1 84 LETTERS TO YOUNG SPORTSMEN. 



And, while my game-book is open, I may as well give 

 you my totals for the season, i.e., half of October, three weeks 

 in December and a fortnight of January : 



Grouse . . . . 40 Wild fowl . . . . i 



Blackcocks . . . . 20 Pigeons . . . . 8 



Partridges .. .. 13 Hares .. .. .. 17 



Cock pheasants . . 54 Rabbits . . . . 7 



Woodcocks . . . . 206 Landrail . . . . i 



Snipe . . . . . . 229 Cat . . . . . . i 



The final item suggests a warning : never shoot a cat in 

 sight of any possible owner or owner's relatives. This 

 island pussy had separated herself from the nearest human 

 habitation by many miles. The rent paid was 100, including 

 the wages of a keeper whose local knowledge was invaluable. 

 Familiar with every likely hollow or patch of rushes, his 

 unerring instinct as a guide through the wilderness almost 

 suggested the presence of Moses in his pedigree. He, with 

 a boy, constituted the staff ; no beaters, and therefore no 

 restraint on shooting in any direction ; half the battle on 

 broken ground where a woodcock flushed by the spaniel 

 may fly anywhere. 



The snipe made very pretty shooting, lying well to a 

 dog, a wise old Irish setter, who knew where to hunt and 

 where not to waste her time and mine, and would retrieve, 

 when told, in a quiet panther-like fashion, without any of 

 the fuss created by her rival, a bouncing Labrador. Two 

 or three days gave bags of over thirty birds ; one day 

 thirty-four ; a mere trifle in comparison to the holocausts 

 obtained on a neighbouring island, where, however, walking 

 in line is necessary ; an island offered on " a lease for as 

 long as you like " at 10 about half a century ago, and now 

 commanding a rent, I believe, of 500. The snipe-shooting 

 there is the best in Britain. 



There were a few hares on my ground, but practically 

 no rabbits ; of the seven killed in the season, two fell victims 

 to a right and left ; the farmer was an infallible snarer, and 

 his land produced some of the finest Highland cattle in 

 the world. In the summer they were to be seen cooling 

 themselves in the Atlantic. Fortunately, he kept no 

 sheep ; their presence is incompatible with the necessary 



