed with his bludgeon, silently winds among the stones, and steals
upon his sleeping prey. Wary as the creature is, the Red Dwarf seldom
fails in surprising him, and with astonishing expertness generally
despatches him with a single blow.—_Wild Sports._
SEAMEW, _s._ A fowl that frequents the sea; one of the gull tribe.
SEAR, _v._ To burn, to cauterise.
SECONDARY, _s._ _In ornithology_, the second feather in the wing.
SEDGE, _s._ A growth of narrow flags, a narrow flag.
SEDGY, _a._ Overgrown with narrow flags.
SEER, _s._ A gunlock spring.
SEINE, _s._ A net used in sea-fishing.
SERPENTINE, _a._ Resembling a serpent; winding like a serpent.
SERRATED, _a._ Formed with jags or indentures, like the edge of a
saw.
SETON, _s._ A seton is made when the skin is taken up with a needle,
and the wound kept open by a twist of silk or hair, that humours
may vent themselves. Farriers call this operation in cattle,
_rowelling_.
Setons consist of tape, threads, or lamp cotton passed under the skin,
and smeared with digestive ointment. The instrument employed for
conveying these under the skin is named a seton needle, and may be
purchased at the instrument makers. When lamp cotton is used, it can be
withdrawn gradually, thread by thread, which on some occasions is
desirable. Setons are preferable to rowels, being more convenient and
equally efficacious.—_White._
SETTER, _s._ One who sets; a dog who beats the field, and points the
bird for the sportsmen.
[Illustration]
_The Old English Setter._ (_Canis Index, variety α._)—This breed was
originally produced between the Spanish pointer and the large water
spaniel, and was famous on account of his steadiness and exquisite sense
of smelling; the hair over the whole body was much more curled than that
of the present breed, which has been considerably lightened by the
additional cross of the springer; he was also much more steady than the
improved variety, but then he had not the same speed to recommend him.
Fine dogs of this kind were also produced by a cross with the stag and
blood hounds. They united great strength, considerable swiftness, and
were used for the chace in some few instances.
_The English Setter_ (_Canis Index, variety β_), is a breed produced
between the Spanish pointer, the English water spaniel and springer,
which, by careful cultivation, has attained a high degree of perfection
as a sporting dog. He has an elegant figure, and a very pleasing
diversity of colour; added to this, his skin is covered with beautifully
curled hair, very villous on the lower margin of the tail; being
altogether an extremely handsome dog, and quite unrivalled by any of the
canine species.
The setter has all the excellent qualities of the pointer, with a
greater degree of speed and natural vivacity of temper; he, however, is
not so easily broken in as the pointer, and requires a certain degree of
training every year, to make him continue staunch. There are, however,
various instances of setters being self-taught, as the following example
will show:—The black and tan small setter bitch which I have (says Mr.
Torry), was originally out of the Duke of Bedford’s breed, and both she
and her mother inherit the utmost natural sagacity as sporting dogs. At
ten months old, and before she had got a lesson in breaking, or had seen
game killed, she was taken to the moors for the first time, and on
finding a bird, was perfectly steady at her point, backed, and did not
run the game. The gentleman who was with me wounded a bird, and it fell
at a considerable distance. The pup, unknown to us, had kept her eye
upon it, and, to our astonishment, after we had loaded, and again
ordered our dogs to range, she went direct to the spot where the bird
fell, found and fetched it to my friend’s feet. This happened in August,
1825.
The setter ranges with great speed, and is a very hardy dog. Many prefer
him to the pointer, and if water is plentiful, he is certainly more
useful, for his feet are much better defended against the sharp cutting
of the heath than those of the pointer, as he has a great deal of hair
growing between the toes and round the ball of the foot, of which the
latter is almost destitute. Besides, he unquestionably ranges much
faster, and can endure much more fatigue. He can also serve in thick
coverts, where a pointer will not enter; and, on this account, is useful
in woodcock shooting, where springers or cockers are not kept.
Formerly the setter was used for the purpose of taking partridges with a
draw-net, and was generally taught to squat down when the game was
within a proper distance—hence the name setter. They are now, however,
trained to point in the same manner as the spaniel. It is said that
Robert Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was the first person who broke a
setter to the net.
* * * * *
There is not a country in Europe that can boast of finer setters than
Ireland; they are there called English spaniels, and differ widely from
the setters of England and Scotland. They are not esteemed in Ireland
unless their colour be either a deep chestnut and white, or all red; a
black and white setter, or any colour but red, or red and white, would
not be looked upon or reputed well bred, allowing them to be ever so
good. It matters not whether they are all red, or red and white; but
those esteemed most have a black nose, and a black roof to their
mouth,—as most sportsmen conceive the black nose to be finer and
superior to any other. Sir William Barker, Mr. Oliver of Castle Oliver,
Mr. Macarthy of Spring House, and many other gentlemen in Ireland, have
the most beautiful and steady of this kind. A circumstance occurred,
with respect to the steadiness and discipline of some of this breed,
which the compiler was an eye-witness to:—Colonel Macdonald being on a
visit at Mr. Oliver’s, during the grousing season, and going out one
day, took out with him five brace of setters; on getting to the
mountains, one of the dogs found some birds, all the rest backed in at
once, upon which Colonel Macdonald called to the last dog to take the
lead, and in that manner he drew the dogs alternately, until the last
became first, and fixed the birds, which had run nearly a mile. These
dogs in general fetch a long price; Mr. Macarthy got two hundred guineas
for a brace of them, and a gentleman in the north of Ireland was known
once to have given, for a dog and bitch of this sort, to his tenant, the
renewal of a lease of a farm for nine hundred and ninety-nine years,
which if this lease had expired, would have cleared to the landlord
above two hundred and fifty pounds a year. The compiler himself sold a
brace of setters, in the year 1801, for two hundred guineas, to a
Captain Baggot.—_Brown_—_Thornhill._
SETTINGDOG, _s._ A dog taught to find game, and point it out to the
sportsmen.
