degrees lighter than the mud, in order to appear precisely of the same colour. Indeed, the lighter the better, if no moon.

SUSSEX MUD-BOAT.

There is another contrivance

for traversing the oozes, which is simply a very slight board, with sides, somewhat in shape like the fore end of the Hampshire punt, sawed off, and a tail board or bench put across it. This is used on the Sussex coast, in places where there are but very few creeks to interrupt its progress. The way to manage it is this: The gunner first lays his piece (a large hand gun) into the "mud-boat;" and then kneeling on the bench with one knee, he kicks along with the other leg, and advances with a rapidity that you would hardly credit; and when that leg is tired, he changes it again, and works away as before. Having got pretty near to his birds, he lies down in the "mud-boat," in which, if the mud is soft, he can work along with his feet; but if hard, he must "hold on," and shove this kind of sledge before him. He lies close on his chest to fire, and has a stock cut away at the but, which is filled with horse-hair. This so much eases the recoil from his collar-bone, that (unless in a sharp frost, when guns are apt to strike harder) he can manage to fire half a pound of shot at a time. Birds Birds may be approached much nearer by this means than by any other kind of launching," as the whole concern is so much lighter, and smaller.

66

So much for the new system, by which the ancient mode of shooting on the Hampshire coast, so well described by Mr. Gilpin, and quoted by Mr. Daniel, has long ago been totally superseded!

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

MUD LAUNCHERS, on the oozes, off LYMINGTON, shoving their PUNTS up to WIGEON.

Although I cannot, for a moment, suppose that the generality of sportsmen would ever think of adopting this method, yet I have given directions for it, because I am fond of any thing original; and for this reason I have made it the subject of a little drawing. Here the light launching sledge is on the fore ground; the Hampshire gunner contending with it in the centre, and the Sussex mud-boat looking after other birds in the back ground; the latter is shown with a man in the position in which he traverses the oozes before he begins to crouch and advance to the birds. In order to tell the story, I have found it necessary to put this, and other subjects, a little "out of drawing." Here I hope the R. A. gentlemen will pardon me, with that liberality which is inseparable from men of talent.

JAMES READ AND HIS LAUNCHING PUNT.

Since the 8th edition, the launchers have so annihilated themselves and the shooting on the oozes, that this dirty work is almost become a matter of history; and, except two or three tyros, my man Read has all the ground to himself, when not engaged with me. This pursuit is still his hobby. He has within these few years built a "lovely" crank punt, with only three boards, as light as possible: and he has contrived a prop for his gun that does away with all the re-action strain on a boat. For this reason, I think it worth showing as a good contrivance. No one kills so many birds on the mud as Read. He is a great doer, and a little talker; just the reverse of other

gunners. While Singer and Buckle, a few winters ago, were holding forth on their respective quays as to the numbers they had slaughtered, Read, with the rough set-out here shown, was bagging more than both of them together, putting on a face as long as Dragonetti's double bass, and complaining of the scarcity of birds, while his cargo of wigeon was wrapped up in a sail, to be stuffed by instalments into his pulled off water-boots; and thus smuggled ashore like a crop of contraband goods.

The bottom of the punt here shown is 10 feet long, and only 17 inches broad; the two very thin side planks flamming out to 31 inches at the gunwales. Varley has telescoped him in the act of pulling off his trigger; and chosen for a back-ground a creek that bears my name; as I had it cut, at my own expense (about 401.), for more than half a mile, in order that little boats may cross from Keyhaven to the Western Channel, without going two miles round, by Hurst; and there having to face the dangerous breakers which a good easterly wind causes in the Camber; as well as to escape the mile and a half pull up Keyhaven river, when the fresh-water sluices are opened from the "Mudlands."