WADDING. "Always use the very best wadding for shot-guns."-20-BORE. As far as Shanghai is concerned, the best wadding will most likely be the newest. Never lay in a large stock of other than cardboard wads. Thick felt wads soon become dry, shrink and lose all their lubricating value. In a lesser degree the same remark applies to the ordinary pink wads. Four wads are generally used in a well made cartridge: 3 wads over the powder, first a waterproof, then a thick felt, and then a pink-edged wad; finally, over the shot, a thick cardboard wad. CARTRIDGE CASES. Eley's green gas-tight cartridge cases will be found to give every satisfaction to the shooter. The salmon and buff colours of E. C. and Schultz's cartridges are a distinguishing mark and nothing more. Brown cartridges, though they may answer fairly well in fine weather, are a nuisance if they get damp, as they readily swell, become "pulpy," and consequently are liable to stick in the chamber. Moreover they are not to be depended on as gas-tight. LOADING CARTRIDGES. "If you want to shoot game dead, Kam your powder, not your lead." Although this good old wholesome piece of advice refers more particularly to the fine grained black powder of muzzle-loading days, yet, in only a slightly less degree, is it applicable to the chemical powder of to-day, which requires very steady and firm though not severe pressure. The treatment of the shot should be the same whatever the kind of powder that may be used. For long shots the less pressure on the pellets the better. For short scattering shots the more firmly bevelled the cartridges are, the more certainly will the object be attained. There are, of course, the standard charges for the average 12-bore gun:* a study of them and a perusal of Wild-fowler's Rational Loads will well repay the shooter. On the other hand, few guns shoot equally well; hence the great value of trial at a target with varying charges of powder and shot until the shooter is satisfied that he is at length getting the best work out of his weapon. For all ordinary purposes the locally-loaded cartridges answer fairly well, but it cannot be gainsaid that there is an inexpressible charm in using cartridges filled by the shooter himself—or at least under his own personal superintendence. In fact, one might go so far as to say that the confidence engendered by using cartridges of whose contents you have perfect knowledge should suffice alone to materially improve your shooting. * The standard charges for a 12 bore gun are: 3 drams of black powder. 45 grains of E.C. or Schultz's wood powder. 1 ounce of No. 6 shot. CARTRIDGE BAGS. Those made of brown mail canvas are the best. They should be made to hold 50 cartridges at most; if of larger size, the extra weight of cartridges will soon wear holes through the canvas. Moreover, large bags are unhandy even for a coolie; better a couple of a small bags. Leather bags get soft when wet and rotten when dry. So-called waterproof bags resolve themselves into jelly in the summer. Cartridge belts are only fit for fine weather; even then they do not equal the canvas bag. GAME BAGS. These relics of the good old days are fast disappearing, though they may still be put to good use in the conveyance of tiffin requisites. But a wicker basket, properly fitted, is much superior. For carrying game, which should both be exposed to the air and held head upwards, nothing has been found to equal the handy split bamboo carried on the coolie's shoulder. SHOOTING-BOOTS. London-made boots are undoubtedly the best, but they are very expensive, costing as they do from $25 to $30 a pair. For the last-named figure a good native maker will turn out 4 pairs of light, easy, durable, well made boots. Far better a pair of boots 2 inches too long than th. of an inch too short. Nearly every shooter has his own special recipe for rendering his shooting-boots what is called waterproof. Porpoise oil dubbin is perhaps as good as any dressing. Snow, however, appears to be able to find its way, sooner or later, through all external applications into the very best of boots. ON THE CLEANING AND HANDLING OF GUNS. Curling, in his useful little book on the Handling of Fire-arms, makes the statement that “the man who takes no pride in his guns is no sportsman." This appears a very sweeping assertion at the outset, but, when examined by the light of the context, he would seem merely to insist that it is the characteristic of the true sportsman to take care that nothing which contributes to his success shall be allowed to suffer by neglect. And, undoubtedly, he