86 A KENTISH PARISH 



members of the police force. As for the * partridges, 

 we have them in plenty ; but though the grass fields 

 are bushed, there is little netting done, since neither by 

 night nor by day can you ever be sure where to find 

 a lot. The mangel and turnip crops are generally 

 meagre : here and there may be a thick strip of clover 

 or a flourishing patch of mustard ; but then the birds 

 take by preference to standing corn, or, after that is 

 cut, to the various permanent covers. Unluckily the 

 season of the hopping coincides with the September 

 shooting ; and during the hopping the sportsman is 

 more at a loss than ever ; for the pickers are swarming 

 and shouting in the gardens, and perpetually passing to 

 and fro, setting the partridges in motion. The coveys 

 learn to take long flights, skimming low over the 

 undulating ground, rising and twisting aside at an angle 

 as they come upon some fresh lot of labourers, and 

 finally dropping out of sight beyond the ken of the 

 markers. So, except on the flats in the valley beneath 

 the northern chalk hills, we seldom or never make 

 satisfactory bags, and we have long ceased to shoot 

 over pointers or setters. 



All the same, the sport is none the less enjoyable 

 on that account for those who are content with a 

 moderate day and do not object to serious exercise. 

 We shoot in parties of three or so, with some keepers 

 and watchers interspersed in the line, and a steady 

 spaniel or two trained to retrieve. A sharp-sighted 

 boy is posted here and there by way of vedette on some 

 point of vantage. And though it is awkward shooting 



