174 THE PARTRIDGE 



and with the scent of blood fresh in their nostrils- 

 And they know, also, how impossible it is for 

 them to abide where food cannot be obtained 

 without continuous dread. The " moucher/' 

 sweeping the coveys by night, or shooting at 

 them while they feed and " jug "' in the stubbles 

 at dusk, does far more mischief to the game 

 preserver than may be occasioned simply by the 

 loss of half a dozen brace of birds. 