SHAD, _s._ A kind of fish.
SHAFT, _s._ An arrow, a missile weapon; a narrow, deep,
perpendicular pit; anything straight.
SHAG, SKART, SCARFE or GREEN CORMORANT, (_Pelicanus graculus_,
LINN.; _Le petit Cormorant, ou le Nigaud_, BUFF.) _s._
The form, the aspect altogether, the outward conformation of all the
parts, the character, manners, and habits, and places of abode, of this
species, are nearly like those of the cormorant; but they do not
associate, and these make their nests on the rugged, shelvy sides and
crevices of the rocky precipices or projecting cliffs which overhang the
sea, while the others make theirs on the summits above them; and these
are at once distinguished from the others by the greenness of the upper,
and brownness of the under plumage, and also in being of a much less
size—the largest shags weighing only about four pounds, and measuring
nearly two feet six inches in length, and three feet eight in breadth.
The bill is of a more slender make, but nearly as long as that of the
cormorant; the head, in the male, is crested in the same manner; the
middle claw is serrated; and its tail, consisting of twelve stiff
feathers stained with green, is also of the same form and hoary or dirty
appearance as that of the cormorant; the crown of the head, hinder part
of the neck, lower back, and rump, are of a plain black, or very dark
green, shining like satin; the upper back, or shoulders, together with
the scapulars and wings, are nearly of the same colour, but with a tinge
of bronze brown, and each feather is distinctly edged with purple
glossed black; the under parts are clouded with dusky dirty white, and
brown.—_Bewick._
SHAGGY, _a._ Ruggedly hairy, rough, rugged.
SHAGREEN, _s._ The skin of a kind of fish, or skin made rough in
imitation of it.
SHAMBLING, _a._ Moving awkwardly and irregularly.
SHANK, _s._ The middle joint of the leg, that part which reaches
from the ankle to the knee; the bone of the leg; the long part
of any instrument; long part of a fishhook.
SHEEP, _s._ The animal that bears wool.
SHEEP, _s._ The animal that bears wool.
_To break a Sheep-biting Dog._—Take some wool off a sheep’s rump, steep
it in train oil, put it in the dog’s jaws, and sew up his mouth. For
killing poultry, boil a chicken in its feathers, take it hot from the
boiler, squeeze the water from it and put it into his jaws, and tie them
together.
* * * * *
“I have a fine pointer,” said a gentleman to his friend, “staunch as
can be at birds, but I cannot break him from sheep.” His reply was,
that the best way would be to couple him to the horns of an old ram,
and leave him in a stable all night, and the discipline he would
receive would prevent his loving field-mutton again. The same person
meeting the owner of the dog some time afterwards, accosted him thus:
“Well, sir, your pointer is now the best in England, no doubt, from my
prescription.” “Much the same, sir, for he killed my ram, and ate a
shoulder!”—_Sporting Anecdotes._
SHELDRAKE, or BURROUGH DUCK, (_Anas Tudorna_, LINN.; _La Tudorne_,
BUFF.) _s._
[Illustration]
The male of this prettily marked species is somewhat larger than the
mallard, measuring about two feet in length, three and a half in
breadth, and weighing, commonly, two pounds ten ounces. The bill is red,
with the nail and nostrils black; the upper mandible is broad, flat, and
grooved on the edges towards the point, where it has rather a cast
upwards; it is also depressed in the middle, and raised into a knob or
tubercle at the base. The head and upper part of the neck are of a
glossy dark or bottle green; the lower part of the neck, to the breast,
is encircled with white, and joined by a broad band of bright orange
bay, which is spread over, and covers the breast and shoulders. The
back, wing-coverts, rump, upper tail-coverts, and sides of the belly, to
the vent and tail, are white; a dusky stripe, tinged with rufous, runs
along the middle from the breast, the whole length of the belly; part of
the scapulars next the wings are black, and those next the body white;
the bastard wing, and some of the first primary quills, are black; the
exterior webs of the next adjoining ones are glossed with gold green,
which forms the speculum or beauty-spot of the wings; this spot is
bounded and partly covered by the orange webs of the three succeeding
quill-feathers, which separate it from the scapulars. The tail is white,
but some of its feathers are tipped with black; the legs pale red.
The female is less than the male, and her plumage is not so vivid and
beautiful. She makes her nest, and rears her young, underground, in the
rabbit-holes which are made in the sand-hills near the sea shore: it is
chiefly formed of the fine down plucked from her own breast: she lays
from twelve to sixteen roundish white eggs, and the incubation lasts
about thirty days. During this time, the male, who is very attentive to
his charge, keeps watch in the day-time, on some adjoining hillock,
where he can see all around him, and which he quits only when impelled
by hunger, to procure subsistence. The female also leaves the nest, for
the same purpose, in the mornings and evenings, at which times the male
takes his turn, and supplies her place. As soon as the young are
hatched, or are able to waddle along, they are conducted, and sometimes
carried in the bill, by the parents, to the full tide, upon which they
launch without fear, and are not seen afterwards out of tide-mark until
they are well able to fly; lulled by the roaring of the flood, they find
themselves at home amidst an ample store of their natural food, which
consists of sand-hoppers, sea-worms, &c. or small shell-fish, and the
innumerable shoals of the little fry which have not yet ventured out
into the great deep, but are left on the beach, or tossed to the surface
of the water by the restless surge.
