140 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



In every way, except in checking the growth of the heather, 

 hard frosts and heavy snow do less harm than excessive rains. 

 A certain number of hens may be occasionally frozen to death 

 upon their nests, as has been recorded by Stuart-Wortley 

 (Fur and Feather Series). Eggs, too, may be " frosted " when 

 late frosts are sufficiently severe, 1 or young Grouse may be 

 killed by late snowstorms, as in 1864 on Glenshea ; but such 

 occurrences are very rare. The power of resistance of the egg 

 to frost is dealt with in another chapter. 2 



Still, however little direct harm excessive cold may do to 

 Grouse, the indirect harm is often very great, and there is no 

 doubt that late frosts in the north of England and in the south 

 of Scotland, catching the heather after the sap has begun to 

 rise, often reduce the available supply of food. 



It may be well to review what has been written from time 

 to time as to the effect that " frosted heather " is supposed 

 to have upon the Grouse. 



In Macdonald's " Grouse Disease " a Scottish forester is 

 quoted as having stated that during a certain epidemic there 

 was no " Grouse Disease " all along the sea coast where the 

 heather does not suffer by frost, while ten miles or so inland, 

 where the sea ceased to exercise its influence, " Grouse 

 Disease " began. It is there stated that the dissection of 

 Grouse that had died of the disease proved that their crops 

 contained frost-bitten heather. 3 And, again, in a quotation 

 from Colquhoun's paper, it is stated that in Perthshire, in 1852 

 and 1853, the heather was excellent, and in consequence there 

 was no disease, while in 1854, 1855, and 1856 the heather was 

 frosted without snow, and there was bad disease. Again in 

 1857 the heather was excellent, and there was no disease ; and 

 so on. 4 Speedy, however, says : " Heather which has been 

 killed by frost and entirely divested of its nutritive qualities 



1 W. A. Adams, "Twenty-six Years' Reminiscences of Scotch Grouse Moors," p. 94. 

 London : Horace Cox, 1889. 



2 Vide chap. i. pp. 10-14. 



3 Macdonald, "Grouse Disease," p. 40. 



4 Ibid., p. 122. 



