168 THE GROUSE 



Good management will develop the 

 latent possibilities of a moor to a surprising 

 extent ; but the converse holds good too, 

 and where such management is wanting, 

 it is equally surprising what a bad day it 

 is possible to have on really first-class 

 ground. 



To any one who cares for seeing things 

 well done, nothing can be more heart- 

 breaking than to take part in a day's 

 driving on a moor which has been allowed 

 to take care of itself, where any efforts 

 that have been made to improve it have 

 been wanting in method or system, and 

 have been little better than useless. 



Here no one has looked after the 

 shooting, the keeper has been left to plan 

 out the drives unaided by counsel or advice, 

 and they are laid out with mathematical 

 accuracy like squares on a chessboard, 

 with little regard to the natural features 

 of the ground, and still less to the natural 

 flight of the birds. 



It by no means follows that the keeper is 

 a born fool, only the narrow limits of his 



