DECREASE OF BLACK GAME. 123 



almost we hear of complaints of the decrease of black game 

 contmuing from many estates in the west of Scotland and 

 from other parts ; often, it is true, from causes at present diffi- 

 cult to trace, but some of which I have little doubt will be 

 found in drainage, land improvement, and consequent destiTic- 

 tion of insect and vegetable food necessary to the wellbeing 

 of black game. Mr. J. B. Hamilton, of Leny, has given me a 

 strong instance of decrease of black game, owing to land 

 improvement, from a district not inhabited by Capercaillies, 

 which is so much to the point that I quote his communica- 

 tion in full : " In Dumfriesshire I have for several years shot 

 over the Corrie estate, which belongs to my friend Mr. Jardine, 

 of Lanrick. It is a hilly grass country, with a deal of good 

 strong land in it. It may extend to some 10,000 acres, and 

 at one time he rented the shooting of adjoining land there to 

 a somewhat similar extent. He has kno\\m- that district aU 

 his life, and has shot over it for probably thirty years or more. 

 The black game have diminished very largely in numbers 

 during that period. His impression is that he does not see 

 one bird now for ten that he used to do. There are no Caper- 

 caillies there, or anywhere near there, though there are plenty 

 of fir woods of all ages and sizes. He accounts for the dimi- 

 nution of the black game from the improvement of the land. 

 During the last twenty years there has been a large amount 

 of drainage, both close and open, done on the Corrie property, 

 and a very large amount of top dressing the hill land with 

 lime, at the rate of from six to eight tons per acre. The result 

 of all this is the destruction of the coarser grasses which pro- 

 duced the seeds that were the food of the game, and the pro- 

 duction of a finer type of herbage, which has probably doubled 

 the rental of that property within the last twenty years. 



" Improvement of land, as a general rule, may, I think, be 

 accepted as synonymous with injury to really wild game. Thus, 

 I have known the size and weight of hares to have fallen off 



