BIRDS IN THE CORN 



this is perhaps praising it too highly. Legally 

 of course it is " game," as a game licence must 

 be held by anyone who shoots it ; and, 

 though protected in this country only under 

 the Wild Birds Act, Irish law extends this by 

 a month, so that it may not be shot in that 

 country after the last day of January. Like 

 most migratory birds, its numbers vary 

 locally in different seasons, and its scarcity in 

 Hampshire, to which White makes reference, 

 has by no means been maintained of recent 

 years, as large bags have been recorded in 

 every part of that county. 



The common partridge is at any rate for 

 the naturalist a less interesting subject than 

 its red-legged cousin, which seems to have 

 been first introduced from France (or possibly 

 from the island of Guernsey, where it no 

 longer exists) in the reign of Charles II. 

 That this early experiment was not, however, 

 attended by far-reaching results seems prob- 

 able, since early in the reign of George III 

 we find the Marquis of Hertford and other 

 well-known sporting landowners making fresh 

 attempts, the stock of " Frenchmen " being 

 renewed from time to time during the next 

 107 



