358 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



As soon as it was established that the health of the Grouse 

 depended not only on the distribution of edible heather, but also 

 on the total extent of the supply, it became a matter of primary 

 interest to the Committee to decide whether in their opinion 

 the burning season should be extended, and how the results 

 of autumn- and spring-burning were to be compared. 



The investigation was begun by sending an inquiry paper 

 to correspondents, asking for their experiences of autumn- 

 burning ; the time taken for heather to grow again when 

 springing from the root and from seed respectively ; the opinion 

 of sheep farmers as to the merits of the two methods and the 

 character of soil least and most suitable for autumn-burning, 

 based on a comparison of results obtained. In neighbour- 

 hoods where heather had never been regularly burned in autumn, 

 correspondents were asked to burn patches in spring and autumn 

 side by side and to compare the results. 



The idea was intelligently taken up and thoroughly worked 

 out, from the south of Wales to the north of the Highlands. 



The results of the observations taken have brought out 

 the following conclusions : 



(1) That in the interests of sheep and Grouse autumn- 



burning is advisable on all moors. 



(2) That it is necessary on large moors. 



(3) That it is the only possible method of getting high 



ground with a northern exposure into a proper 

 rotation of heather crop. 

 The Committee are further of opinion : 



(a) That in the North of England the evidence goes to 



show that, whether springing from the root or from 

 the seed, the growth of heather following autumn- 

 and spring-burning is identical. 



(b) That on the more northern moors the heather is probably 



slightly slower in reaching maturity after autumn- 

 burning, especially on shallow peat or hard ground. 



(c) That, while there is a certain prejudice, especially 



amongst older keepers, against autumn-burning, this 



