ST. JOHN ON SPORTINO AND sCENERY IN SIITHERLANDSHIRE.* THE subjects

of this work are threefold. A tour in Sutherlandshire, made not so much with sporting objects, as to enjoy the scenery and study the fern natura which are still found in considerable numbers in that remote district. The Tour is followed by " Field-Notes for the • A Tour in Sutheriandshfre ; with Extracts from the Pleltl.Books of a Sportsman and Naturalist. By Charles St. John, Esq., Author of " Wild Sports and Natural His- tory of the Highlands." With Wood-cuts. In two volumes. Published by Murray. Year," as the author calls them ; a sort of monthly journal describing na- tural appearances, the comings, goings, and doings of birds and other animals, together with the most remarkable sporting incidents that oc- curred to the writer during a year's residence in Morayshire. The third section consists of a series of essays on field-sports and the habits of ani- mals, freely interspersed, like the preceding part, with adventures that have happened to the author, or sporting canons which his experience has enabled him to deduce. The book is one of the most agreeable mixtures of observation, de- scription, incident, and anecdote, that we have met for many a day, and upon subjects whose natural freshness gives them a never-ending at- traction. Although possessing literary ability, and quite capable of the sketch or the story, Mr. St. John rarely attempts an approach to fiction, or even to writing, but judiciously confines himself to facts ; so that in his adventures or observations particular truth is the basis of his book. Hence, a great reality in his delineations without literalness, and as much variety of matter as the nature exhibits from which he draws. The main source of attraction is the author's unaffected earnestness. Mr. St. John is interested himself in what he presents to the reader ; he describes vividly because he feels vividly, and there is not in his volumes a trace of writing for effect. The Tour in Sutherlandshire is the freshest part of the book, because it carries the reader into a country altogether new. The district is not so much frequented by the sportsman as other Highland regions, and, rough now so easy of access, is almost unknown to the tourist : yet, according oo nur author, few countries are more worthy of a visit by the lover of nature. A .nmpanion of Mr. St. John in his first pilgrimage, who had traversed Switzerland and many parto of Continental Europe, had never seen wilder or more magnificent mountain scenery ; while the lakes, the arms of the sea, the iron-bound coast, and the Northern Ocean, possess varied attractions which no Continental region abort of Norway can offer. In the rarely-trodden districts of Sutherland, the sportsman- naturalist may still meet with the eagle, the falcon, the osprey, the wild-cat, and the marten, besides creatures which though found in other places are more rarely met with than in Sutherland. The coasts and some of the,, adjacent islands offer seals, puffins, guillemots, razor-bills, and various other water-fowl. Nor will the tourist want accommodation. Through- out the Duke of Sutherland's property the inns are very good; being held at little or no rent, on consideration of accommodating guests in a cer- tain kind of style. Thirteen hours per rail carries a tourist from London to Edinburgh ; thence there are several ways to the Duke's country, which Mr. St. John describes • and the district may be travelled by hired horses, or by a seat in the ma phaeton. Whether either of these modes would enable the Cockney to see what oar author saw, may be doubted. Mr. St. John and two of his friends started in a "small and lightly-built flat-bottomed boat, made of larch, and mounted on wheels. It was con- structed to ship and unship in half a minute. By simply unscrewing two bolts, it could be taken off its wheels and launched into the water. Being on springs, it made a very easy carriage, and was large enough to hold four persons with plenty of space for luggage." Thus, not only the lakes and their islands were readily accessible to our travellers when the shore could be approached by wheels, but the boat could be dragged or carried for some space. When the distance was too great or the path too rugged, the osprey's nest could still be reached by a swimmer with a swimming-belt ; and Mr. St. John's name seems to have given him fa- cilities not available to every one. Before a tourist start for Sutherland, let him examine himself. Is he an agriculturist ?—for in some districts there is a very superior style of agriculture. Is he a naturalist ? Is he an earnest lover of nature ? Is he a sportsman with interest, or an angler ? If none of these, we suspect he need not go,—unless fine sce- nery and a light summer midnight will satisfy him.

"The nights at this season are most enjoyable; in fact, there is no darkness. I went out of the inn at midnight, and was much amused at hearing the different cries of the birds. Close to the door is a small enclosed clump of larch, where the grass and weeds are very high and rank. In this little patch it seems that a sedge warbler had made her nest. All day long had the male bird been singing to his mate, and now at midnight he was still uttering unceasingly his merry note : I never met with so indefatigable a songster ; at night or day he seemed never to we'ar4owards the loch a constant tumult was kept up amongst the waders and water-fowl. High in the air was heard the common snipe, earning his Gaelic name of air goat' by his incessant bleating cry; while redshanks, curlews, golden plovers, and peewits, all seemed to be as lively as if it had been noon in- stead of midnight ; occasionally, too, both widgeon and teal were heard to whistle each after its own peculiar fashion ; and the quack of the common mallard was also constant. Now and then a note expressive of alarm was uttered by some bird, and immediately a dead silence was kept by the whole community for a few moments: but this was soon succeeded by a greater noise than ever, particularly amongst the peewits, which seemed by their cries to be darting about the head of some intruder or enemy. Probably on these occasions a fox, wild cat, or owl, had made his appearance amongst them, in search of tender food for his own young ravening brood.

