BRITISH SPORT PAST AND PRESENT 



' battue ' was producing huge bags of game before a mingling 

 of muzzle and breech-loaders, and being more fiercely anathe- 

 matised by those who held it unsportsmanlike than ever it was 

 in the days of Daniel. This bag made at Bradgate Park, 

 Leicestershire, by Lord Stamford and Warrington and his 

 party in 1864, was said to be the ' most extraordinary kill of 

 game on record ' : — 



Grand total, 8900 head. Thirteen guns on three days, fourteen 

 on the 5th, when the largest number of pheasants was killed : 

 Lord Huntingfield and General Hall, both crack shots, were of 

 the party. 



The bag made at Croxteth in November 1883 may be 

 added : — 



Nov. 20, . 



„ 21, . • 

 „ 22, 

 „ 23, 



Woodcock, wild duck, and snipe swelled the total. Six guns 

 shot on three days and seven on the 22nd. 



There is, however, no particular object to be gained by 

 enumerating heavy bags of pheasants. They are merely 

 matters of rearing, organisation, and marksmanship ; for 

 whatever its detractors may find to say against the modern 

 system, none denies that a ' tall ' pheasant, coming down with 

 a bias to right or left, is the most difficult shot any bird can 

 give. Here is a picture of covert shooting in the 'sixties ' : — 



' Cornhill Magazine, 1866. 

 104 



