102 THE GROUSE 



of heather burning should be to provide the best 

 possible supply of food for the different seasons, 

 a thing that can never be done by firing a whole 

 hill-side. 



Infinite disaster has often been brought 

 about by disregard of the commonest 

 precautions and discrimination between 

 heather that may well be set alight and 

 that which should not. Shepherds have 

 been marked as the chief offenders in this 

 respect, but undoubtedly breaches of this 

 kind are committed occasionally by game- 

 keepers too, who, especially in deer forests, 

 where the necessity of regular heather 

 burning is not in many instances fully 

 appreciated, do not exhibit the caution 

 and activity in emergencies which might 

 be expected from them. 



But the era of monster runaway heath 

 fires is, it is hoped, passing away, as 

 well as another hitherto prolific source 

 from fires created by sparks emitted by 

 locomotive engines on railways passing 

 through heathery grounds. Great damage, 

 not only to heather but to plantations of 