If this family in their progress from the nest to the sea, happen to be
interrupted by any person, the young ones, it is said, seek the first
shelter, and squat close down, and the parent birds fly off; then
commences that truly curious scene dictated by an instinct analogous to
reason, the same as has been already noticed in the mallard and the
partridge; the tender mother drops at no great distance from her
helpless brood, trails herself along the ground, flaps it with her
wings, and appears to struggle as if she were wounded, in order to
attract attention, and tempt a pursuit after her. Should these wily
schemes, in which she is also aided by her mate, succeed, they both
return when the danger is over, to their terrified motionless little
offspring, to renew the tender offices of cherishing and protecting
them.
These birds are sometimes watched to their holes, which are dug up to
the nest, whence the eggs are taken and hatched, and the young reared by
a tame duck.
In this way many gentlemen, tempted by the richness of their garb, have
their ponds stocked with these beautiful birds; but as they are of a
roving disposition, and are apt to stray, or to quit altogether such
limited spots, it is generally found necessary to pinion or disable a
wing to secure them. The sheldrake has been known to breed with the
common duck; but it is not well ascertained whether the hybrids thus
produced will breed again or not.
* * * * *
This species is dispersed in greater or less numbers, over the warm as
well as the cold climates, in various parts of the world; they are met
with as far north as Iceland in the spring, and in Sweden and the Orkney
Islands in the winter. Captain Cook notices them, among other sea fowl,
on the coast of Van Diemen’s Land; and they have been seen in great
numbers at the Falkland Islands. Although they are not numerous on the
British and the opposite shores, yet they are common enough in the
British Isles, where they remain throughout the year, always in pairs,
and occasionally straggle away from the sea coasts to the lakes
inland.—_Bewick._
SHELL, _s._ The hard covering of anything; the external crust; the
covering of a testaceous or crustaceous animal; the covering of
the seeds of siliquous plants; the covering of kernels; the
covering of an egg.
SHELLFISH, _s._ Fish invested with a hard covering, either
testaceous, as oysters, or crustaceous, as lobsters.
SHERRY, _s._ A kind of sweet Spanish wine.
SHETLAND PONY, _s._ A horse peculiar to the Shetland isles.
Although the Shetland ponies are exceedingly diminutive in size, they
are in other respects excellent. There have been instances of these
animals whose height from the foot to the shoulder scarcely exceeded
three feet, and a man of ordinary size and strength can lift one of them
from the ground with great ease.
The general form of these ponies is very elegant, and their body is
thicker and more compact than that of a blood-horse; they have small
legs and large manes, their bones are exceedingly small, as is also
their head, and that part of the neck which joins to it, the most common
colours are grey, bay, and black. The latter are esteemed the hardiest,
whilst those that are pied seldom prove good. They sometimes live to the
age of thirty years and upwards, notwithstanding the little care that is
bestowed on them in sheltering them from the cold, which, in the climate
of the Shetland Islands, is peculiarly severe in the winter: but from
the circumstance of their being compelled to live out of doors during
even the severest months of the year, great numbers are occasionally
frozen to death. At this season, when the ground is entirely covered
with snow, the wretched animals are compelled to seek subsistence on the
sea-weeds, which, once in every twelve hours, are left exposed by the
tide.—_Illustrations of Natural History by Le Keux._
SHIN, _s._ The forepart of the leg.
SHINGLES, _s._ A kind of tetter or herpes that spreads itself round
the loins.
SHIP, _s._ A ship may be defined a large hollow building made to
pass over the sea with sails; a vessel with three masts. _Vide_
YACHT.
SHITTLECOCK, _s._ A cork stuck with feathers, and driven by players
from one to another with battledoors.
SHOAL, _s._ A crowd, a multitude, a throng; a shallow, a sand bank;
a number of fishes.
SHOALY, _a._ Full of shoals, full of shallow places.
SHOCK DOG (_Canis Fotor_), _s._ A lady’s dog.
[Illustration]
This variety is probably a breed betwixt the king Charles’s dog and the
small water spaniel, to which last it seems most nearly allied. It has
long and slightly curled hair, and its eyes are almost hid in the curls.
It is of a small size, and is used in this country and on the continent
as a lap-dog. It is a useless little animal, seeming to possess no other
quality than a faithful attachment to its mistress.
I have never seen one of these diminutive little creatures which would
take the water, although they possess all the requisites for swimming.
This may probably be accounted for from the frequency of their immersion
in that element, contrary to their inclination, for the purpose of
washing them.
SHOE, _s._ The cover of the foot; the iron plate which defends a
horse’s hoof.
SHOE, _v._ To fit the foot with a shoe; to cover at the bottom.
SHOEING, _v._ To affix the shoe to the hoof.
