shelter in the heath, but under loose stones. In winter the white ptarmigan assemble and fly in flocks, still preserving their predominant tameness. At that season, when they perceive any person, they remain quiet upon the snow, to avoid being seen, and are often betrayed by their extreme whiteness-surpassing that of the snow. As an edible, they taste so like a grouse as to be scarcely distinguished from it."

So much has been written upon grouse-shooting, choice of days, and hiring of manors, that little remains for us to say upon the subject, but there is one remark we will again venture to make, and sincerely trust it will produce its desired effect upon every one, young or old, who takes out a licence to carry a gun. It is to bear in mind the numerous accidents that yearly occur through carelessness, and to ponder over the list of those whose lives have been sacrificed through their own inattention or that of others. The rules we would lay down would be-first, never to point a gun in a position that if it went off accidentally it would wound man or dog; secondly, never to carry a gun at full cock through a hedge or thick cover; thirdly, never during luncheon to have a gun, within the reach of any idle boy, and to take care that it is so placed that no bough or twig should ever come in contact with the trigger; by following the above simple precautions, many an accident would be averted. While sports are being carried on at home, it is gratifying to find that they are equally carried on abroad, wherever our countrymen meet, as the following account of a royal elk hunt in Ceylon will prove :

"The Duke of Edinburgh has visited the plains of Bopatalawa, where elk hunting has been arranged for the amusement of the Prince, by the gentlemen of the Dickoya Hunt. The chase is described in a letter from Dunboola of the 23rd April. The encampment was situated in the midst of an extensive pateria, or open prairie, leading downwards to other paterias of equal extent and beauty. Bodies of retainers were on the ground to receive his Royal Highness with honours. The dogs were put in at the extreme summit of a lofty jungle facing the grassy knoll on which the Prince and his suite were standing. A very short time elapsed before they found,' but by degrees the voices of the pack became less audible, until they were no longer heard, and it became evident that the game had made over the ridge into some plains on the opposite side. Suddenly the Prince and one or two hunters were observed walking rapidly away along the plain towards a block of forest two miles distant, and when it was seen that their pace increased to a run, a general move was made in the same direction, and soon was heard the well-known sound of dogs with an elk at bay. The Prince came up with the pack, and found they had a magnificent buck, with a fine head, in a pool overhung with jungle. Drawing his knife and making way with difficulty among the large boulders in the stream, his Royal Highness gave the fatal blow; the elk uttered a piercing shriek, and fell dead among the pack. In the meantime two kills were had on the other side of the ridge, and the hounds with the Prince's party being again put in, found a doe, which after a short run was also killed. In the evening the Prince and the Governor were entertained by the Dickoya Hunt."

Happy are we to find that his Royal Highness, who is "every inch a sailor," is devoted to manly sports Englishmen love men of courage,

enterprise, and daring, and the Royal Family of England, who have ever been famed for "pluck," have not degenerated in our days, as may be proved in the persons of the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince Arthur.

Salmon fishing now claims the attention of the followers of Old Izaak Walton, and those who are interested in the artificial propagation of this "king of fish" will read the following account with pleasure: "An interesting experiment, with a view of testing the rate of progress of the salmon in its early life, has been conducted during the past year by a gentleman in Hawick. At Christmas, 1868, he placed a quantity of salmon roe in oblong zinc boxes, so constructed that a supply of fresh water was kept constantly running through them. About forty days after, the sharp dark eyes of the fry were discernible shining through the globules, and about the 1st of April following, the heads and tails began to protrude. Ten days afterwards the fry were about an inch in length. The eyes were disproportionately large, the fins and tails were formed, but the general appearance was marred by the large umbilical bag from which the fish in this stage derives its nourishment. The fish seemed healthy and lively, moving away in shoals when a spectator approached. The death-rate was small, and there were some curious monsters in the collection. In one case two fish were joined together at the tail, having two heads, four eyes, one umbilical bag, and one tail, presenting the shape of the letter Y. This curiosity lived for several weeks. When the umbilical bags were absorbed, and the fry required to find their nourishment in the open water, they were removed to a newly constructed pond on a neighbouring farm, and in the waters of which, having never been tenanted by fish, there was an opportunity of correctly noting the after progress of the collection. Some specimens were taken from the pond about thirteen months after the first appearance of hatching. The largest weighed 270 grains. It was a perfectly formed smolt, and ready to go seawards. The greater portion were smaller and still in the pair stage, and many allowed that progress from the fry to the salmon is extremely irregular, as they had very slightly increased in bulk during their sojourn in the pond. One weighed only eleven grains, but though it had thriven so much worse, it appeared quite as healthy and lively as its biggest companions. A good many of the smolts have now left the pond on their way to the salt water."

