BY MANY HANDS 155 



about 40 acres of belts and broom covers for nesting have 

 been planted, which are also found most useful for shelter. 

 The size of beats vary from 700 to 1500 acres. 



It is quite impossible to find every nest, and no good 

 purpose can be served by hunting large fields and corn- 

 fields. The nests most likely to be attacked are those on 

 the bank and hedgerows. In a dry season the rooks take 

 several nests in the hay and corn-fields, as eggs get 

 exposed for want of cover. At Pickenham in some years 

 I believe 85% of the nests have been found, but this is 

 unusual, 70% being nearer the average. This last season, 

 which was wet and the growth consequently rank, I can 

 quite believe that 60% to 65% would represent the pro- 

 portion of nests found. The nests as soon as found should, 

 if possible, be visited daily by the beat-keeper, who should 

 thoroughly examine the nest if things do not appear 

 normal ; he should know how each bird is laying to her 

 nest, or if two lay to one nest. We have great trouble 

 with moles that run the fences and disturb the birds on 

 their nests ; I have actually lost eggs in mole runs, though 

 I do not think that the mole eats them. One year I 

 should have lost 30% of the nests on the estate by moles, 

 if they had not been regularly visited. 



On a large beat a keeper must get round his nests when 

 he can : 1 have known 300 nests on one beat at Pickenham 

 (divided into 5 beats), and it takes a man nearly two days 

 to get round the number. There is one time when I 

 consider it fatal for any one, including the beat-keeper, to 

 go near the nest. For three days after the bird has made 

 up her nest, which you can always tell by the eggs being 

 exposed, it is best to keep well away, for, if flushed off 

 during this period, it is a 100 to 1 chance against the bird 

 returning and the eggs are all spoilt. 



If at any time a keeper flushes a bird off a nest during 

 the first week of incubation, it is best to put false eggs in 

 the nest and keep the real eggs under a hen till he can 

 find the bird has come back to the nest, and then wait till 



