BY MANY HANDS 165 



Newmarket Heath, is highly cultivated on a four years' 

 system, and sheep are regularly kept on it. There is no 

 grass-land, beyond artificial crops, such as sainfoin and 

 clover. The fields are very large, some nearly 300 acres, 

 for the most part divided by closely cut-down fences, 

 raised on low banks. There are no ditches, which I 

 consider an important point, as many young chicks get 

 lost in them, or drowned in bad weather. 



The short thick fences form excellent nesting places, 

 and are chiefly used by the partridges, though a fair 

 percentage of nests are found in the sainfoin and clover 

 fields, principally in the former. Nests are also made in 

 wheat-fields, the site of nest depending a good deal on 

 the season, according to the advance of the various crops. 

 No artificial places for nesting are provided. I have 

 found nests of both French and English partridges round 

 and on the top of straw stacks. Partridges here are fond 

 of making their nests near roadways and farm buildings, 

 and, unless very much exposed, I do not interfere with them. 



I am a great believer in finding every nest possible, 

 and have the nests regularly and carefully watched. The 

 reason for this is that should anything go wrong with the 

 nest the keeper will find it out and discover the culprit, 

 whoever it may be, man, beast, or bird. The average 

 number of eggs in a nest on my place is about 16. I 

 have had many nests over 20 and up to 28. 1 always lift 

 eggs and change them about from one end of the shoot 

 to the other, my keepers having specially-made belts to 

 carry the eggs carefully and close to the body. I only 

 have partridges hatched from eggs found in nests cut out 

 by the mowing machine, or otherwise disturbed. These 

 eggs are put under ordinary hens, and when chipped all 

 but 5 or 6 are taken away from under the hen, and put 

 in the incubator. When hatched and dry they are re- 

 turned to the hen. This is done to prevent the hen from 

 stamping on the chicks and killing several, which might 

 happen when she has a large number to hatch. 



