152 GUNS 



that in walking up partridges, as I am accustomed 

 to this sport, dogs are not used : only a retriever 

 is taken to secure wounded birds or hares. Not 

 having a regular retriever, when shooting quite 

 alone over the farms, the sporting rights of which we 

 rented or reserved, I used generally to take with me 

 a couple of spaniels ; but this was because there 

 were some spinneys and very thick hedgerows, out 

 of which one counted on getting a few rabbits. 

 The dogs I kept in at heel whilst walking through 

 the root crops, &c. : an obedient dog alone can 

 be tolerated when you are partridge-shooting ; an 

 ill-trained dog is far worse on the farm lands than 

 in covert. 



A party of three will work a field of turnips, 

 clover, &c., just as they work the covert. When 

 the three have walked to within a short distance 

 of the end of the strip of covert or the field of 

 turnips, &c., they are taking, one gun stands still 

 whilst the other gun and the keeper or beater 

 swing round to come into line again, and take a 

 fresh strip back, or to the right or left, as may be 

 arranged. 



Partridge-shooting is, I suppose, held by most 

 gunners to be a better sport than rabbit-shooting. 

 I should find it hard to declare a decided prefer- 

 ence for one or the other. Both are delightful. In 

 rabbiting in the coverts and commons, there is 

 always the chance of a shot or two now and then 

 at pheasants, hares, above all at a woodcock : that 

 cry in covert of '^ Mark cock ! " when a woodcock 