" Though I had to rise very early, I betook myself to bed with great regret ; and left the window open, in order to hear the serenade of the sedge warbler to the last moment of being awake."

The two other sections of the book have not so much freshness as arises from the peculiar character of Sutherland ; neither have they the sustained story of a tour. But they possess sufficient incident, much variety, and have often some of the attractive and truthful character which distinguishes White's Selborne, with a more modern and vigorous manner. The nature of the country, too, in which Mr. St. John's ob- servations were carried on, gives greater force and interest. There is nothing in White like this struggle through the snow-drift, when Mr. St. John had been out shooting ptarmigan. " NO time was to be lost; and we descended the mountain at a far quicker rate than we had gone up it. The wind rose rapidly, moaning mournfully through the passes of themountain, and frequently carrying with it dense showers of snow. The thickest of these showers, however, fell above where we were, and the wind still came from behind us, though gradually veering round in a manner which plainly showed na that it would be right ahead before we reached home. Every moment brought us lower; and we went merrily on, though with certain au k% glances occasionally to windward. Nor was our alarm unfounded; for just as we turned an angle of the mountain which brought us within view of the shepherd', house perched on the opposite hill-side, with a good hour's walk and the river be: tween us and it, we were met by a blast of wind and a shower of snow, half drift. Mg and half falling from the clouds, which took away our breath, and nearly blew us both backwards, shutting out the view of everything ten yards from our faces.

" We stopped and looked at each other. This is geyan sharp,' said the sheD. herd; but we must n't lose a moment's time, or we shall be smothered in the drift; so come on, Sir.' And on we went. Bad as it was, we did not dare to step for its abating; and having fortunately seen the cottage for a moment, we knew that our course for the present lay straight down the mountain. After straggling on for some time, we came to a part of the ground which rather puzzled us, as instead of being a steep slope it was perfectly flat: a break, however, in the storm allowed us to see for a moment some of the birch trees on the opposite side of the river, which we judged were not far from our destination. The river itself we could not see, but the glimpse we had caught of the trees guided us for another start; and we went onwards as rapidly as we could, until the storm again closed round us with such violence that we could scarcely stand upright against it. We began now at times to hear the river; and we made straight for the sound, know- ing that it must be crossed before we could reach home, and hoping to recognize some bend or rock in it which would guide us on our way. " At last we came to the flat valley through which the stream ran; but here the drift was tremendous ; and it was with the utmost difficulty that we got to the water's edge. When there, we were fairly puzzled by the changed aspect of everything; but suddenly the evening became lighter and the drifting snow not quite so dense. We saw that we should soon be able to ascertain where we were so we halted for a minute or two, stamping about to keep ourselves from freezing, My poor dog immediately crouched at our feet, and, curling himself up, lay down: in a few minutes he was nearly covered with the snow. But the storm was evi- dently ceasing, at any rate for a short time; and very soon a small bit of bine sky appeared overhead, but in a moment it was again concealed by the flying shower. The next time, however, that the blue sky appeared, it was for a longer period, and the snow entirely.ceased, allowing as to see our exact position; indeed, we were very nearly opposite the house, and within half a mile of it. The river had to be crossed, and it was impossible to find the stepping-stones; but no time was to be lost, as a fresh drift began to appear to windward: so in we went, and dashed through the stream, which was not much above knee-deep, excepting in certain spots, which we contrived to avoid. The poor dog was most unwilling at first to rise from his resting-place, but followed us well when once up. " We soon made our way to the house, and got there just as another storm came on, which lasted till after dark, and through which, in our tired state, we never could have made our way. Donald and the shepherd's family were in a state of great anxiety about us, knowing that there would have been no possible means of affording us assistance had we been bewildered or wearied out upon the mountain. The shepherd himself was fairly knocked up, and could scarcely be prevailed upon to take either food or drink, or even to put off his frozen clothes, before flinging himself on his bed. For my own part I soon became as comfort- able as possible, and slept as soundly and dreamlessly as such exercise only can make one do. I must candidly confess, however, that I made an inward vow against ptarmigan-shooting again upon snow-covered mountains."

The two extracts have been taken from peculiar incidents ; a few mis- cellaneous passages will indicate the character and variety of the general matter.

CHANGE OF COLOUR IN FISH.

The change of colour in fish is very remarkable, and takes place with great rapidity. Put a living black burn trout into a white basin of water, and it be- comes, within half an hour, of a light colour. Keep the fish living in a white jar for some days, and it becomes absolutely white ; but put it into a dark-coloured or black vessel, and although on first being placed there the white-coloured fish shows most conspicuously on the black ground, in a quarter of an hour it becomes as dark-coloured as the bottom of the jar, and consequently difficult to be seen. No doubt, this facility of adapting its colour to the bottom of the water in which it lives, is of the greatest service to the fish in protecting it from its numerous enemies. All anglers must have observed that in every stream the trout are very much of the same colour as the gravel or sand on which they live: whether this change of colour is a voluntary or involuntary act on the part of the fish, I leave it for the scientific to determine.

