KEEPERS AND KEEPERING 391 



allowed to afford a separate means of livelihood. The keeper's 

 place is on his beat, and not at the market-place watching 

 the sale of stock. Above all things a keeper should have no 

 interest in the sheep grazing on his beat. A man cannot serve 

 two masters, nor should a keeper practise his retriever in herding 

 a ewe stock, or keep his nesting ground quiet by pushing up 

 the lately returned winter " hogs " to the high ground. 



Many employers prefer their keepers to be married men, 

 and there is much to be said for the preference. A married 

 man is less dependent upon his neighbours for society than a 

 bachelor, and so can go about his business without attracting 

 attention ; for the same reason it is often better for a game- 

 keeper's house to be situated some distance away from other 

 habitations. 



There is no objection to the head-keeper being a man of 

 mature judgment and of riper years. The very fact that he 

 has reached a time of life when he realises that he is unable 

 to do all the work himself, will make him delegate his command, 

 and by increased attention to his subordinates see that the work 

 of all is efficiently carried out. For the under-keeper who has 

 neither the grit nor the brains to climb to the top of his pro- 

 fession a change to some low-ground beat or to the gate-keeper's 

 lodge will often quickly repay the cost of transfer. 



There is some difference of opinion as to the number of Number of 

 under-keepers required for a given area of Orouse ground, necessary. 

 Speaking generally, many English moors, and most Scottish 

 moors, are under-keepered. This rinding may not be readily 

 accepted by the parsimonious, but a little study of the financial 

 aspect may bring conviction. There are many moprs of 6,000 

 to 10,000 acres in extent with one keeper in sole charge. An 

 area of this size cannot possibly be trapped, burned, and watched 

 by a single man. On many such moors even one section of 

 1,000 acres, properly administered, may easily yield a permanent 

 increase of one hundred brace, which, if translated into money 

 value, would represent considerably more than the yearly wage 

 of an under-keeper. 



