12 PARTRIDGES 



will listen to your pleading, and your 

 voice will not have been raised in vain. 

 For surely we all share a belief in the 

 reasonable nature of our fellow-country- 

 men ; could they but understand some of 

 the simplest facts about game-preserving, 

 we may rest assured that they would 

 listen with less patience to all the rant 

 and cant, which, uncontradicted, is liable 

 to work so much harm. 



I have not touched at all on the 

 pleasures of partridge- shooting, on the 

 immense amount of enjoyment which 

 it provides, for here I should be no im- 

 partial critic, and no eulogy, however 

 eloquent, could be expected to influence 

 the judgment of those who have never 

 had the good fortune to enjoy this or 

 any other form of sport. 



Further, this is a utilitarian age in 

 which we find ourselves. Matters are 

 weighed in the balance of material good 

 to the nation, and judged accordingly. 

 All that we game-preservers ask for is 

 that the scales should be held true, the 