_The Preparation of the Foot._—We will suppose that the horse is sent to
the forge to be shod. If the master would occasionally accompany him
there, he would find it much to his advantage. The old shoe must be
first taken off. We have something to observe even on this. It was
retained on the foot by the ends of the nails being twisted off, turned
down, and clenched. These clenches should be first raised, which the
smith seldom takes the trouble thoroughly to do; but after going
carelessly round the crust, and raising one or two of the clenches, he
takes hold first of one heel of the shoe, and then of the other, and by
a violent wrench separates them from the foot, and by a third wrench,
applied to the middle of the shoe, he tears it off. By this means he
must enlarge every nail hole, and weaken the future hold, and sometimes
tear off portions of the crust, and otherwise injure the foot. The horse
generally shows by his flinching that he suffers by the violence with
which this preliminary operation is performed. The clenches should
always be raised or filed off; and where the foot is tender, or the
horse is to be examined for lameness, each nail should be partly punched
out. Many a stub is left in the crust, the source of future annoyance,
when this unnecessary violence is used.
The shoe having been removed, the smith proceeds to rasp the edges of
the crust. Let not the stander-by object to the apparent violence which
he uses, or fear that the foot will suffer. It is the only means he has,
with safety to his instruments, to detect whether any stubs remain in
the nail-holes, and it is the most convenient method of removing that
portion of the crust into which dirt and gravel have insinuated
themselves.
Next comes the important process of paring out, with regard to which it
is almost impossible to lay down any specific rules. This, however, we
can say with confidence, that more injury has been done by the neglect
of paring, than by carrying it to too great an extent. The act of paring
is a work of much more labour than the proprietor of the horse often
imagines; the smith, except he be overlooked, will give himself as
little trouble about it as he can; and that, which in the unshod foot
would be worn away by contact with the ground, is suffered to accumulate
month after month, until the elasticity of the sole is destroyed, and it
can no longer descend, and the functions of the foot are impeded, and
foundation is laid for corn, and contraction, and navicular disease, and
inflammation. That portion of horn should be left on the sole, which
will defend the internal parts from being bruised, and yet suffer the
external sole to descend. How is this to be measured? The strong
pressure of the thumb of the smith will be the best guide. The buttress,
that most destructive of all instruments, being banished from the
respectable forge, the smith sets to work with his drawing knife, and he
removes the growth of horn until the sole will yield, although in the
slightest possible degree, to the very strong pressure of his thumb. The
proper thickness of horn will then remain.
If the foot has been previously neglected, and the horn is become very
hard, the owner must not object if the smith resorts to some means to
soften it a little; and if he takes one of his flat irons, and, having
heated it, draws it over the sole, and keeps it a little while in
contact with it. When the sole is thick, this rude and apparently
barbarous method can do no harm, but it should never be permitted with
the sole that is regularly pared out.
The quantity of horn to be removed in order to leave the proper degree
of thickness will vary with different feet. From the strong foot a great
deal must be taken. From the concave foot the horn may be removed until
the sole will yield to a moderate pressure. From the flat foot little
need be pared; while the pumiced foot will spare nothing but the ragged
parts.
The paring being nearly completed, the knife and the rasp of the smith
must be a little watched, or he will reduce the crust to a level with
the sole, and thus endanger the bruising of the sole by its pressure on
the edge of the seating. The crust should be reduced to a perfect level
all round, but left a little higher than the sole.
The heels will require very considerable attention. From the stress
which is thrown on the inner heel, and from the weakness of the quarter
there, it usually wears considerably faster than the outer one; and if
an equal portion of horn were pared from it, it would be left lower than
the outer heel. The smith should, therefore, accommodate his paring to
the comparative wear of the heels, and be very careful to leave them
precisely level.
If the reader will recollect what we have said of the intention and
action of the bars, he will readily perceive that the smith should be
checked in his almost universal fondness for opening the heels, or, more
truly, removing that which is the main impediment to contraction. That
portion of the heels between the inflection of the bar and the frog
should scarcely be touched, at least nothing but the ragged and detached
parts should be cut away. The foot may not look so pretty, but it will
last longer without contraction.
The bar likewise should be left fully prominent, not only at its first
inflection, but as it runs down the side of the frog. The heel of our
shoe is designed to rest partly on the heel of the foot, and partly on
the bar, for reasons that have been already stated. If the bar is weak,
the growth of it should be encouraged, and it should be scarcely touched
at the shoeing until it has attained a level with the crust. We recal to
the recollection of our readers the observation which we have before
made, that the destruction of the bars not only leads to contraction by
removing a powerful impediment to it, but by adding a still more
powerful cause in the slanting direction which is given to the bearing
at the heels, when the bar does not contribute to the support of the
weight.
It will also be apparent that the horn between the crust and the bar
should be carefully pared out. Every horseman has observed the relief
which is given to the animal lame with corns when this angle is well
thinned; a relief, however, which is but temporary, for when the horn
grows again and the shoe presses upon it, the torture of the animal is
renewed.
The degree of paring to which the frog must be subjected will depend on
its prominence, and on the shape of the foot. The principle has already
been stated, that it must be left so far projecting and prominent, that
it shall be just within and above the lower surface of the shoe, it will
then descend with the sole sufficiently to discharge the functions which
we have attributed to it. If it be lower it will be bruised and injured;
if it be higher it cannot come in contact with the ground, and thus be
enabled to do its duty. The ragged parts must be removed, and especially
those occasioned by thrush, but the degree of paring must depend
entirely on this principle.
It appears, then, that the office of the smith requires some skill and
judgment in order to be properly discharged; and the horse proprietor
will find it his interest occasionally to visit the forge and complain
of the careless, or idle, or obstinate, and reward, by some trifling
gratuity, the expert and diligent. He should likewise remember that a
great deal more depends on the paring out of the foot than on the
construction of the shoe; that few shoes, except they press upon the
sole, or are made outrageously bad, will lame the horse; but that he may
be very easily lamed from ignorant and improper paring out of the foot.
