192 WILD LIFE OF SCOTLAND 



distinctive game of the south " the land of shaggy 

 wood." 



There is less rigid preservation over the greater 

 portion ; and little attempt, possibly little tempta- 

 tion, to let the moors at fabulous prices. I am 

 seldom stopped; never insulted. One watcher 

 covers the area of ten in less favoured districts. 



I have known the local banker or housebuilder 

 lease a hill or two in the neighbourhood of the 

 village for an off-day amusement, and leave them 

 in the charge of Providence, the best of game- 

 keepers. The hand trained to the mallet or the 

 pen is not always of the steadiest ; and the shooting 

 under such circumstances was not deadly. I have 

 watched the birds after the sportsman had passed 

 calling for the assistance of Nature's physician, the 

 hawk. 



And, just as the preservation is not so strict, the 

 persecution is not so virulent. Vermin has never 

 had all its criminal significance. The hills are not 

 high enough, nor the precipices stupendous enough, 

 for the nobler wild birds. I am not aware of the 

 presence of the golden eagle, except as an occasional 

 visitor. The peregrine builds no nearer than the 

 Cheviots. But the minor members of the group, 

 such as the merlin, or moorland hawk, abound. 



