248 SUMMER 



sets going by its single influence a new train of thought. 

 The moors are the right place for the human tribe in August; 

 but they are perhaps even better worth a visit in July, and 

 without a gun. The few birds that live in coveys are 

 peculiarly worth observation ; and you may see such a 

 struggle for life and survival of the fittest as does not appear 

 in the south. The grouse no doubt flourishes very much 

 more than the partridge, which only preservation keeps 

 alive. But the grouse has to exert more intelligence. She 

 may, as we know, be forced to the device of carrying water 

 to her young in the sponge of her breast feathers. The 

 broods are hunted by the eagles as no partridge is pursued 

 by sparrow-hawk or owl. An eagle, and indeed any moun- 

 tain hawk, hunts with much method and persistence. You 

 may see them quartering a hillside in a pattern of flight that 

 would make a parallel diagram. They have the 'eagle eye,' 

 yet even so they will pass within a few yards of a grey hen 

 on her nest and not distinguish her from the inorganic stuff 

 in which she disappears. But the eagle is a bitter enemy. 

 His natural prey is the grouse, and a good many fall victims, 

 yet the toll is very small ; and if the year is free from 

 disease, and that little parasite of the heather not overmuch 

 encouraged by the weather, the multiplication of the coveys 

 is amazing. Doubtless vermin are rarer in Scotland, as in 

 England, than they were. In the country-houses of the 

 north you will often find stuffed specimens of the wild cat, 

 a real tiger of a cat, distinguished from its tame descendants 

 by the even rings of the tabby tail. But it is some while 

 since a real wild cat was seen in the Highlands, save for 

 one or two in their last retreat. The marten is as rare as 

 the polecat, which has disappeared in the south with 

 astounding completeness during the present generation. 

 The stoat is still busy, and when he becomes ermine, as 



