PRESERVATION 87 



tained. The duties of the remaining six 

 underlings are solely confined to the part- 

 ridges ; each has his own beat to look 

 after, each beat compact and self-con- 

 tained, and varying in size from the 700 

 acre beat round the village, with small 

 fields bounded by rough hedges and much 

 intersected by roads and paths, to the 

 1500 acre beat where the fields are large 

 and open, with little rough ground to 

 harbour vermin or increase the difficulty 

 of finding the nests. 



The under-keepers also belong to the 

 modern school ; they are to a man young, 

 brisk, intelligent, and hard- working ; well- 

 disciplined, they are still quite ready to 

 accept responsibility on occasion. They 

 are not permanencies, as they all mean to 

 make their way in the world. Meantime, 

 though they have a hard life and draw 

 but modest wages, they are having the 

 finest training in the world for their pro- 

 fession. Five years' insight into the work- 

 ings of a really well-managed estate is 

 worth half a lifetime of casual experience, 



