2o; 



LETTER XIII 

 PARTRIDGE SHOOTING- (PART I) 



WALKING UP THE BIRDS 



PARTRIDGE SHOOTING at the present clay consists almost 

 exclusively of two systems, the one being for several 

 guns walking in line to kill the birds as they rise in 

 front of them, and the other is to drive the birds, by 

 the assistance of a line of men, to the guns, as the 

 latter stand concealed behind a hedge or some other 

 shelter. 



Owing to a radical change in the methods of 

 agriculture during the past half-century, partridges 

 have, from a lack of suitable cover to hide in, become 

 so wild that in many parts of England they cannot be 

 walked up at all, but are obliged to be driven to the 

 shooters as the only chance of obtaining shotn. 



Even when partridges allow the shooters to walk 

 them up it is often during the first week of the season 

 only they will do so, and then there must be good 

 holding cover for the birds to lie in to the gun. 



As to using pointers nowadays on partridges, it is 