_The putting on of the Shoe._—The foot being thus prepared, the smith
looks about for a shoe. He should select one that as nearly as possible
fits the foot, or may be altered to the foot. He will sometimes care
little about this, for he can easily alter the foot to the shoe. The
toe-knife is a very convenient instrument for him, and plenty of horn
can be struck off with it, or removed by the rasp, to make the foot as
small as the shoe; while he cares little, although by this destructive
method the crust is materially thinned where it should receive the nail,
and the danger of puncture is increased, and the danger of pressure upon
the sole is increased, and a foot so artificially diminished in size
will soon grow over the shoe, to the hazard of considerable or permanent
lameness.
While choosing the shoe we must once more refer to the shape of our
pattern shoe; the web is of equal thickness from toe to heel. A shoe,
thinner at the heel than at the toe, by letting down the heel too low,
is apt to produce sprain of the flexor tendon, and a shoe thicker at the
heels than at the toe is fit only to elevate the frog, to the
destruction of its function, and to its own certain disease, and also to
press upon and to batter and to bruise that part of the foot which is
soonest and most destructively injured.
_The Hinder Shoe._—In forming the hinder shoe it should be remembered
that the hind limbs are the principal instruments in progression, that
in every act of progression, except the walk, the toe is the point on
which the whole frame of the animal turns, and from which it is
propelled. This part, then, should be strengthened as much as possible;
and, therefore, the hinder shoes are made broader at the toe than the
fore ones, and the toe of the foot, which is naturally broader than that
of the fore-foot, is still further widened by rasping. Another good
effect is produced by this, that the hinder foot being shortened there
is less danger of overreaching or forging, and especially if the shoe be
wider on the foot surface than on the ground one; and thus the shoe is
made to slope inward, and is a little within the toe of the crust.
The shape of the hinder foot is somewhat different from that of the fore
foot; it is straighter in the quarters, and the shoe must have the same
shape. For carriage and draught horses generally, calkins may be put on
the heels, because the animal will be thus enabled to dig his toe more
firmly into the ground, and urge himself forward, and throw his weight
into the collar with greater advantage. But the calkins must not be too
high, and they must be of an equal height on each heel; otherwise, as
has been stated with regard to the fore feet, the weight will not be
fairly distributed over the foot, and some part of the foot or of the
leg will materially suffer. The nails in the hinder shoe may be placed
nearer to the heel than in the fore shoe, because, from the comparative
little weight and concussion thrown on the hinder feet, there is not so
much danger of contraction.
_Different kinds of Shoes._—The shoe will vary in substance and weight
with the kind of foot, and the nature of the work. A weak foot should
never wear a heavy shoe, nor any foot a shoe that will last longer than
a month. Here, perhaps, we may be permitted to caution the
horse-proprietor against having his cattle shod too much by contract,
unless he binds down his farrier or surgeon to remove the shoes once at
least in every month; for if the contractor, by a heavy shoe and a
little steel, can cause five or six weeks to intervene between the
shoeings, he will do so, although the feet of the horse must necessarily
suffer. The shoe should never be heavier than the work requires. An
ounce or two in the weight of the shoe will sadly tell before the end of
a hard day’s work. This is acknowledged in the hunter’s shoe, which is
narrower and lighter than that of the hackney with even smaller feet
than the hunter; and it is more decidedly acknowledged in the racer, who
wears a shoe only sufficiently thick to prevent it from bending when
used.
_The Hunting Shoe._—The hunter’s shoe is different from that of the
hackney in shape as well as weight. It is not so much bevelled off as
the common concave seated shoe. Sufficient space alone is left for the
introduction of a picker between the shoe and the sole, otherwise, in
going over heavy ground, the clay will get in, and by its tenacity
loosen, and even tear off the shoe. The heels likewise are somewhat
shorter, that they may not be torn off by the toe of the hind-feet when
galloping fast, and the outer heel is frequently and injudiciously
turned up to prevent slipping. The reader will remember what we have
just said of this. If calkins are necessary, let, at least, both heels
have an equal bearing.
_The Bar-Shoe._—A bar-shoe is a very useful contrivance. It is the
continuation of the common shoe round the heels, and by means of it the
pressure may be taken off some tender part of the foot and thrown on
another which is better able to bear it, or more widely and equally
diffused over the whole foot. It is principally resorted to in cases of
corn, the seat of which it perfectly covers—in pumiced feet, the soles
of which may be thus elevated above the ground and secured from
pressure—in sand-crack, when the pressure may be removed from the
fissure and thrown on either side of it—in thrushes, when the frog is
tender, or is become cankered, and requires to be frequently dressed,
and the dressing can by this means alone be retained. In these cases the
bar-shoe is an excellent contrivance, if worn only for one or two
shoeings, or as long as the disease requires it to be worn, but it must
be left off as soon as it can be dispensed with. If it be used for the
protection of a diseased foot, however it may be chambered and laid off
the frog, it will soon be flattened down upon it; or if the pressure of
it be thrown on the frog to relieve the sand-crack or the corn, that
frog must be very strong and healthy which can long bear the great and
continued pressure. More mischief is often produced in the frog than
previously existed in the part which was relieved. It will be plain that
in the use of the bar-shoe for corn or sand-crack, the crust and the
frog should be precisely on a level, and the bar should be the widest
part of the shoe, to afford as extended bearing as possible on the frog,
and therefore less likely to be injurious. Bar-shoes are evidently not
safe in frosty weather; they are never safe when much speed is required
from the horse, and they are apt to be wrenched off in a heavy, clayey
country.
