i io SHOOTING THE PARTRIDGE 



Whoever takes advantage of this hint to slay swallows, 

 starlings, or other insectivorous birds, must also take 

 the responsibility ; I only suggest this where there are, 

 as in many agricultural districts, very large quantities 

 of grain-eating birds. 



The first-rate performer is always a safe man to 

 shoot with. Pages of good advice have been written 

 on this head, and by the best authorities. I will only 

 add one thing : bear in mind that you are more likely 

 to shoot the man two or three places off than the man 

 next you. Let your mind while you are out shooting 

 be always studying and comparing distances and 

 angles, a perfect judgment of which is an invariable 

 attribute of a gunner of the first quality. I have been 

 fortunate enough to shoot sometimes for weeks to- 

 gether without ever hearing the rattle of a shot near 

 me, or seeing a gun even pointed for a moment in a 

 dangerous direction. 



' I am a great believer in style ; I never saw a 

 good shot yet who hadn't style,' said Mr. Purdey 

 to me one day ; and I quite agree with him. Mr. 

 Purdey's recollections of the great shots of the last 

 generation as well as of the present are varied and 

 interesting. 



Now, what is it that makes up 'style,' that indefin- 

 able, but invariable, attribute of a first-rate man ? I 



