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 
