CLASSIFICATION AND LIFE HISTORY 21 



spot till they are able to fly. On this point, as it affects the 

 hand-rearing of Grouse, a well-known moor-owner writes : 

 " I have never noticed that the young Grouse, when half- 

 grown or older, require more water than what they pick up 

 in the grass in wet weather, and what is sprinkled on the grass 

 or heather at meal times, in dry weather. Old Grouse go to 

 drink two or three times a day at most ; they seem to know 

 how much is good for them ; whilst young Grouse, if allowed 

 access to water, are apt, or almost certain, to drink too much, 

 and scour. This, of course, refers to tame birds." Another 

 of the Committee's correspondents (a gamekeeper on a large 

 moor in central Perthshire) says : " Regarding water, I have 

 known several broods fetched out 600 yards from the nearest 

 water of any kind, in a dry season ; and they continued to 

 thrive without water for at least three weeks after hatching." 



As the Grouse grows older, the parent birds relax their 

 anxiety for the brood when disturbed, and, although they lie 

 very close, the hen bird no longer flutters along the ground 

 endeavouring to distract attention. 



Every keeper knows too well the danger that attends the 

 needless disturbance of his beat at this time, especially in a 

 high wind, which may carry the flushed birds hundreds of 

 yards from their home. Instinct and the call of the parents 

 may guide them back ; but it is better that they should be kept 

 quiet. It has been noticed that when a young brood are once 

 upon the wing, in anything like a strong breeze, they appear 

 to be unable to alight with safety ; at the end of the flight 

 they dash headlong into the heather, or on to the ground, 

 and frequently come to an untimely end. , 



With the arrival of August 12th the Grouse comes into 

 the glare of publicity, and there is little relating to his life 

 history between this date and the end of the shooting season 

 that is not known to the average sportsman ; but even so there 

 are variations in their habits in different localities which still 

 remain a mystery, and it may be worth while to mention some 

 of these. 



