S Giles' Day 123 



age, a slow but sure process as far as the 

 killing was concerned, but somewhat erratic 

 if the annoyance of miss-fires is considered. 



Gilbert White mentions that in 1740-41 

 partridges were so plentiful in Wolmer 

 Forest that parties of unreasonable sports- 

 men killed twenty and sometimes thirty 

 brace in a day. Flint and steel locks were 

 used by Pitt in his happy days at Wolmer, 

 and Fox, when he went out early in the 

 morning at Holkham, and took so much 

 milk-punch before breakfast that he was 

 obliged to return home and go to bed. 



The next forward step was the percussion 

 cap, which marks a distinct advance. The 

 guns were also made much lighter, and 

 could be raised to the shoulder quicker. 

 This would be somewhere about the year 

 1830. Men then became adepts at flying 

 shots. The next forward movement came 

 approximately about thirty years later, and 



