40 THE GROUSE 



trustworthy head keeper. In the absence 

 of this sine qua non many of the other 

 requirements about to be stated are 

 unlikely to receive adequate attention. 

 Regularity and discrimination in the care 

 and burning of heather ; attention to 

 supplementary sources of food for grouse ; 

 destruction of vermin ; prevention of 

 poaching ; constancy of water-supply, and 

 of supplies of gritty material where this is 

 not found in the natural surface formation 

 of the ground ; removal of decomposing 

 carcases and other offensive matter from 

 the ground, are all operations which lie 

 directly within the sphere of the keeper's 

 ordinary duties. There are other desiderata 

 in which he may act only a secondary 

 part, though he should always actively 

 assist in these when practicable, such as 

 the laying out of shelter belts of trees ; 

 the movements over the moor of bodies 

 of sheep where such stock is kept ; the 

 placement of marks on wire fences and 

 telegraph wires for the warning of birds 

 on the wing from contact with these 



