192 THE GROUSE 



two or three miles of country in one 

 drive. The long drives should be in 

 the morning when the birds are being 

 collected, the shorter drives after noon 

 when the birds are getting broken up. 



When driving birds up - wind it is 

 often expedient, in the interest of the 

 next drive, to ask the guns to let the 

 leaders of any packs pass unshot. In 

 such a case, if the first bird be shot at in 

 front of the line the whole pack may 

 turn back and swing away with the wind, 

 and be lost for the day, whereas once the 

 leaders are past the butts no amount of 

 shooting will stop them going right. If 

 the guns play their part in this respect, 

 an up-wind drive is easier to manage than 

 a drive when the birds have to be 

 brought across the wind. When a drive 

 is over, the guns should each be asked 

 how many birds he has down, and a tally 

 kept of the total to be gathered. This 

 makes a check on the final score, and 

 prevents birds being left to rot in the 

 butts, by no means an unusual occurrence. 



