LOCAL CONDITIONS AND HEALTH OF GROUSE 279 



not appreciably greater in Easter Ross than in other districts 

 in spite of bad heather growth reported in 1906. The poor 

 heather growth in this year will probably be found to affect 

 the health of the stock in 1908, especially when combined 

 with an overstock in Badenoch and Strathnairn. 



190824 Reports. 



Weather. In the first three months of the year average winter 

 weather in the north, more snow in the south ; April and May were 

 cold, June and July fine. The shooting season was very fine, dry, and 

 warm. The winter was fine and open with a severe snowstorm in the 

 north at Christmas. 



Heather. Unanimous reports of exceptionally good heather season ; 

 growth good owing to fine summer, little damage by frost, bloom 

 exceptionally luxuriant and early, seed ripened extremely well and 

 early all over. 



Stock. At the beginning of the year the stock was rather over the 

 average and apparently healthy ; but as the spring advanced mortality 

 was reported from forty-eight centres, and of the birds examined a 

 large proportion came from Badenoch and Strathnairn, though Caith- 

 ness, Sutherland and, to a less extent, Ross were also severely affected. 1 

 The breeding season was exceptionally good in Caithness ; further 

 south and west it was not so good, there was a shortage of young birds 

 which some reporters attributed to the effects of frost on the eggs, but 

 this explanation is not quite satisfactory ; 2 in Inverness the reports were 

 better. On August 12th there was a fair average as regards numbers, 

 but there still remained some signs of disease. The bags were up to 

 the average with one notable bag of five thousand and ten brace on 

 a high-lying moor in Inverness-shire. 3 The stock at the end of the 

 year was about an average in numbers and quite healthy. 



Remarks. An interesting season a fairly good breeding 

 season was interrupted by a sharp attack of disease ; this was 

 probably due to the poor heather year of 1907 which kept the 

 birds short of food during the winter of 1907-1908. The out- 

 break was most severe where the largest stocks had been left. 



1 Vide map, 1908. 2 Vide p. 11. 



3 This bag is of special interest owing to the fact that this moor was under snow 

 during the whole winter, and had not a single bird on it till the month of May, when 

 a breeding stock appeared simultaneously with the disappearance of the snow. This 

 stock was particularly healthy and prolific, probably owing to the heather having 

 remained uncontaminated for so long ; a much larger bag might have been killed. 

 Vide Table (Moor No. 7) p. 418. 