is right. Now, gun-cleaning in China is only too often performed in the most perfunctory manner. In nine cases out of ten the weapon is relegated to the "boy," who usually considers "a lick and a promise " ample enough attention to his duty. There is an old saying that "If you want a thing done, get somebody to do it for you; but that if you want it done well, do it yourself." To few matters is this advice more relevant than to gun-cleaning. However, there are many men who not only never clean their guns themselves, but never even personally superintend the operation. There is great risk in this indifference, for "boys" seldom take off the barrels for the purpose of cleaning them: but simply open the breech and pass a rag down the tubes; the while, possibly, putting no slight weight on the handle and action-sure means to the end of making a "shaky " gun. On returning to the boat it is better at once to detach the barrels and push a couple of thick felt wads through them, afterwards working a clean, soft cloth up and down. A little vaseline on a rag or on tow may then be passed through, and the gun returned to its cloth or waterproof cover. It is a mistake to allow a gun to remain uncovered all night in the cabin of a house-boat, for generally a lot of moisture sets up in the small hours of the morning. Great care should be taken to wipe the barrels clean before using, when the lumps, triggers, hammers and ejector may be brushed with an old toothbrush, and a touch of neat's-foot oil applied. For the stock, elbow grease and plenty of it, is the best polish; next to that a little linseed oil, which renders the wood kind. When putting guns aside at the end of the season the barrels should be well rinsed with boiling soapy water-then thoroughly dried; after which a little quicksilver, well shaken through the tubes, will remove all traces of leading. Put a flannel-covered stick in each barrel, and consign the gun to its case, which should be wrapped in coarse brown paper-a wonderful preservative against damp. A cleaning-rod in one piece, with a good thick handle, is better than the joined article usually found in the gun-case. Cut out some wads of gutta-percha or leather washer; pass a screw through them to keep them in position at the small end of the rod, as in the woodcut. As to the handling of fire-arms, it is not necessary to say very much, for the immunity from accidents Shanghai has so long enjoyed is the best proof of the care taken by shooters when in the field. But the repetition of a few simple rules will not be out of place here. Ist. Never point your gun, whether loaded or unloaded, at anything but the mark intended to be shot at. 2nd. Always treat your gun as if it were loaded. 3rd. In closing the breech, lock the gun by bringing up the stock: this not only keeps the barrels 4th. When carried on the shoulder the gun should always be lock down-i.e., trigger-guard up. "The importance of these hints cannot be over-estimated, involving as they do not only immunity from accidents but the preservation of life. It is the obvious and imperative duty of all true "sportsmen to inculcate their observance upon all who appreciate the pleasure to be derived from "field-sports."-SPEEDY. CHAPTER X. THE HOUSE-BOAT. I. By R. W. CROAL. N O three men agree about the dimensions, build and fittings most suitable for a perfect shooting-boat"-thus wrote the compiler of the Sportsman's Diary which was published in Shanghai 22 years ago, and the words are as true now as when they were penned. An elaborate treatise on the subject will therefore not be attempted in the present instance. The following particulars, however, may be of some slight service to those possessed of sufficient temerity and superfluous cash to indulge in the luxury of building, or even to those more prudent sportsmen who are content to bide their time, and await a favourable opportunity of purchasing a desirable vessel at about one half, or even less, of her original cost. A good example of the bluff-bowed house-boat is the speedy Ibis, whose dimensions are as follows: do. do. do. do. ... ... ... ... ... ... do. at stern ( do. ) ... do. :: : 10 II 5 ... ... :: ... II do. do. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... in bath- and toilet-room. :: ... ... do. (1 ft. 6 in. × I ft. 4 in.) in cook-house and pantry. do. do. ( do. X do. ) in W.-C. Drawers under bunks, 2 ft. x I ft. 10 Open spaces at fore-ends of bunks, 1 ft. leaf of table, &c. &c. Side lockers at fore-ends of bunks, 2 ft. 6 in. x 1 ft. 5 in. x 10 in., fitted |