176 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



time of frost. Snow acts as an efficient protection to the heather, and only 



the extra long twigs that protrude beyond the snow are aflFected by 



protection frost. Hard frost after snow trims the heather by cutting off and 



iroiu frost. , .,,.,, ■, •/ o 



killing all the longer pieces, so that the leaves bleach whitish grey, and 

 eventually drop off. This may happen even to straggling pieces of dark brown, 

 winter heather if the frost is severe enough ; but it requires a very low temperature 

 and a prolonged exposure to affect real winter heather to any great extent. 

 There is no other condition of heather which can with any show of reason 

 be called " frosted " ; and it may be urged that no heather should be so named 

 except that which has been nipped and killed beyond all chance of recovery. To 

 call the resting condition of winter heather " frosted " is as unreasonable as to call 

 any evergreen shrub "frosted" because its winter leaves are darker in colour 

 than those which it produces in early summer. 



Closely simulating the fox - red, frosted heather, however, is the heather 



Eff t f damaged by a certain beetle known as Lochmcea suturalis. This pest 



heather has long been recognised in Argyllshire, Ayrshire, and Dumbartonshire, 



and its ravages were described by Mr Grimshaw in 1898.^ This subject 



is also dealt with in the present Report.' 



Before leaving the climatic causes of death and damage to Grouse, something 

 remains to be said about heavy snow. Its most obvious danger lies, of course, 

 Heavy ^"^ Starvation, since a heavy snowfall, unaccompanied by wind, and not 

 snow. followed by a thaw for many weeks, reduces the available food-supply 



to a minimum, and drives the Grouse to travel far and wide over cultivated 

 lands, into gardens, town outskirts, and even to the seashore for a scanty 

 living. 



It is recognised that one of the best ways to help Grouse under such circum- 

 stances is to lay bare patches of heather by breaking through any hard crust 

 that may have formed on the surface of the snow. This may be done 

 either by rakes or harrows, and the spots chosen should be those where there 

 is known to be the best supply of good feeding heather. As a rule there is 

 sufficient wind with the snowfall to ensure that large tracts of ground remain 

 uncovered on exposed ridges, and on the weather side of hill faces. When tliis 

 is so, the Grouse collect on them ; but as these exposed tracts are always on 

 the weather side, and almost always on the shoulder of a hill, it is usually the 

 worst heather which is exposed. The lee side is probably buried deep in snow. 



' "Annals of Scottish Natural History," vol. vii. p. 27. - Chaj). xix. jip. 414 d seq. 



