PRESERVATION 89 



always got his eye on some likely lad, and 

 the infusion of fresh blood is, on the whole, 

 healthy, and tends to keep things alive. 



The keeper's year may now be said to 

 begin with the calendar, for the driving 

 is all over before the end of December. 

 The regular shooting once finished, a man 

 is rarely taken off his beat, for it is 

 recognized that there is quite enough work 

 on his own ground to keep his time well 

 filled. 



The first three months are given up to 

 getting the ground in order for the nesting 

 season. Odd cock pheasants have to be 

 pursued and killed, any superfluous hares 

 taken off the ground, and wounded and 

 wasting partridges cleared off. Then the 

 rabbits have to be taken in hand, and 

 trapped and shot to the verge of extinc- 

 tion, or they will multiply apace and give 

 trouble later on. When foxes are pre- 

 served rabbits are of some value in 

 occupying their attentions, but otherwise 

 they are an unmitigated nuisance on 

 partridge ground, a prolific source of 



