424 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



harm to the central beats, and thus provide a means of killing 

 the birds on those parts of a moor which are least effectively 

 driven. 



In a good year, dogging is but a very imperfect method 

 for getting on terms with the stock. The mere fact that the 

 coveys are large means that May, June, and July have been 

 dry and fine, that all the birds are from first hatchings, and 

 therefore strong on the wing, and proportionately wild. By 

 the end of the third week of the shooting season, if the weather 

 is fine, or earlier if August has been wet and stormy, the Grouse 

 are nearly unapproachable, and long shots and wounded birds 

 are the chief results of a day's outing. 



A further disadvantage of shooting over dogs is that single 

 old cocks almost invariably escape. The walking powers of 

 the parent birds of a covey are limited by the pedestrian ability 

 of their brood, whereas the solitary old bird is subject to no 

 such limitations. 



Without going into details as to how the dogging moor 

 should be worked, certain points may be mentioned which do 

 not always receive enough attention. 



In the first place it may be laid down as a rule probably 

 an unpalatable one that in a bad year, when it is desirable 

 to shoot old birds, one gun, and one gun only, should go out 

 with each dogging party. If two guns go together the object 

 of each shooter will be to kill outside birds so as not to interfere 

 with his companion's sport ; if the shooter goes out alone 

 his object is to kill the first bird on the wing, in nine cases out 

 of ten the father of the brood. 



Where dogging is the usual method of shooting, the owner 

 should work round the lower fringes of the moors towards 

 the end of the season in order to secure as many as possible 

 of the pricked or badly-feathered birds which have worked 

 their way down to the grassier and wetter ground. In settled 

 weather the high tops should also be well hunted or even 

 stalked for the old cocks which have resorted to these supposed 

 sanctuaries. 