One word upon Thames fishing, which was not always so unimportant as it has been of late years. In the Gentleman's Magazine for 1749, we read as follows:

"June 7th, two of the greatest draughts of salmon were caught in the Thames, below Richmond, that have been known for some years, one net having thirty-five large salmon in it, and the other twenty-two, which lowered the price of fresh salmon at Billinsgate from one shilling to sixpence a pound."

Will not the above account make the mouth water of many a cockney sportsman, who probably in the whole experience of his "gentle crafte" only heard of a legendary salmon in the now polluted waters of "Father Thames?" What thoughts will crowd upon his mind, when sitting like Patience in a punt moored off Richmond Bridge, angling for dace, or if he take a higher flight, fishing for barbel at Teddington!

What a contrast will he draw between the splendid salmon of by-gone days, and the diminutive fish which he now catches by the dozen! Will he not sigh to think that instead of dining off the produce of his morning's amusement, all his toil has been expended in procuring a dish that can alone be appreciated by the feline race? Will he not in despair throw aside his rod, and lament that be did not live in the good old times before gas had polluted the "silver Thames," and before steam had converted the "silent river" into a perfect thoroughfare?

As under our title of "Here's Sport Indeed" we are allowed to enlarge, we cannot do better than refer to a work recently published from the pen of Captain Townshend, who wrote last year the most acceptable book of travels that has appeared for many a season, and has now come before the public with a successor to his former work, likely to rival it in popular favour and general estimation. A more charming narrative of travel and adventure than this "Cruise in Greek Waters" it has never been our good fortune to read, and we deem it not a little encouraging to find a young officer in the Life Guards who has the inclination to devote his time in acquiring a fund of pleasant information and the capacity to write such a narrative of his adventures as stamps him as a man possessing the utmost cultivation, united with a bright and captivating style of description, at once natural and attractive. In company with Sir George Prescott, the Earl of Gosford, and other friends, our author spent last year's summer months in a delightful yachting cruise, visiting Spain, Algiers, and Tunis, and finally the islands of the Grecian Archieplago, and he possesses the rare gift of imparting to his readers a considerable amount of the pleasure which he derived himself. All Captain Townshend's descriptions of places and people are excellent; he has a bright and pleasant way of looking at things, and we should imagine him one of the most agreeable men that could possibly be selected as a companion in a summer's tour. An agreeable specimen of Captain Townhend's style may be selected from his hunting excursion in Tunis:

"We accordingly rode about ten miles in a north-easterly direction, and when well away from the cultivated country, dismounted and left our horses in charge of a native. Walking a few miles further we reached the Wady Zergoo, where, on the banks of a shallow river, overgrown with slender trees, we were met by a party of some thirty natives, accompanied by a miscellaneous pack of dogs, to drive the boars from their covert. The guns were then stationed at different points lower down the river, one on each bank, in case the game should make up the hills, and two in the bed of the river, which was there about forty yards in width. For my own part I had to wade up to my knees in water to the centre of the river bed, and there took up my position in an immense oleander bush, whence I could bring my rifle to bear on anything coming up the run or path made by the boar through the thick bushes. After waiting nearly an hour, the shouting of natives and yelping of dogs, gradually approaching nearer and nearer, proclaimed that game was found, and coming in my direction. Presently I heard the sharp report of a rifle, followed by a cheer from one of our party, and directly after the noise of some animal splashing and crashing through the bushes in front of me warned me of the approach of a fine young boar, which came tearing along the run straight towards

me.

