killed the animal, should have a right to a slice of the meat:  it must however, be understood, that the man who gave the first wound should not thenceforward withdraw from the chase; if he does so, his claim is lost.  In America the skin belongs to the first shot, the carcase is divided equally among the whole party.  Whaling crews are bound by similar customs, in which nice distinctions are made, and which have all the force of laws.

Duck-shooting.—­Wooden ducks, ballasted with lead, and painted, may be used at night as decoy-ducks; or the skins of birds already shot, may be stuffed and employed for the same purpose.  They should be anchored in the water, or made fast to a frame attached to the shooting-punt, and dressed with sedge.  It is convenient to sink a large barrel into the flat marsh or mud, as a dry place to stand or sit in, when waiting for the birds to come.  A lady suggests to me, that if the sportsman took a bottle of hot water to put under his feet, it would be a great comfort to him, and in this I quite agree; I would take a keg of hot water, when about it.  If real ducks be used as decoy-birds, the males should be tied in one place and the females in another, to induce them to quack.  An artificial island may be made to attract ducks, when there is no real one.

Crocodile-shooting.—­Mr. Gilby says, speaking of Egypt, “I killed several crocodiles by digging pits on the sand-islands and sleeping a part of the night in them; a dry shred of palm-branch, the colour of the sand, round the hole, formed a screen to put the gun through.  Their flesh was most excellent eating—­half-way between meat and fish:  I had it several times.  The difficulty of shooting them was, that the falcons and spurwing-plovers would hover round the pit, when the crocodiles invariably took to the water.  Their sight and hearing were good, but their scent indifferent.  I generally got a shot or two at daybreak after sleeping in the pit.”

Tracks.—­When the neighbourhood of a drinking-place is trodden down with tracks, “describe a circle a little distance From it, to ascertain if it be much frequented.  This is the manner in which spoor should at all times be sought for.” (Cumming’s ‘Life in South Africa.’) To know if a burrow be tenanted, go to work on the same principle; but, if the ground be hard, sprinkle sand over it, in order to show the tracks more clearly.  It is related in the Apocrypha, that the prophet Daniel did this, when he wished to learn who it really was who every night consumed the meat which was placed before the idol of Bel, and which the idol itself was supposed to eat:  he thus discovered that the priests and their families had a secret door by which they entered the temple; and convinced the king of the matter, by showing him their footprints.