COMMON PARTRIDGE. 423 



however, as the harvest is over, the partridge becomes 

 a gleaner in the stubbles; and in hard weather, and 

 more particularly when the ground is covered with snow, 

 frequents the vicinity of the farmer's corn stacks, or 

 readily avails itself of any grain purposely scattered 

 for its use. Yet, even at such times, as shown by 

 Mr. Murdock's statement, it is by no means dependent 

 only on grain for support, but still seeks its favourite 

 green food by the side of springs and open watercourses, 

 and even in the longest and most severe winters 

 appears to suffer less privation than almost any other 

 species, and is then more than ever wary and difficult of 

 approach by the sportsman. 



It is the custom, I know, with certain writers to run 

 down both the style of shooting adopted and the large 

 bags obtained in Norfolk and Suffolk, but whilst in the 

 first instance no allowance is made for those agricul- 

 tural changes which have compelled the sportsman to 

 alter his tactics, in the latter case a superabundance of 

 game admits of a very large amount of sport, without 

 subjecting local partridge shots to the charge of excess.* 



* In these remarks I do not, of course, include exceptional cases 

 on some of our large estates where, for any special purpose such 

 as the decision of a wager, an almost incredible number of birds 

 have been killed to a single gun. Of such days the Sporting 

 Journals supply many records, all tending to show the marvellously 

 prolific nature of the partridge in Norfolk. On the 7th of October, 

 1797, the late Earl of Leicester, within an area of one mile on his 

 manor at Warham, bagged forty brace in eight hours, at ninety- 

 three shots, each bird killed singly ; and on the same ground the 

 day previously he killed twenty-two brace and a-half in three 

 hours. Mr. William Coke in his celebrated match with Lord 

 Kennedy, the former shooting in Norfolk and the latter in Scot- 

 land, on the same days in September and October, and in the same 

 season, bagged in the first day eighty and a-half brace on the 

 Wighton and Egmere manors, and on the second day eighty-seven 

 and a-half brace ; his opponent killing fifty and eighty-two brace, 

 at Montreath, on the same days respectively. [Yarrell, Brit. Bds., 



