28 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES 



from 1st August to 1st March. This is a great pity, as 

 numbers are annually killed in the first two months of the 

 shooting-season, when they afford no more sport than 

 Water-hens do, though perhaps they are rather better 

 for the pot. In places where the shooting of them is 

 regarded as an institution they are never killed, nor 

 should they be, before the month of October, thus giving 

 the birds time to assume the full beauty of their plumage, 

 and give the sportsmen the satisfaction of picking up a 

 really handsome bird, instead of a lump of half-grown 

 flesh and feathers. No good sportsman cares about fight- 

 ins; his wav throuoh underorowth and Imnks of ferns five 

 feet high, to butcher l)irds in a half-moulted condition, 

 which rise at his feet and go slowly flapping away, 

 though many are killed in this way every year. A 

 rocketing cock Caper that comes crashing down through 

 the crags and firs amply repays the proprietor for having 

 stayed his hand and those of his friends by giving his 

 birds a two months' grace. 



To those who are fortunate enough, and have the 

 opportunity of indulging in it. Caper -shooting offers 

 charms not, in my humble opinion, to be surpassed by 

 an}^ other form of sport in this country. Not only is it 

 extremely fascinating in itself, requiring on the shooter's 

 j)art the utmost observation, quickness, and precision in 

 order to attain success, but the main charm, perhaps, lies 

 in the magnificent surroundings and scenery in which the 

 sportsman is thrown, and lovely landscapes, second to none 

 in the universe, that are spread out before him like a map 

 as he stands on the hillside awaitino- the commencement 

 of the drive. Can there be anything more delightful to 



