100 PABTKIDGES. 



the wide valley of the Fen Eiver. Chancing to look down from my 

 pony, I saw a large covey of bearded partridges, which had just 

 left the hill side to pick up grain from the road and stubble patches. 

 They saw me at. the same time, and commenced running for the 

 scrub covered slopes. I nipped off my pony, and walked towards 

 the- birds, which now rose with a whirr of wings. I bagged three 

 with my two barrels, the rest making good their escape up a side 

 ravine. Guessing that it would be a good day for partridges, I got 

 my wife to join me, and together we walked along the side of the 

 valley. Covey after covey got up, each yielding a bird or two. We 

 could have got more out of each covey if we had cared to climb the 

 hill sides, but the sport was quite good enough as it was. The peculiar 

 thing on this particular day was that the bearded partridges and 

 chukars were associating together. Notably was this the case in a 

 small side ravine where we had really excellent sport. A large covey 

 got up from some graves and entered the ravine, into which I follow- 

 ed them. Suddenly from all round me they broke cover, and I was 

 kept busy shooting and reloading as fast as I could. Meanwhile my 

 wife was at the mouth of the ravine taking, or trying to take those 

 birds that came whirring out. She succeeded in dropping a couple, 

 which was pretty good work, considering the rate they were going at. 

 I got five before the last crossed the top of the ravine, and then con- 

 tinued to follow them up. Once more putting them up in the next 

 ravine, I secured another couple. After that we gave up shooting, 

 and hurried on to our destination. Altogether we got fifteen partridges, 

 one hare and about twenty rock-doves that day. 



About twenty miles east of Tai-yuan Fu, there is a village, tuck- 

 ed up against the side of some rather high hills. It is known as 

 T^-yeh-k'ou, and has long been famous to the foreign residents in 

 the city as being the best chukar ground in the district. Many a 

 time have I come down from the holiday resort further back in the 

 hills to the loess terraces just behind this village, and bagged four 

 or five birds in the course of an hour or so. The only reason why a 

 person, working alone as I was, does not get a larger bag, is that the 

 chukars, after the first shot or two, always cross the deep ravines to 

 the opposite slope, so that a long climb is necessary to come up with 

 them again. When, however, a party of four or five guns works over 

 such a piece of country, very handsome bags may be made. 



One such party, including six guns returned from a week end 

 trip with some fifty head, the sportsman who had done best having 

 to his credit twenty birds. The actual time of shooting on that occa- 



