PAnxuiDOKs.] BY FIELD, WOOD, AND WATER. [i-autuidoe snooriNo. 



their food iti the iields, liko 80 niaoy sheep, 

 uud tliat oaoli family entrusts its partridi,'03 to 

 Jho common koopi'r, who brings tliem back in 

 the evening ; and he calls them together with 

 a whistle, even in the daytime. Another 

 account states that, in tlio country around 

 Trebizond, a man was seen leading above four 

 thousand partridges; lie marched on the ground, 

 while the birds followed him in the air, until 

 bo reached a certain camp, three days' journey 

 from Trebizond ; when he slept, the birds 

 alighted to repose around him, and ho could 

 take as many of their number as ho pleased. 

 AVe are told that, in Proveu9e, iu Erance, 

 persons have acquired the art of assembling 

 numerous flocks of partridges, which obey the 

 voices of their conductors with wonderful do- 

 cility. "Willoughby mentions, that a mau in 

 Sussex had, by great skill and attention, made 

 a covey of partridges so tame, that, for a 

 wager, he drove them before him, from that 



agreeable for thu table aa our owu native 



partridge; nor do they afford sport eijual to 

 that aflbrilcd by the other. 



" September comes to chcir tlie fowler's licart, 

 And riiise liis anxious liojjes ; duy after day 

 He marks tlie fruitful country cliange around, 

 With eager eye. First, from the f.rtile meads, 

 Divested of tluir widely waving load, 

 The pregnant liay-riek rises. Gentle swains, 

 If chance should lead you to the chosen spot, 

 Where the shy jnirtridge forms her simple nest. 

 The embryo ollsjiring spare ; and wlien your scythe 

 Levels the grassy valleys, should your foot 

 Approach the helpless brood, step back with eare, 

 Nor our fond Lopes destroy." 



We will close this chapter with an extraordi- 

 nary account of the enemies of game, captured a 

 few years ago on estates of tho Marquis of 

 Ailsa. It is taken from the columns of the 

 Inverness Courier : — 



Tho Marquis of xVilsa has, for some years, 

 encouraged ins gamekeepers iu the destruction 



county to London, although they were free, of vermin, by paying so much per head for 



those brought iu. Every keeper and assistant- 

 keeper has a record of all the vermin killed 

 by him ; and receives payment every three 

 mouths accordingly, besides the regular and 

 liberal wages to which they are entitled for 

 their services. All kinds of vermin were thus 

 brought low — even to the jackdaw and common 

 rat, which, we are informed, caused great de- 

 struction to the eggs of pheasants and par- 

 tridges. The rat has become very common 

 there, and is found to burrow in rabbits' holes 

 to such an extent, that, in ferreting rabbits, it 

 sometimes happens that a rat and a rabbit are 

 shot right and left. Whole broods of young 

 plieasants and partridges have been found dead, 

 and partly eaten, near rats' holes, and some- 

 times even young hares and rabbits. The owl, 

 generally supposed to be harmless, has been shot 

 with young game in its talons ; and hedgehogs 

 have been found with large accumulations of 

 egg-shells in their burrows, or in the long 

 grass where they coil themselves up, and have 

 always been taken in traps baited with rabbits, 

 hares, or wood-pigeons. Adders are included 

 among the vermin to be destroyed on tho 

 marquis's property, but we believe they do not 

 injure game. In four years and a-half, tho 

 sum paid on the estate of Culzean and Craig- 

 lure moors, in Ayrshire, for vermin destroyed 

 by the keepers, amounted to £231 15,y. lOd. 



545 



had their wings fully grown, and in right 

 feather. 



The red partridge takes up its habitat in 

 mount:iii;ou3 regions, well covered with wood. 

 Its flesh is tender and white, and, by many gas- 

 tronomes, is considered of a richer flavour than 

 the flesh of the grey partridge. The Erencli 

 make it into pies, which are highly esteemed. 

 From the common partridge it difl'ers in its 

 habits, from being found in flocks ; while the 

 other species are only known in coveys ; and 

 the red bird perches likewise on trees, which 

 the ordinary bird never does. 



" So far back as the time of Charles II.," says 

 ilr. Blaine, " several pairs of these red-legged 

 partridges were turned out about AVindsor, to 

 obtain a stock ; but they are supposed to have 

 mostly perished, although some of them, or 

 their descendants, were seen for a few years 

 afterwards. The late Duke of Northumber- 

 land preserved many, in the hope of their 

 increasing upon his manors ; but tlie late Earl 

 of Eochfort, and the Marquis of Hertford, were 

 at the most expense and trouble to establish 

 them in this country. Both of these noblemen 

 had not only numbers of the birds sent over 

 from France, but, also, at a proper age : by this 

 means there are now plenty of the red birds 

 upon tlie latter nobleman's eatate, near Orford 

 in Suff'olk." These birds, however, are not so 

 4 A 



