STOCK 467 



they return to breed in the spring. The answer to this argument is that if 

 they are to be reduced by shooting it would be more profitable that they 

 should be shot by himself than that they should go to swell the bag of his 

 neighbour ; whereas if they are destined to become the victims of disease they 

 may never come back at all, or if they do they may return as a decimated 

 pest-ridden stock, quite unfit for the task of reproducing their species. In 

 the same way the owner of a low-ground moor, where the Grouse have come 

 to winter in their thousands, sometimes argues that it matters little what 

 number of birds may be upon his ground in the winter, since they will 

 return to their own higher moors for the nesting season, and will leave 

 behind them a moderate breeding stock. These owners seem to overlook the 

 fact that the presence of an excessive stock during the winter will most 

 probably result in wholesale mortality amongst those that are left behind 

 however reduced this remnant may be. 



The true explanation of the apathy of many moor-owners is that they 

 have not the courage of their opinions. While admitting that in theory 

 it is a dangerous thing to leave a big stock, they know that a big Temptation 

 stock may, under favourable conditions, result in a record bag the farleTTreed- 

 following year, so they take their chance, unmindful of the risk in s stook - 

 they run, with the result that a good season which might be followed by 

 another just as good often becomes the starting-point of a series of disastrous 

 years. 



It may be laid down as a general rule that it is better policy to aim at 

 a high average of bags, than to attempt to beat all previous records by 

 leaving a large breeding stock. 



Stock regulation in a poor season is a comparatively simple matter, and 

 requires but little judgment, no great risk is incurred by leaving the stock 

 untouched, and there is not much temptation to over-shoot owing 



to the indifferent sport to be obtained upon an understocked moor, regula- 

 tion. 

 Sometimes it is true a moor may be overshot by an undesirable class 



of yearly tenant who is more intent upon getting value for his money than 

 upon shooting the ground in a sportsmanlike way ; but this danger can be 

 guarded against by a strictly worded clause in the agreement. It is only in 

 a "bumper" year that the question of stock management becomes an 

 urgent one. 



In places where the migration of Grouse is the rule, efficient regulation is 