_Tips_ are short shoes reaching only half round the foot, and worn while
the horse is at grass to prevent the crust being torn by the occasional
hardness of the ground, or by the pawing of the animal; and the quarters
at the same time being free, the foot disposed to contract has a chance
of expanding and regaining its natural shape.
_The Expanding Shoe._—Our subject would not be complete if we did not
describe the supposed expanding shoe. It is either seated or concave
like the common shoe, with a joint at the toe, by which the natural
expansion of the foot is said to be permitted, and the injurious
consequences of shoeing prevented. There is, however, this radical
defect in the jointed shoe, that the nails occupy the same situation as
in the common shoe, and prevent, as do the nails of the common shoe, the
gradual expansion of the sides and quarters, and allow only of a
hinge-like motion at the toe. This is a most imperfect accommodation of
the expansion of the foot to the action of its internal parts, and even
this accommodation is afforded in the slightest possible degree, or
rather can scarcely be afforded at all. Either the nails fix the sides
and quarters as in the common shoe, and then the joint at the toe is
useless; or, if that joint merely opens like a hinge, the nail-holes in
the shoe can no longer correspond with those in the quarters which are
unequally expanding at every point; and, therefore, there will be more
stress on the crust at these holes, which will not only enlarge them,
and destroy the fixed attachment of the shoe to the hoof, but will often
tear away portions of the crust. This has, in many cases, been found to
be the effect of the jointed shoe: the sides and quarters of the foot
have been broken until it has become difficult to find nail-hold. This
shoe, to answer the intended purpose, should consist of many joints,
running along the sides and quarters, which would make it too
complicated and expensive, and frail for general use.
While the shoe is to be attached to the foot by nails, we must be
content with the concave seated one, taking care to place the nail-holes
as far from the heels, and particularly from the inner heel, as the
state of the foot and the nature of the work will admit; and where the
country is not too heavy nor the work too severe, even omitting the
nails on the inner side of the foot. Shoes nailed on the outer side, and
at the toe, are more secure than some would imagine, while the inner
quarter will be left free, to prevent contraction, or to arrest its
progress.
The attempt, however, to lessen the evils produced by shoeing is most
praiseworthy; and men like Mr. Bracey Clark deserve the respect and
thanks of the public, although their labours may not be crowned with
success. Every contrivance permanently to fix the shoe on the foot
without the use of nails, has failed; but a make-shift shoe has been
contrived, and is to be procured at most saddlers, which is easily
carried in the pocket, and put on in a minute or two if a shoe is lost
in hunting or on the road; and which will remain securely attached to
the foot, and prevent injury to it, during a journey of thirty or forty
miles.
_Felt or Leather Soles._—When the foot is bruised or inflamed, the
concussion or shock produced by the hard contact of the elastic iron on
the ground gives the animal much pain, and causes a short and feeling
step, or even lameness, and aggravates the injury or disease. A strip of
felt or leather is sometimes placed between the seating of the shoe and
the crust, which, from its want of elasticity, deadens, or materially
lessens the vibration or shock, and the horse treads more freely, and is
evidently relieved. This is a very good contrivance while the
inflammation or tenderness of the foot continues, but a very bad
practice if constantly adopted. The nails cannot be driven so surely or
so securely when this substance is interposed between the shoe and the
foot; the contraction and swelling of the felt or leather, from the
effect of moisture or dryness, will soon render the attachment of the
shoe less firm; there will be too much play upon the nails; the
nail-holes will enlarge, and the crust will be broken away.
After wounds or extensive bruises of the sole, or where the sole is thin
and flat and tender, it is sometimes covered with a piece of leather,
fitted to the sole, and nailed on with the shoe. This may be allowed as
a temporary defence of the foot; but there is the same objection to its
permanent use from the insecurity of fastening, and the strain on the
crust, and the frequent chipping of it: and there are these additional
inconveniences, that if the hollow between the sole and the leather be
filled with stopping and tow, it is exceedingly difficult to introduce
them so evenly and accurately as not to produce some partial or
injurious pressure—that a few days’ work will almost invariably so
derange the padding as to produce partial pressure—that the long contact
of the sole with stopping of almost every kind will produce, not a
healthy, elastic horn, but horn of a scaly, spongy nature; and that if
the hollow be not thus filled, gravel and dirt will insinuate
themselves, and cause unequal pressure, and eat into and injure the
foot.—_The Horse._
SHOOT, _v._ To discharge anything so as to make it fly with speed or
violence; to discharge from a bow or gun; to let off; to perform
the act of shooting; to germinate; to be emitted; to
protuberate; to jut out; to pass as an arrow; to feel a quick
pain.
_Instructions in Shooting_—But (to be brief, which is here my study)
allow me to suggest an humble attempt for the instruction of the
complete novice, first, let him take a gun that he can manage, and be
shown how to put it to his shoulder, with the breach and sight on a
level, and make himself master of bringing them up to a wafer.
Then, with a wooden or bone driver (instead of a flint) let him practise
at this mark; and when he thinks he can draw his trigger without
flinching, he may present the gun to your right eye, by which you will
see, at once, if he is master of his first lesson. In doing this he must
remember, that the moment the gun is brought up to the centre of the
object, the trigger should be pulled, as the first sight is always
unquestionably the best.
Then send him out to practise at a card with powder, till he has got
steady, and afterwards load his gun, occasionally, with shot, but never
let the time of your making this addition be known to him; and the idea
of it being, perhaps, impossible to strike his object, will remove all
anxiety, and he will soon become perfectly collected.
