234 THE GUN: AFIELD AND AFLOAT 



list, but enough has been said to show that the pheasant, 

 as also our other game-birds, are responsible for many and 

 exceeding great benefits that are annually showered upon 

 the community at large. It has been said respecting the 

 shooting of a pheasant that, " Up goes a guinea, bang 

 goes a penny, and down comes half-a-crown !" There is 

 much truth in this, and those who concede this must 

 acknowledge that the accusation as to pheasant-shooting 

 being a selfish sport is at once untenable. 



In many situations it is good policy, in fact absolutely 

 essential, to shoot a few outlying pheasants at the com- 

 mencement of October. Whilst a pheasant getting up 

 out of the hedgerow, or from under one's feet in a field 

 of roots, is not the most difficult of marks, it is undeni- 

 able that a considerable amount of excitement may be 

 extracted from the pursuit of pheasants in the proximity 

 of the boundaries at the opening of the season. Boundary 

 shooting, too, is productive of good in that it helps to 

 keep the hand-reared pheasants within their proper 

 sphere, whilst the wild birds also by this means are 

 induced to seek the shelter of the larger coverts. 



The veteran will not need to be reminded that covert- 

 shooting is accompanied by risks not present in other 

 forms of sport with the shot-gun. But for the sake of 

 his good name as a sportsman, it may be as well to im- 

 press upon the tyro the necessity of implicitly carrying 

 out all directions as to taking any position that may be 

 assigned to him, and for keeping it when taken. He 

 should remember that, whether walking with the beaters, 

 standing in a ride, or occupying a stand outside the 

 covert, any considerable movement from the position 

 given to him not only increases the risks to his com- 

 panions, but adds to personal danger. The due observ- 



