BLACKGAME 237 



ground in a body and betake them to the 

 stubbles. 



On shootings which consist entirely of 

 moorland, toll must be taken of the black- 

 game by the early days of October, or 

 they will be lost to the moor for the 

 season, for they probably will not come 

 back to the heather till the stubbles are 

 ploughed and the year is nearly out. 



Just before the young blackcocks begin 

 to collect into packs is the best time to 

 shoot them over dogs ; from the third 

 week in September onwards they are to 

 be found scattered singly all over the 

 moor. Though they lie very close in the 

 faces of bracken or clumps of rushes and 

 white grass, and offer a poor mark for the 

 gun, still they certainly take a lot of 

 finding, giving ample scope for working 

 dogs to advantage. 



But to enjoy the sport at its best you 

 must stay your hand yet another month, 

 and then seek the lower ground where the 

 black land merges into the white, where 

 rough pastures of rank grass, rushes and 



