STOCK 433 



Thirdly. That arrangements should be made not only 

 to kill down the birds on those moors where they 

 are most plentiful, but to make a point of shooting 

 hard on the boundaries of moors which from slackness 

 or bad shooting are likely to be lightly shot. 

 Fourthly. That the local circumstances and knowledge 

 gained from past experiences should be made known 

 between moor and moor ; that arrangements should 

 be made for shooting all high ground specially hard ; 

 that " cheepers " should be universally extermin- 

 ated ; and that the birds should be killed in October 

 and November when they are massed on the low 

 ground. 



While it is improbable that lessees could be got to combine 

 together to shoot lightly in bad seasons, there seems no reason 

 why they should not agree to kill the birds hard in a really 

 good year. The majority would welcome the opportunity 

 for making a record bag, while an increase in the number 

 of birds killed would improve the value of the moor to the 

 landlord. 



In addition to regulating the numbers of his stock the Mainten- 

 ance of 

 moor-owner must also consider how the birds may be mam- health of 



tained in health. The practice of shooting down the stock 

 severely whenever the birds show signs of disease has long 

 been regarded as an established rule of moor management ; 

 but it may be doubted whether the practice is justified. As 

 a rule when birds are weak and thin at the beginning of the 

 shooting season this is a sign that there has been an outbreak 

 of disease in the spring ; but the birds that have survived {}jfj* sed 

 the epidemic have reached the convalescent stage by August, 

 and should be spared rather than destroyed, for they will 

 probably be completely restored to health by November, and 

 will be valuable as a breeding stock. This subject is fully 

 discussed in other chapters. 1 



1 Vide chap. viii. p. 240. 



2 E 



