xiv. PARTRIDGE SHOOTING (PART II\ { DRIVING' 235 



Of course, the larger the fields and the farther 

 apart the stubbles and root crops, the more extensive 

 the acreage on which the birds wander, and the longer 

 and wider will be the drives required. But on more 

 inclosed estates you will find that a certain number of 

 coveys are invariably to be met with on a well-defined 

 stretch of country, consisting maybe of a dozen fields 

 of stubble and grass, interspersed with one or two 

 of turnips or mangolds ; and that these coveys regu- 

 larly adhere to their selected haunts, just as others a 

 half-mile away remain on theirs. 



Post the guns, therefore, so as to obtain shots at 

 birds on their own ground, and tben repla.ce them so 

 as to kill the birds that belong to another portion of 

 your estate, though possibly one but a few hundred 

 yards distant. In fact, when driving partridges, be 

 careful to keep the birds you are at the moment 

 engaged in driving within the range of their natural 

 flight ; you can then, when they are on the wing, 

 more easily influence their direction to suit the posi- 

 tion of the shooters. 



This very necessary rule is sometimes disregarded 

 by keepers who are prone to imagine a line of men 

 should be 'able to drive partridges anywhere or to any 

 distance ; but when partridge driving is conducted on 

 such a wrong system as this, it is always at a loss of 

 sport to the shooters. 



