276 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 



only evil- smelling peat water for the latter to quench 

 their thirst. 



If a really good walker, you may sometimes hire 

 a moor with high hills at a moderate rent, as most 

 folk prefer walking on fairly level ground to moun- 

 taineering when they go grousing. 



To discover what sport a moor is likely to show, 

 you will have to find out what stock of breeding birds 

 it holds, and thus estimate the approximate number 

 of broods it may contain in the autumn. The <mly 

 way to do this is to walk it over yourself with pointers 

 (setters out of the shooting season are generally too 

 wild) some time in the early spring, or entrust the 

 duty to a friend, or your own keeper the first being, 

 however, the best plan by far. 



You need not walk every inch of the moor, 

 especially the high ground, but take wide circles over 

 it here and there to see if the grouse are generally 

 distributed. Make a note with a pencil of what p//>.s 

 of birds you see, and take notice if the}^ are large and 

 strong. If you find a fair number of pairs, you may 

 take it for granted there are plenty of others you do 

 not find in your more or less incomplete inspection. 



In the same way, if you put up many single grouse 

 that rise wild, and fly a long distance, thus showing 

 they are not breeding birds, you may rest assured 

 there are plenty you do not see in a similar plight, 



