BY MANY HANDS 157 



a large stock of partridges is required, the out or wild 

 pheasants must be kept in bounds as regards numbers. 

 The bulk of the hens left will cling to the woods and 

 feed on the rides and not go far afield to nest. On our 

 5000 acres I consider 200 out hens the maximum that 

 should be left. The ground will only carry a certain 

 head of winged game, and if the wild pheasants are suc- 

 cessful in bringing up their broods, it will be at the 

 expense of the partridges, where these are numerous. The 

 ideal partridge ground would be denuded of pheasants ; 

 here I always leave a small stock of pheasants all over 

 the estate, as driving in October (we never shoot till 

 then) they give splendid shots out of turnip-fields, espe- 

 cially in a wind. Pheasants are always more harmful to 

 partridges on those estates where their first lots of eggs 

 are collected for the estate rearing fields, as they then 

 nest later and farther afield from the main woods, and 

 often disturb, and indeed appropriate, the nests of part- 

 ridges that are laying and sometimes sitting. When 

 there is deep snow on the ground, we run a plough 

 along the sunny side of a fence and feed the partridges 

 with barley or wheat. 



With regard to disease, gapes is the chief trouble 

 always ; enteric we have also at times ; both are very 

 difficult to combat, and are generally the result of un- 

 seasonable weather. On my own farm (1300 acres) I 

 use no artificial manure to speak of, and yet I am no 

 better off as regards disease than my neighbours. 



Our beats vary in size from 700 to 1500 acres, the 

 difference depending on the character of ground and 

 nesting space, the quantity of stock left, and whether 

 near a preserved area or the reverse. The right time to 

 stop shooting depends on the season, but I never care 

 about shooting partridges in January if the weather is 

 open. I think the maximum stock, under the most favour- 

 able conditions, that can be usefully left is a brace to 

 every 4 or 5 acres. I have left this amount and had over 



