WILD-GOOSE SHOOTING 163 



seems to have been the best year, 147 geese were 

 shot, and the best bag, consisting of thirty geese, was 

 made on December 30 in the same year. 



Holkham, in Norfolk, concerning which I have 

 already given some notes, is no less celebrated in 

 history as a resort for grey geese. Mr. Napier tells 

 me that the favourite feeding-grounds of the geese at 

 Holkham during the winter months are on the Marsh 

 Farm, which was reclaimed from the sea by the 

 present Earl of Leicester in 1859, and some years 

 later laid down to grass. These marshes are pro- 

 tected by a high sea-wall, and should a strong north- 

 east wind be blowing at dusk, or a strong west wind 

 at daybreak, this wall is often lined with gunners of 

 all descriptions, armed with every sort of weapon, 

 from an 8-bore to a crow-keeping gun tied up with 

 tarred line. The execution done is not often great, 

 for the geese know exactly how high to fly, and as 

 they approach the sea-wall they may be observed 

 mounting up in the air out of reach of any but a very 

 powerful gun. Occasionally, of course, the geese do 

 make mistakes, and a thick fog is the most dangerous 

 time for them, as they seem to lose their bearings 

 altogether. 



The best chance of making a bag of geese on 

 the Holkham marshes is at night, when the moon 



M 2 



