JUMMAUV."! 



BV I'll: 1. 1), wool), AM) WAT Kit. 



[bummabt. 



If shophcrds are negatively of importance in 

 abataiuiiii,' from cither poaching or destroying 

 game, they can also bo actively serviceable in 

 givitig iut'ormation as to tho incursion of any 

 enemy, cither in tho ehapo of vermin or 

 poacher. From being constantly on the 

 pnund, no moving objects can loi.g eacape 

 their observation. 



A SUMM.\RY. 



A summary of tho preceding suggestions, as 

 to hiring and protecting moors, addressed to 

 the sportsman, may be the means of fixing 

 them more firmly iu tho minds of our 

 readers : — 



1. If you are desirous of having grouse 

 shooting in perfection, take your moor in 

 Perthshire, Inverness-shire, Aberdeenshire, or 

 Caithness. 



2. Should your object be mixed sport, com- 

 bining with variety of game, winter shooting 

 and fishing, the parts of these counties which 

 adjoin the sea-coast will answer your purpose 

 best, as these districts, besides grouse, black 

 game, and partridge, frequently aflbrd good 

 wild-fowl and cock shooting, together with 

 trout and salmon fishing, and, very frequently, 

 first-rate aea-loch fishing. 



3. Although Perthshire, Aberdeensliire, and 

 Inverness-shire, throughout the greater part of 

 their extent, furnish as much variety of first- 

 rate sport, of every kind, as any counties in 

 Scotland, in addition to the very best grouse 

 shooting ; still there are some few of the very 

 best inland moors on which there is no winter 

 shooting — in fact, little game beyond grouse, 

 there being no covers ; and, on some few 

 moors, little or no fishing. This fact is men- 

 tioned for tho guidance of the sportsman 

 who may require additional sport to grouse 

 eihooting. 



4. Secure your shootings by a lease for five 

 or seven years. 



5. Before signing your lease, if you do not 

 know the moor, and are not satisfied as to its 

 immediate condition, send a competent person 

 over it with a brace of good dogs ; you will 

 then ascertain what stock of grouse is on the 

 ground, and make your terms accordingly 

 relative to the first year ; as, iu the event of 

 total forbearance being necessary, or the 

 number to be killed being limited, in con- 



sequence of the reduced stock on tho ground, 

 some allowance nuiat bu made in consideration 

 of that circumstance. 



G. Immediately on obtaining poaaesBioii of 

 your moor, locate a first-rato hoad-lu-cpcr 

 thereon, with authority to provide himself 

 with a competent staff, tho strength of which 

 will depend upon the extent of the ground. 



7. Engage your moor, if possible, early in 

 .^[arch, and not later than about tiie middle of 

 April ; because the trapping of vermin ought 

 to bo commenced, at latest, in March (as it 

 cannot be delayed without damage to the 

 stock of game on tho ground) ; and, grouse 

 being iu pairs, a tolerably accurate estimate 

 may be formed of the quantity likely to breed 

 on the ground, and of your prospects of sport 

 for the ensuing season. 



8. If the moor you have in view be a Low- 

 land one, do not examine or engage it before 

 March, because a quantity of grouse might be 

 found thereon prior to that period, not be- 

 longing to the ground, only waiting for a 

 change of weather to return to the high 

 ground from which they had migrated in tlie 

 early part of the winter, and thus deceive 

 your calculations, and disappoint your expecta- 

 tions of sport for August, should they be based 

 on the number of grouse found in January or 

 February. 



9. The head-keeper should be a Scotchman, 

 an Englishman being comparatively useless, 

 Gallic being the language generally spoken in 

 the Highlands ; and, moreover, an English 

 keeper has little influence with tenants, shep- 

 herds, and under-keepers. The head-keeper 

 should thoroughly understand his business in 

 all its branches; and, with intelligence, ac- 

 tivity, and zeal, should combine honesty, 

 sobriety, and courage. All these qualities are 

 required for a thorough discharge of tho duties 

 incident to his position. 



10. His duty, in the first instance, will bo 

 to go over every part of his ground, and 

 make himself thoroughly acquainted with tlie 

 marches — i.e., boundaries ; and, if possible, ob- 

 tain information respecting the adjoining moors 

 and the tenants thereon, in order to regulate tho 

 beating of the ground when the season com- 

 mences ; as, of course, every precaution would 

 be taken not to drive the birds oiT your own 

 "round on to a moor where " hard shooting" 



511 



