394 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



the sense of responsibility. If a keeper's whole mind is concen- 

 trated upon how best to improve his beat very little training 

 is required to turn him into a conscientious and responsible 

 servant. A young keeper should be encouraged to read the 

 best books on moor management ; he should be made to give 

 frequent reports upon details affecting his beat, both for the 

 employer's information and to help him to realise the many 

 points which require attention. A keeper quickly realises that 

 his opinions are listened to, and is thereby stimulated to experi- 

 ment in new methods, and attempt to prove their value by 

 definite results. 



It is a matter of surprise to those acquainted with sport, 

 many of whom lead an over-busy life in our cities for the greater 

 part of the year, what a number of capable men, intelligent, 

 articulate, shrewd observers, not only of natural history but also 

 of men and matters, are included in the keepers' ranks. There 

 are few owners of moors who have not had the good fortune at 

 one time or another to have men of this stamp in their employ- 

 ment ; men who are friends rather than subordinates, with a 

 frank contempt for, or rather a complete ignorance of, the 

 ordinary conventions which restrict the intercourse between 

 class and class. Men of few words in company but with a 

 power of expansion when the audience is congenial, men who 

 are eager to learn and to accept both new views and new facts 

 on every point connected with their profession. It is a real 

 pleasure for any one interested in animal life to take the hill in 

 company with a man of this sort. The habits of the dwellers 

 of the moor, the history of the locality, old-world traditions, 

 the beauty of the surroundings, the customs, habits and idiosyn- 

 crasies of the visitors, are commented upon with shrewd observa- 

 tion not unmixed with humour, the whole presented from the 

 detached point of view of the man who is a lover of his profession, 

 who is outside the scramble for preferment, who is satisfied 

 .with his position, and does not mean to leave it. 



To the really efficient head-keeper the " big shoot " comes 

 only as the crowning circumstance of a busy year. All details 



