trbe Cofecs of *olfebam 225 



shooting, and in one inoniing, on another occasion, 

 accounted for 103 brace. How plentiful birds are on the 

 Holkham estates may be gathered from the following 

 records of four days' shooting by eight guns : December 

 8th, 1885, 856 head of partridges; December 9th, 885 ; 

 December loth, 678; December nth, 973, a total of 

 3,392 killed in four consecutive days. Contrast this with 

 the old days. In the eight years from 1793 to 1800 the 

 highest bag of partridges in a single year was 3,965 in 

 1798 ; the annual average was under 3,000. That is to 

 say, in 1885 Lord Leicester with seven other guns killed 

 more partridges in four days than his father and his 

 friends killed in a whole shooting season ! 



But I find better evidence of the present Lord 

 Leicester's prowess with the gun in his records of wild- 

 fowl shooting. Holkham is famous for its wild-fowl, and 

 thousands of wigeon may often be seen in hard winter 

 weather on the great lake, where, however, they are 

 never disturbed, for that is their sanctuary. Elsewhere 

 they must take their chance. 



On December I2th, 1862, there fell to Lord Leicester's 

 own gun 73 ducks, 36 teal, and 2 wigeon, total 1 1 1 ; 

 on Februaiy 28th, 1866, he bagged i snipe, 71 ducks, 

 24 teal, 2 wigeon, total 98 ; on February I2th he shot 

 64 ducks, 20 teal, 6 wild geese, and 2 Canada geese, total 

 92. On January I3th and 26th, 1881, Lord Leicester 

 and the Hon. Colonel Coke between them killed 76 wild 

 geese, all with shoulder-guns, a feat which I suppose it 

 would be impossible to achieve anywhere else in England, 

 except at Berkeley Castle, for nowhere else can the 

 shoulder-shot get such chances at wild geese. 



15 



