GROUSE-SHOOTING. 329 



Grouse-shooting may be said to be the most 

 typical shooting of Britain. In the first place the 

 grouse {Lagopus scotticus) is peculiar to the British 

 Isles. It was originally, no doubt, spread over all of 

 them, but the increase of cultivation has greatly 

 reduced their range. It is now limited in England 

 to the counties of Northumberland, Durham, 

 Cumberland, Westmoreland, Lancashire, Yorkshire, 

 and Derbyshire in other words, to the extreme 

 north. It is found in Wales, principally in the north, 

 all over Scotland, and in the northern parts of 

 Ireland. 



Secondly, the haunt of the grouse is as a rule 

 far from the dwellings of man. It is in itself an 

 unaccustomed pleasure to most grouse-shooters to 

 wander over the moors and steep hillsides, frequented 

 generally only by the black-faced sheep and their 

 guardians. To the man whose business or pleasure 

 keeps him in the towns, there can be no keener 

 delight than walking over the crisp heather, watching 

 one's favourites draw steadily up to their game. 

 Many a hard-worked man owes his health to his 

 annual month among the grouse. 



Grouse-driving is a sport apart. Long observation 

 of the habits and the flight of the grouse on any moor 

 is necessary to success. These being ascertained, 

 the shelters are built. Their construction differs 

 according to the purpose they are required to fulfil. 

 If the birds are only to be driven one way, they are 

 simply curved breastworks of turf. If on the other 

 hand the beat is found to lend itself to driving the 



