174 THE GROUSE 



of the birds may reasonably be looked for 

 in the morning, at midday, and in the 

 evening. From all this carefully acquired 

 information, which only the man on the 

 spot can supply, the head keeper or his 

 master, or, better still, both putting their 

 heads together, can plan out the day. 



The natural flight of the birds being 

 known, and how far it may be altered by 

 judicious driving and flanking, it will 

 always be found that most of the lines of 

 flight tend to converge in certain places. 

 These are the right sites for lines of butts. 

 The general scheme of the day must 

 first be outlined, each drive being con- 

 sidered in relation to the following ones, 

 and not as an isolated performance ; the 

 object of a drive being not only to bring 

 the birds over the guns, but to push them 

 on to ground which is to be driven later. 



In choosing sites for lines of butts, the 

 lie of the ground should always be an 

 important consideration. 



Figure A of the diagram shows, in 

 section, the most desirable slope for lines 



