PARTRIDGE 237 



elsewhere in England, and moreover are allowed full 

 liberty to increase and multiply, the grey birds in- 

 variably predominate. 



When walking up game it is not so surprising that 

 grey partridges preponderate when the bag comes to 

 be displayed, for the French bird is exceptionally 

 speedy afoot, and generally contrives to keep a safe 

 distance between himself and the guns, unless the 

 covert is extraordinarily good. In driving, however, 

 this is not the case, for these birds often enough are 

 the first to come over the guns, and, as they preserve 

 a truer line of flight, showing less disposition to swerve 

 from their course, a goodly number are usually bagged 

 on driving days. But even then, with the conditions 

 most favourable towards securing a large proportion 

 of French birds, I have frequently noticed that the 

 grey birds predominate in the proportion of three to 

 one. There may, of course, be situations where these 

 proportions are somewhat altered in favour of the 

 red-legs, but in a general way I fancy Perdix cinerea 

 contrives to hold its own pretty successfully. 



By some occult process of reasoning it has come 

 about that one of the unwritten canons of game-shoot- 

 ing in England prevents the use of any larger bore 

 than 12 for the purposes of this particular sport. In 

 this respect there is a wide line of demarcation drawn 

 between the shooting of game and of wild-fowl. The 

 game-shooter is arbitrarily limited in the choice of 

 bores, whilst the wild-fowler may of his sweet will and 

 good pleasure elect to use guns varying in size from 

 the diminutive 28-bore to that large shoulder cannon 

 known as a 4-bore, whose internal diameter of barrel- 

 space is considerably in excess of one inch. The con- 