The intermediate lesson of a few shots at small birds may be given; but
this plan throughout must be adopted at game, and continued, in the
first instance, till the pupil has quite divested himself of all tremor
at the springing of a covey, and observed in the last, till most of his
charges of shot have proved fatal to the birds. If he begins with both
eyes open, he will save himself the trouble of learning to shoot so
afterwards. An aim thus, from the right shoulder, comes to the same
point as one taken with the left eye shut, and it is the most ready
method of shooting quick.
Be careful to remind him (as a beginner) to keep his gun moving, as
follows: before an object, crossing; full high for a bird rising up, or
flying away very low; and between the ears of hares and rabbits running
straight away. All this, of course, in proportion to the distance; and
if we consider the velocity with which a bird flies, we shall rarely err
by firing, when at forty yards, at least five or six inches before it.
Till the pupil is _au fait_ in all this, he will find great assistance
from the sight, which he should have precisely on the intended point,
when he fires. He will thus, by degrees, attain the art of killing his
game in good style, which is to fix his eyes on the object, and fire the
moment he has brought up the gun. He may then ultimately acquire the
knack of killing snap shots, and bring down a November bird the moment
it tops the stubble, or a rabbit popping into a furze-brake, with more
certainty than he was once used to shoot a young grouse in August, or a
partridge in September.
Many begin with very quick shooting, and kill admirably well, but are
often apt not to let their birds fly before they put up their guns, and
therefore dreadfully mangle them, and, I have already observed, are not
such every-day shots as those who attain their rapid execution on a slow
and good principle.
* * * * *
As shots in the field, at game, Mr. Jenkins, near Petworth, Sussex, and
Cottingham, who was formerly gamekeeper to Lord Roos, are perhaps the
best. The former has killed twenty brace of partridges in a day, at
forty shots, without selecting the shots, but took them fairly as they
happened; and in four days’ shooting, has never missed. The latter I was
out with when he killed, in two days, forty-three successive shots (many
of them in covert) at partridge, pheasant, woodcock, and hare; and his
style of shooting, when open, and he could give time, was most regularly
deliberate.
* * * * *
Should different guns be employed, the shooter should have all the locks
made, if possible, to require exactly the same pull to bring them to
action; there is nothing deceives or disconcerts him more than shooting
one day with a stiff, and the next with an easy going lock; the
transition from that which goes off with a slight, to that where a hard
touch is necessary, will often cause the most expert to miss his bird.
* * * * *
If a rival shooter (some stranger) races to get before you, push him
hard for a long time, always letting him have rather the advantage, and
then give him the double without his seeing you. Having done this, go
quietly round (supposing you have been beating up wind); and, on
reaching the place where you began, work closely and steadily the whole
of the ground or covert that you have both been racing over, and you
will be sure to kill more game than him, who is beating and shooting in
haste, through fear of your getting up to him; and (if the wind should
rise) driving the dispersed, and consequently closest lying birds to
your beat, as fast as he finds them.
* * * * *
Beware of the muzzle of the gun being kept hanging downwards; when so
carried, the shot is apt to force its way from the powder, especially in
clean barrels; if it happens that a space of sixteen or eighteen inches
is thus obtained, and the gun fired with its point below the horizon, it
is ten to one but the barrel bursts. There are other perilous
consequences besides those that generally accompany the disruption of a
barrel, for the men, horses, and dogs, are in perpetual danger of being
shot when a gun is carried in the before-mentioned pendent manner.
* * * * *
When a gun begins to exhibit symptoms of having done its work, the
sooner a man discards it the better. An injured barrel or enfeebled lock
may prove fatal to the owner or his associates. Accidents every day
occur, and very lamentable consequences proceed, from a culpable neglect
in retaining arms which should be declared unserviceable and disused.
I had once a favourite gun, which from constant wear and tear exhibited
unequivocal weakness in the locks, and which I had been earnestly
recommended by a veteran sportsman to condemn. On a cold and rainy day,
I was with my friend O’M——, shooting woodcocks in the heath, and having
sprung several, which from the severity of the weather were wild as
hawks, we marked them into a ravine, and determined to tie up the dogs
and endeavour to steal upon them. To keep my gun dry I placed it under
the skirt of my jacket, with the muzzle pointing downwards. My companion
and our attendant were busy coupling the dogs, when the gun exploded,
and the charge passing between O’M——’s bosom and the back of a dog he
was in the act of securing, buried itself at the foot of the keeper,
covering him with mud and gravel. From the close manner in which we were
all grouped, how the shot could have entered the ground without killing
men or dogs, or both, was miraculous. I was desperately frightened, and
from that moment forswore for ever, the use of weakened locks and
attenuated barrels.
* * * * *
In March, 1799, Sir John Swinborne, having flashed off his gun, which
was single barrelled with a patent antechambered breech, proceeded to
the dog-kennel; in his opinion, at least five minutes must have elapsed
before he began to load; having primed, he poured the charge from the
top of the flask into the barrel, when the whole copper flask,
containing nearly a pound of gunpowder, instantly exploded. A large
piece of copper struck the right eye, and injured the bone above, so
that it continued to exfoliate for two years. The lock remained at half
bent, and it cannot be doubted that some tow, which had been left in the
barrel or chamber, continued on fire from the time of flashing off, and
occasioned the misfortune.
In every instance but one, where the particulars have been ascertained,
of the numerous accidents of the above description, the explosion has
happened upon the second time of pouring powder into the barrel on that
day; which is strong evidence of the cause here suggested.
