CHAPTER XII 



HEATHER-BURNING 



THE student of the heather-burning question will be struck, 

 from the very outset of his inquiry, by the curious fact that 

 while all parties are agreed that there is the closest possible 

 relation between the state of the heather on any given moor 

 and the health of the birds on that moor, there is the greatest 

 divergence of opinion, not only as to what are the best methods 

 of burning, but even as to what are the special characteristics 

 of a really well -burned moor. 



The vexed question of the relative values of autumn- and 

 spring-burning, the percentage of a moor that it is advisable 

 to burn in any given year, the effect on the heather of the presence 

 or absence of sheep, the limit of sheep stock desirable, the 

 proportion of long heather to be left for spring feeding or cover, 

 the management of the steep slopes for winter feeding, the 

 methods of burning patches, blocks or strips and the treat- 

 ment of the various descriptions of moorland,, all give rise to a 

 much greater variety of opinion than the difference of local 

 conditions appears to justify. 



In the previous chapter, the findings of the Committee have 

 been discussed in relation to the various theories which have 

 been put forward as to the causes of " Grouse Disease " ; in 

 the present chapter it is proposed to discuss the practical steps 

 that must be taken to prevent its occurrence by : 



(a) Raising the power of resistance of the Grouse ; 



(b) Lessening the risk of nematode and coccidian infection. 

 With these objects it is intended, in the first place, to trace 



briefly the history of moor management in the last century, 



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