TllK M.VNOliS.J 



ii Y F i E L 1), W O U 1), A N 1 ) W A T E li. 



[the MANOUa. 



jiivourite districts than in nny counties of 

 England. On theso soils the wnter never 

 lod'^es; and in dry, hot woiither, thcro are 

 never any crarks or opening--^, wliich are fre- 

 quently seen in stiff soils in hot weather, into 

 which both young partridges and plieasanta 

 fall, without being able to extricate themselves, 

 and are, consequently, victimised ; and wet 

 weather is equally prejudicial to young birds 

 on the Btift' clay soils. On a really good and 

 favourable soil, any amount of partridges may 

 be fot up, which the land will bear, in one or 

 two seasons, by a little forbearance, if the 

 stock be reduced ; but any deficiency is rarely 

 the case in cither Suffolk or Norfolk, if the 

 land is fully cultivated. In the case of partial 

 uep'lect in this respect, or in the event of a 

 farm being accidentally left fallow one season, 

 the same amount of birds cannot be expected, 

 as partridges will always go where they can 

 find most food ; and, although they can live on 

 grass, they will always leave pasture lands if 

 arable land be contiguous. 



It is conjectured by some, that partridges 

 which are found in grouse districts eat heather. 

 This, on the other hand, is supposed to be a 

 mistake, as birds have frequently been killed, 

 during the winter months, on the mountain- 

 tops, and, on opening their crops, nothing 

 found in them but grass, and that, on several 

 occasions, of a very coarse description, having 

 the appearance of water-grass. These birds, 

 however, arc of very fine flavour. 



It is a good plan, and one which is 

 frequently adopted in Suffolk and Norfolk 

 with success, to introduce drills of buck-wheat 

 here and there between the turnips, where the 

 fields of these are large. This is advantageous 

 to both partridges and pheasants, as these 

 birds are particularly fond of this grain — it 

 attracts and keeps them together. 



In v'^'-y open countries, where there are 

 neither covers nor plantations, small patches 

 of furze and broom should be sown, here and 

 there, on all odd corners of land. These will 

 be found wonderfully protective of partridges 

 in the cold stormy weather of winter, and, 

 moreover, will bo secure breeding-places. 

 Partridges generally breed by the hedge-side, 

 or on grassy banks, and not unfrequently by 

 the road-side. AV^here there are walls, if there 

 13 a little rough grass and brambles at the 

 3 u 



bottom of them, these are also very favourite 

 spots, although close by a footpath. Where 

 the country is very open, and there is :i 

 scarcity of sheller, they make their ncats ia 

 grass and clover ; and here they are in great 

 danger, as both grasses and clover are gene- 

 rally cut before the hatching ia over. Conse- 

 quently many nests are destroyed, notwith- 

 standing the uttnost carefulness of the mowers, 

 as partridges sit so closely immediately before 

 hatching, that thero have been instances of 

 tlieir heads having been cut off by the scythe. 

 AVhen the nest is discovered in time, a small 

 quantity of clover left round it will suffice to 

 prevent its desertion. These birds sit twenty- 

 one or twenty-two days. 



In the spring of the year, when partridges 

 first begin to lay their eggs, the utmost vigi- 

 lance is demanded on the part of the keepers, 

 owing to the practice of stealing eggs, en- 

 couraged by poulterers, who carry on a largo 

 trade by the sale of them, partridges' and 

 pheasants' eggs always being obtainable at the 

 London markets, and from most London poul- 

 terers; and as long as gentlemen will con- 

 tinue to countenance this traffic, by buying 

 eggs for the purpose of stocking their grounds, 

 they must expect to be mutually pillaged. 

 We could here introduce many letters upon 

 this subject, but it would be unnecessarily 

 filling our pages. Partridges will always make 

 a second nest when the first is destroyed ; but 

 the number of eggs will be considerably re- 

 duced, and the coveys so late, that the young 

 birds will not be ready for the sportsman by 

 the 1st of September. Whenever a small 

 covey of backward birds is found, it may bo 

 inferred, to a certainty, that the first nest was 

 either robbed or destroyed ; six or eight birds 

 is generally the amount of a second covey. In 

 an early covey, as many as twenty young birds 

 have been found ; but this is unusual; and, 

 although as many as sixteen and eighteen 

 eggs in the nest is a common circumstance, 

 still fourteen young birds, on the Ist of Sep- 

 tember, may reasonably be considered a good 

 covey. We cannot advise any sportsman to 

 buy partridge-eggs for the purpose of stocking 

 his ground, because we consider the practice 

 wrong in principle, and one which is sure to 

 meet with retributive punishment ; and, more- 

 over, on good soils, where partridges can bo 



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