RECOGNITION OF WATER-BIRDS.

No birds seem to enjoy life more than water-fowl ; floating without exertion in perfect security in the midst of a calm lake, or riding, as buoyant as a cork, on the waves of the sea.

When looking at wild fowl on the water, it is generally easy to distinguish what kind they are, even from a great distance. Scarcely any two species swim or float in the same manner and at the same elevation above the surface of the wa- ter. Coots and sea-gulls float like bladders, with scarcely any of their body im- mersed; so much so that it is almost impossible to mistake one of the former at any distance at which a bird can be distinguished. The divers, such as the cor- morant, the black-throated diver, and others of the same kind, swim very flat in the water, showing scarcely any part except the top of their back, and their head and neck, which all these birds carry straight and erect, seldom or never bending and arching their throat like ducks or geese. In consequence of their swimming so low in the water, it is difficult to kill any of these diving birds, unless you can get at them from a rock or height above them. Widgeon swim rather flat and low in the water. Mallards and teal keep more of their bodies above it, and are in consequence easier to kill while swimming.

DOUBLE-BARRELLED RIFLES.

Good single-barrelled rifles can easily be procured ; but to get a trustworthy double-rifle the sportsman must go to one of the first-rate gunmakers, and pay a first-rate price. By altering the sights of a single-barrelled rifle, any person, knowing the commonest elements of shooting, can make it carry correctly a hun- dred yards or more; but a double-rifle, if the axes of the two barrels are not exactly parallel, can only be adjusted by taking it to pieces again and again, until the barrels shall lie so evenly together that at a hundred yards the two balls strike within an inch of each other. As it is almost impossible for the most skil- ful gunsmith to join the two barrels together so correctly at first as to attain this result, he has to try them repeatedly, taking his work to pieces again and again, until he is quite satisfied with his performance. All this must of course add. to the expense; but it is money well expended, if after all, a double-barrelled rifle does shoot perfectly true.

HINTS ON WATER-DOGS.

Nothing is so ill-judged and useless as sending a dog into the water without good reason for it: doing so is always taking something more or less from his strength and injuring his constitution. When standing waiting for ducks in cold weather, the poor animal has no means of drying or warming himself, and lies shivering at your feet, and laying up the foundation of rheumatism and other maladies.

A dog who has much water-work to do should always be kept in good condi- tion, and if possible even fat. It is a mistake to suppose that allowing him to come into the house and warm himself before the fire makes him less hardy: on the contrary, I consider that getting warm and comfortable before the kitchen-fire on coming home gives the retriever a better chance of keeping up his strength, hesa, andenemy when much exposed to cold and wet during the day; a far letter mice,el,d, than if, on returning, he is put into a cold kennel, where, however well supplied with straw, hours must elapse before he is thoroughly warm an &T. Most rough dogs stand cold well enough as long as they are to- lerably dry, but frequent wetting is certain to cause disease and rheumatism. I am sure too, with and to water-dogs, that a good covering of fat is a far more efficacious means of ke.eping them warm than the roughest coat of hair that dog ever wore. In wilddaanimtals, animals, such as otters, seals, &c., which are much exposed to wet in cold countries, we always find that their chief defence against the cold consists in a thick coating of fat, and that their hair is short and close. In like manner, dogs who are in gopircoudition can better sustain the intense cold of the water than those whose only defence consists in a shaggy hide. Short-coated dogs are also the most active and powerful swimmers, and get dry sooner than those who are too rough-coated. "NOBLE* BIRDS.

An eagle, although he may have been trained for a long time and with great care for the purpose of hunting,. is just as likely to swoop at and kill his master's dogs, or even to attack a man himself, as to fly at any game. In this he differs from the falcons, that is those of the hawk tribe, who are called "noble falcons," in contradistinction to those termed "ignoble." The Iceland, the Greenland, the peregrine, and the merlin also, are all a noble falcons." The lamer, formerly in high repute for the chase, is now so seldom seen in this country, either alive or dead, that little is known as to his merits; but the other noble hawks whom I have enumerated are all a most kindly and tractable disposition, and possess that great courage which gives them the full confidence in man which is necessary for their education. These birds have also great aptitude to receive instruction ; their habits are social, and before they have been long in confinement they become per- fectly contented with their lot. When out in the field, a trained hawk is in no way flurried or alarmed by the movement of men or dogs, but site looking, when mi- 1 hooded, with calm confidence on all that is going on around him ; and although his fine dark eye evinces neither fear nor disquietude, not the smallest bird can pass without his immediately descrying it, and intently watching it until it is lost in the distance—and great must that distance be which conceals any bird from the falcon's eye. I have often fired my gun off at a bird with a hooded hawk sitting on one arm, without his evincing the least fear or uneasiness; as great a proof of his courage as need be required. In fact, a hawk, like a dog, soon learns to look upon her master as her best friend.