276 PHEASANTS 



The coverts here lying on hilly ground, birds 

 can be shown to good advantage, and it is easy to 

 follow the right system, as first practised at 

 Holkham by the late Lord Leicester — viz. running 

 the birds away from their home and then driving 

 them back over the guns. This naturally entails 

 a lot of working up to each rise, and a great cur- 

 tailment of actual rises — I have done away with 

 ten to have four in their place — but in the end the 

 trouble is not wasted, as when the rise does come, 

 the birds are all real good ones, instead of two 

 or three rises of indifferent birds on the same 

 ground. 



In this respect I may add that I firmly believe 

 in making the guns well acquainted with the 

 scheme of operations, as from my own experience 

 I know how ignorance of what is going on leads 

 to a general loss of interest in the proceedings. 



A long slow walk with the beaters with nothing 

 much to shoot at on a cold day is apt to be very 

 wearisome, unless you know that you are bearing 

 your part in a grand manoeuvre in which you can 

 tell how far things are going right. 



Details. — Before the shoot I arrange all minor 

 details, such as hours for starting, lunch, meeting- 

 place, stops, pegs, etc. ; and give written orders 

 for cartridges and loaders. The head -keeper 

 manages the beaters and takes charge of the 

 general arrangements, game cart, etc., while each 

 beat-keeper is responsible for his own ground. 



Stops. — Here we use men on the estate who 



