GROUSE SHOOTING. 153 



steadily together. To Mil them, vfheufound and marked 

 down, take up all but one stanch dog. 



For shooting grouse, select a fine sunshiny day, from 

 about eight till Jive in August or September, and from 

 about eleven till three at the later periods of the season, 

 as they are then extremely wild, and will only lie toler- 

 ably during the few hours which are favoured by a warm 

 sun. Unless the weather is very fine, you will see them 

 running and getting up five hundred yards before you. 

 In this case, let one person take an immense circle, so 

 as to head them, while the other remains behind, to 

 press them forward when he is ready; and above all 

 things you should, for killing them at this time of the 

 year, use either No. 1, 2, or 3, shot, in the largest single 

 gun that you can possibly manage ; or, what is better, 

 a good stout double gun, loaded with Eley's cartridges. 

 Grouse take a harder blow than partridges, and do not 

 fly quite so regular and steady. 



Scotland is the best place for this sport, as the heather 

 there being much higher, they will lie closer than in 

 Yorkshire and the other moors of England : add to 

 \vhich, the sport there has, in many parts, the pleasing 

 addition of blackcock and ptarmigan shooting. Such, 

 however, is the misery of the Highland public houses, 

 and particularly to our perfumed young men of fashion, 

 that I have generally observed nine out of ten of them, 

 however good may have been their sport, come home 

 cursing and swearing most bitterly about their wooden 

 births, peat fires, and oatmeal cakes. 



I have had very good grouse shooting close to the 

 inn at Arden Caple, in Dunbartonshire, although in 

 the depth of winter, when interspersed with woodcocks 

 and wildfowl. But these birds then lose their fine 



