176 SHOOTING THE PARTRIDGE 



and gone beyond them, they think to sneak back and be 

 safe. Thus many which would be quite unapproach- 

 able by an ordinary straight line of guns, afford instead 

 beautiful overhead shots. You never seem to get a 

 great deal of shooting, yet it is wonderful how the 

 total mounts up, for some of the guns, according to 

 luck, get shooting in every field, however wild the 

 birds may be. 



Half-mooning with a more extended line, and 

 embracing a large stretch of country at a time, also 

 answers very well, but the spacing is naturally much 

 more difficult to keep, as the intersecting fences hide 

 one part of the line from the other. It is then well 

 for the men to carry flags, but more will depend upon 

 the discipline and intelligence displayed by the 

 shooters. Those in the centre must allow time for 

 the flanks to get forward, and each gun must keep 

 touch with his right and left hand neighbours, pausing 

 for them if they have to stop to pick up or get through 

 a fence, and quickening or slackening his pace accord- 

 ing to that of the flank outside him. 



In this way birds may be pushed off a large tract 

 of country on to any heath or desirable piece of cover, 

 while during the operation many wild pretty shots will 

 relieve the monotony of walking. 



I remember once, when out alone with Lord 



