BLACK COCK SHOOTING. 49 



beater keep outside, and beat the bushes, making 

 a great outciy. You will find a single beater of more 

 practical use than a dozen : in cover shooting of any 

 kind, unless where several guns are at work, more 

 mischief than good comes of a crowd of beaters. One 

 follower, and one old staunch dog, is all you want. 

 When you get a point, cause the bush to be well 

 stioick at the side opposite to you. By adopting this 

 plan you will kill more game than those who put up 

 ten times as much 



Like everything that flies the aii', or walks the 

 earth, or swims the deep, or crawls the mud, black 

 game is obnoxious to the poacher's arts. Touching on 

 them, Mr. Colquhoun remarks, " I may put gentlemen 

 on their guard against two ways of poaching grouse and 

 black game, I believe not generally Iniown: — the first 

 is, hunting the young packs, before the moors are 

 open, with a very active terrier, or ' coUey. ' If the 

 dog understands the business, he will chop a great 

 many in a day. On a moor, in Roxburgshire, I saw a 

 sheep dog, accompanied by a young farmer, perform- 

 ing to admiration. I had the curiosity to watch their 

 proceedings, until I saw the dog snap up a young 

 grouse, quick as thought. The other plan is, to set 

 traps on the peat stacks, or in the green springs 

 where the birds come to drink and to eat small 

 insects; this last maybe continued all the season." 

 Now, like St. Augustine's famous confessions, the pub- 

 lication of these choice recipes for poaching, seems 

 of very questionable policy. Peter Pindar's ostler 



