312 PARTRIDGES 



to take the high ones they miss, and stop 

 the low ones they hit but fail to kill. 



Settle the question as you may, you 

 can depend on one fact, that if you are 

 never at any pains to collect a decent 

 team of guns for partridge-driving, either 

 individually good, or else with a flier or 

 two in the party to do the work and 

 'nurse' his neighbours, you will find it 

 very hard to keep your keepers up to the 

 mark. 



When a man has worked really hard 

 for months, it must be a trial to see his 

 efforts wasted, for a keeper can only 

 measure the success of a day by the 

 result. To see the birds he is at such 

 trouble to bring well over the guns pass- 

 ing on unscathed, and guns light-heartedly 

 chatting at critical moments, and not 

 entering at all seriously into the business 

 of the day, is enough to take the heart 

 out of any man, and slackness and bad 

 work on the part of the guns is likely 

 enough to breed slackness and bad work 

 on the part of the keepers. 