* * * * *
The following sporting precepts may be serviceable to inexperienced
shooters:—
First—If you or your dog should, at any time, get a severe blow, let the
wounded part be instantly fomented with water, as hot as can be borne,
for at least half an hour, and you will thereby reduce your suffering,
or impediment from sport, to at least half its duration.
Secondly—If you burn yourself in shooting, or otherwise, wrap the part
affected immediately in cotton, the application of which, it has been
proved, acts like magic with a burn.
Thirdly—If you should take cold, bathe your feet in hot water; if a
little salt or bran is, or both are, added, so much the better. Get into
a bed warmed, with a little brown sugar sprinkled on the coals, and take
some whey, or whatever you can get to promote perspiration.
Fourthly—Never fast too long, and avoid, whenever you can, fagging too
hard.
Fifthly—Never go out with quite an empty stomach, to wait for wild fowl,
particularly in the morning. Should you wish to start before any one is
up, you might always have left for you over night, a crust of bread, or
a biscuit, with a glass of milk, which, with a little sugar, nutmeg,
ginger, and the yolk of an egg, may be good in a moment, and this is
better than what is called a “doctor,” (rum and milk), because you then
dispense with taking spirit in a morning, the very bad habit of which,
should always be avoided, except in a country where the chances of ague
might justify your taking a little purl.
Sixthly—Never sit down in wet feet, or with wet clothes on any part of
your body, but, if a change is not at hand, keep in motion, or go to
bed, till one can be procured. Or, if you want to start again, when
refreshed, first wet your feet with either spirits or essence of
mustard, and then be as quick as possible in taking your refreshment.
Many people prefer applying the spirit to the inside, instead. This is
not so well, because spirit alone always flies to the head, while strong
beer, on the contrary, would warm the body.
I shall here conclude, under this head, with the _multum in parvo_
advice of the great Dr. Boerhaave; keep the body open, the head cool,
and the feet warm.—_Hawker_—_Daniel_—_Wild Sports._
SHOOTER, _s._ One who shoots; an archer, a gunner.
SHORTWINGED, _a._ Having short wings. So hawks are divided into long
and short winged.
SHOT, _s._ The act of shooting; the flight of a shot; the charge of
a gun; bullets or small pellets for the charge of a gun;
anything discharged from a gun, or other instrument; a sum
charged, a reckoning.
_Shot._—The choice of this article is highly worthy of the sportsman’s
care. It should be equal, round, and void of cavities. The patent milled
shot is, at this time, to be preferred to all other sorts, and is in
such general use, that the instructions which here follow on the size of
shot to be adopted in the different chases, must be understood to relate
to the patent shot only.
The difference, however, which subsists between the sizes of patent and
of common shot, will be hereafter shown by means of a table, denoting
the number of pellets contained in a given weight of each, so that in
cases where the former cannot be procured, it will be easy to adopt the
rules there laid down, to the latter, by only taking the same number of
grains in the common, as directed to be used for the patent shot.
It is extremely important for the success of the chase, that the
sportsman should proportion the size of his shot, as well to the
particular species of game he means to pursue, as the season of killing
it. Thus in the first month of partridge-shooting, shot No. 1, should be
used; for since, at this time, the birds spring near at hand, and we
seldom fire at more than the distance of forty yards, if the shooter
takes his aim but tolerably well, it is almost impossible for a bird at
this distance to escape in the circle or disk which the shot forms.
Hares also, at this season of the year, sit closer, and being at the
same time thinly covered with fur, may easily be killed with this sized
shot at thirty or thirty-five paces.
In snipe and quail-shooting this sized shot is peculiarly proper, for,
in using a larger size, however true the sportsman may shoot, yet he
will frequently miss, the objects being so small that they have great
chance of escaping in the vacant spaces of the circle or disk. Yet there
are many sportsmen who shoot snipes, quails, and fieldfares, in
countries where they abound, with the sizes six and seven of the common
shot, the last of which is called mustard-seed.
About the beginning of October, at which time the partridges are
stronger in the wing, No. 3 is the proper shot to be used. This size
seems to be the best of any; it preserves a proper medium between shot
too large and that which is too small, and will kill a hare from the
distance of thirty-five or forty paces, and a partridge at fifty,
provided the powder be good. It will serve also for rabbit-shooting. In
short, it is excellent for all seasons, and many sportsmen use no other
the season round.
It is true that distant objects are frequently missed for want of large
shot, but then these bear no proportion to the number that are daily
missed, by using shot of too large a size, especially with the feathered
game. If a man was to shoot constantly with shot number five, for one
partridge which he might chance to kill with a single pellet at the
distance of eighty paces, he would miss twenty birds at eighty paces,
which would in such case escape in the vacant spaces of the circle. But
if the sportsman expressly purposes to shoot wild ducks or hares, then
indeed he had better use the number five. However, in shooting with a
double barrel gun, it may be prudent to load one of the barrels with
large shot for the necessary occasions, and if in any case large shot is
required, number five will be found to be better than any other, for its
size is not so large as to prevent it from garnishing or being equally
spread in the circle, and it can at the same time perform, in effect,
all that a larger sized shot can do, which garnishes but very little, if
any at all.
In order, therefore, to show clearly, and at one view, the comparative
difference in garnishing of shot of different sizes, we here subjoin a
table which indicates the number of pellets precisely composing an ounce
weight of each sort of shot, the patent and the common, commencing at
the smallest size in each.