When about three yards off I gave him the contents of my rifle, which laid him kicking in the water. Thence he was soon dragged on to dry land, and was laid beside the dead body of the other boar, whose death-shot I had heard, making the result of our first drive a pretty successful one. Our second drive, higher up the river, only resulted in the dogs killing a jackal and a species of ichneumon, called by our hunter Bogo, a mangousta, after which we returned home much pleased with our first day's sport. Our second day on the same river was not so successful, as we only killed one boar. He was, however, a fine old fellow, with enormous tusks, of which one was unfortunately broken. While shooting we were joined by some Arabs, whose tents were pitched at no great distance from the river. They brought a request from their chief that we would partake of some food which he had sent down to the river to meet us. A little further on we accordingly found the chief awaiting us, with the present of a lamb roasted whole, and some small loaves of coarse bread. Of these we made a hearty meal, the chief pulling off joints and lumps of meat with his fingers, and offering them to us, such being the Arab rule of politeness. Our next expedition was to the eastward, in the direction of Kurbah, where the hills were covered with rich pasture, thickly studded with clumps of prickly scrub, round which the soil was everywhere ploughed up by the boar in search of roots to feed on. Round these clumps the guns were posted, so as to get a shot when the game broke covert, while the dogs were sent into the scrub to drive out the boar. It is the habit of these latter animals to seek out the thickest part of the jungle, and refuse to move thence, unless actually attacked by the dogs, which require therefore some courage and strength to be of the slightest use. The only dogs we could get were such curs that they were afraid to tackle the boar; and though plenty of woodcocks rose out of the scrub, one small porker was all that fell to our rifles. Another day, when shooting in the same direction, an accident happened, which turned out to be only amusing, though it might have ended fatally.

"The dogs had hardly been put into a covert on the side of a hill when out bolted an old tusker, which made off round the shoulder of the hill, a bullet just grazing his back as he disappeared. On the other side were pitched some of the low black tents of an Arab dowan, or encampment, at the nearest of which the boar, irritated by his wound, charged full tilt. He was just disappearing through the canvas as we rounded the hill, and in another moment appeared in hot pursuit of a naked Arab boy, about ten years of age, who ran yelling towards us, his hands clasped on the hinder part of his person, from which the boar's tusks were little more than a yard distant. As pursued and pursuer passed near our hunter Bogo, a bullet from his rifle released the boy from what was undoubtedly a most unpleasant position, as there is no wild animal known more vindictive or obstinate in pursuit than a wounded boar. The danger once over, we all burst into a roar of laughter at the boy's appearance, as he bolted back to the tents, with his hands still clasped behind him, almost as much frightened at sight of us as he had been by the pig. A few piastres to the boy's mother quite consoled her for the damage done to her tent and fright to herself and children."

The description of a visit to Egypt, and a four-months' jourucy up

the Nile, brings to a close one of the most naturally written and interesting narratives that has ever been published. It is, indeed, a volume that will repay anyone who takes it with him on his summer ramble, for read it ought to be, and will be by everybody. The work has been produced by Messrs. Hurst and Blackett in the tasteful manner for which their publications have become famous.

The racing during the months of May, June, and July has been extremely good, and we sincerely hope that now the subject has been taken up certain reforms will be made, so as to restore the turf to what is was originally intended to be-a truly national amusement. If "plunging" and "welching," and other evils which we have not space to dilate upon, were removed, racing would again become more popular than ever.

The meetings at Hurlingham Park have been more fully and fashionably attended than ever, despite the attacks that have been made against pigeon-shooting. All sports are, strictly speaking, cruel-fishing, battue shooting, hunting, coursing, and racing; and those who denounce pigeon-shooting cannot consistently support any of the above. It is a subject, however, upon which we will not at present touch, suffice it to say that many of our best men in present and by-gone times have been followers of old Izaak Walton, and unquestionably the Hurlingham Club can boast of members who are proverbial for humanity and kindness of disposition.

A LONG STORY ABOUT CRICKET.

BY FREDERICK GALE.

CHAP. IX.

Turning now to excellence of batting, it would be ridiculous for any one to deny that, taking the batting of a whole eleven through in a grand match in these days, we do not see more good batting on the average now than formerly. It is only fair to state that now the principal players play six days a week, generally on grounds like billiard tables, and frequently meet the same bowling many times in the season; but still the batting is very fine, whatever may be the cause, and there is seldom a tail to the eleven.

Reverting again to my pet match of Gentlemen and Players, it was an extraordinary feat for Wootton to go in last against 62 runs, and by indomitable patience and defence to help his partner to wipe the lot off within 17, and it is to the eternal glory of the Players that with only 13 minutes to spare, they did not try to play for a draw, but went in to finish the match, for, no doubt, if their orders had been to stick and not try for the runs, they might probably have succeeded in drawing the game.

Fuller Pilch told me in March, 1869, that Daft, Jupp, and Mr. Grace were three of the most extraordinary players he ever saw in his life; and as I suppose that evidence is worth having, Young England may score it to his side.