54 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. 



be perceived that the reproduction of trees, and the protection 

 they afford to Heath-Hens, would be perpetual, or in other 

 words, not circumscribed by any calculable tinne, provided the 

 persecutors of the latter would be quiet. Beneath these trees 

 grow more dwarfish oaks, overspreading the surface, sometimes 

 with here and there a shrub, and sometimes a thicket. These 

 latter are from about two to ten feet in height. When they are 

 the principal product, they are called, in common conversation, 

 brush, as the flats on which they grow are termed brushy plains. 

 Among this hardy shrubbery may frequently be seen the creep- 

 ing vegetable, named partridge-berry, covering the sand with its 

 lasting verdure. 



" ' In many spots the plant which produces hurtleberries sprouts 

 up among the other natives of the soil. These are the more 

 important ; though I ought to inform you, that the hills reach- 

 ing from east to west and forming the spine of the island, sup- 

 port kalmias, hickories, and many other species ; that I have 

 seen azalias and andromedas, as I passed through the wilder- 

 ness, and that where there is water, cranberries, alders, beeches, 

 maples, and other lovers of moisture, take their stations. This 

 region, situated thus between the more thickly inhabited strips 

 or belts on the north and south sides of the island, is much tra- 

 velled by waggons, and intersected accordingly by a great num- 

 ber of paths. 



" ' As to the birds themselves, the information I possess 

 scarcely amounts to an entire history. You who know the dif- 

 ficulty of collecting facts, will . be most ready to excuse my 

 deficiencies. The information I give you is such as I rely on. 

 For the purpose of gathering the materials, I have repeatedly 

 visited their haunts. I have likewise conversed with several 

 men who were brought up at the precincts of the Grouse 

 ground, who had been witnesses of their habits and manners, 

 who were accustomed to shoot them for the market, and who 

 have acted as guides foi gentlemen who go the. e for sport. 



" ' Balk. — An adult Grouse, when fat, weighs as much as a 

 barn-door fowl of moderate size, or about three pounds avoirdu- 



