108 PARTRIDGES 



adoption of the so-called 'Euston' system 

 is to be found the only reliable remedy 

 for the trouble caused by foxes. Marlow, 

 head-keeper to Lord Ashburton at the 

 Grange, rendered a great service to pre- 

 servers of game in hunting countries 

 when he discovered the fact that once a 

 partridge hen has been sitting on her eggs 

 for twenty-four hours, she may be handled 

 and lifted or gently put off her nest with- 

 out any fear of her forsaking altogether. 

 This made it possible for the keepers to 

 abstract, replace, or substitute eggs at 

 will during practically the whole period 

 of incubation, and, having got so far, 

 systematic use of this idea soon followed 

 as a matter of course. 



Mr. Pearson Gregory was the first to 

 practise the system, and has shown on his 

 estate of Harlaxton in Lincolnshire, lying 

 in the very heart of the Belvoir country, 

 how by its means the damage caused by 

 foxes may be minimized. The system 

 should really be known as the * Harlax- 

 ton,' but as Mr. Pearson Gregory was 



