278 PHEASANTS 



they shout unless ordered to do so, nor utter any 

 wild cries of * mark.' They are always very good 

 about this unless a roe appears, when they all go 

 mad — including the head-keeper — and yell, " The 

 Deer ! The Deer ! " Latterly 1 have persuaded 

 them to desist from this to some extent, and they 

 no longer break ranks and chase it. The orders 

 about roe are to let him come back and through 

 the line ; nine times out of ten he comes charging 

 back, though I have seen a rise spoilt by one. 

 We always try to hunt the roe out before a shoot. 



Silence in the beating line is what we want; 

 that is why all dogs are on leads; for there is 

 nothing more prejudicial to the success of a 

 delicate manoeuvre than yells of ' Jock,' followed 

 by long blasts on a pea-whistle and subsequent 

 bowlings. Honestly, I consider the quietness of 

 the men one of the principal factors in the success 

 of a manoeuvre here ; it also adds to the general 

 pleasure of the day. I loathe hearing men yelling, 

 dogs howling, and general chaos ; it can only mean 

 a badly managed shoot. 



The Rise. — The actual flushing of the birds is 

 done by one man, the beaters holding hard in a 

 line behind him. This way certainly answers 

 best here, and reduces the risk of a big burst or 

 bunch of birds. For picking up we always try 

 to have a man to every two guns standing by 

 them at the rise, and another man out behind ; 

 after any rise where birds fall in a thick place, we 

 line the beaters out and walk through picking up. 



