246 THE GROUSE 



taking his own station some thirty yards 

 below you. Blackgame are wonderfully 

 consistent in their line of flight, and though 

 you are so close together, you will find that 

 almost every bird the keepers disturb will 

 give a chance to one or other of you. 



What a gale it must have been that 

 nearly swept this wood out of existence, 

 just a quarter of a century ago you 

 estimate, for while groups of larger Scots 

 fir and larch still stand to mark the older 

 woodland, most is of a younger growth, 

 sent by nature to repair her own havoc. 



There was a sharp frost last night, the 

 leaves are turning, and the golden spray 

 of the birch, the brilliant reds of rowan 

 and gean, and the deep green of the alder, 

 make a beautiful contrast of colour in the 

 bright sunlight. 



Above you, on the moor, the grouse 

 seem to have been deluded into thinking 

 that spring has come ; the cocks are 

 holding concert on every hillock and 

 knowe, and as their clear, loud note rings 

 sharply through the frosty air, and you 



