472 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



that are sent up for examination as "found dead" or "dying" in the spring, 

 or as having been picked out of the bag in the autumn as unfit for food, 

 or suspected of disease. They are all alike, undersized, poorly - feathered, 

 desperately thin, bare-legged, and badly infested with every form of parasite 

 within and without, and they are in consequence a very fruitful source of 

 parasitic infection to the healthier birds around them, and a fertile soil 

 for the cultivation and dissemination of disease. 



The birds referred to are definitely undersized, their bones are small 

 and thin, their measurements are permanently below the average, they 

 have ceased to grow as chickens when their autumn diet became a winter 

 one, and by the end of October, instead of having enjoyed the full and 

 varied supply of the five fattest food months of the year, they have had 

 that of but three or four. 



Early hatched birds, on the other hand, are barely distinguishable from their 

 parents by October, or even by September, and when winter comes they are 

 prepared to meet it. They may grow temporarily thinner with starvation ; 

 but they can never be undersized. 



Another question of importance in the interests of the stock is that of 

 dealing with the old birds. 



The following remarks show how poor is the general opinion held con- 

 cerning the value both of old cocks and of old hens. 



Stuart - Wortley in Fur and Feather Series writes: "It is my firm 

 belief that the presence of these useless, and it is no exaggeration 



The useless- 

 ness of old to say destructive, birds (i.e., old cocks) has a great deal to do with 



the scarcity of broods, and the low average of stock to be found on 

 elevated Scotch shootings. 



" The older birds interfere with the matrimonial arrangements of the 

 younger to the prejudice of the offspring. 



"The old barren hens are bad enough, but the old cocks are the worst, 

 and both must by some means or other be destroyed. ... I would rather 

 poison them than have them on my own ground. 



" In the pairing season the old warriors come down from the heights, fight 

 with and vanquish the younger ones, and absorb the young hens ; the latter lay 

 nests full of eggs, but they are sterile ; while the more youthful and capable 

 cock bird, who would become the parent of a healthy brood, is either driven 

 off the ground altogether, or obliged to remain in a state of combative celibacy. 



