THE FALCOTS". 65 



ing on a certain mountain in the heart of 

 oiu: best shooting ground, we went carefully 

 through it in the middle of May,- when the 

 hen would be setting, clapping om- hands 

 and shouting under each likely rock, but, 

 seeing nothing of them, thought all was safe, 

 and that they had left. Early in August a 

 shepherd brought us word that some large 

 hawks on that farm were mobbing his dogs. 

 The keeper went to the spot, and found that 

 they had bred on the very rock we had most 

 carefully examined, the hen being too cunning 

 to show herself for the noise we made. Next 

 day we took out some dogs, with which we 

 had found fifty-two brace of grouse in three 

 hours a few days before, and hunted that 

 country. 



We saw five barren brace, one covey of 

 squeakers, and three odd cocks. These barren 

 braces were the birds whose mates had been 

 taken, and which paired afterwards, but too late 

 to breed. The remains of grouse were scattered 



