122 Practical Game Preserving. 



an emaciated appearance, testifying to the prevalence of 

 the pernicious parasites ; whilst, over the brow, the birds 

 are quite free. Of course, the visitation does not always 

 show such noteworthy features. It, however, rarely deci- 

 mates a whole district, but rather small parts of several 

 districts. While, too, it may be present in one season, it 

 is absent in another, although the conditions of climate 

 appear to be precisely similar. We cannot give a satis- 

 factory reason for its occurrence. Tapeworm manifests 

 similar characteristics among rabbits. At first we are dis- 

 posed to put it down to wet seasons (one always puts such 

 inexplicable occurrences down to wet seasons), but grouse 

 and rabbits too seem to acquire tapeworm in dry years 

 as well as wet ones ; in good seasons and in bad. We 

 have, however, come to regard this disorder like " the 

 epidemic " as a result of preservation, and we fancy the 

 same causes which operate in producing grouse disease 

 also exert an influence in outbreaks of tapeworm. These 

 causes we shall enumerate further on. 



The disease termed the " grouse epidemic" is unfor- 

 tunately too well known, as far as its effects are concerned, 

 to warrant our entering into any description of it. Sports- 

 men, naturalists, and scientists have for many years been 

 studying the malady with a view to learn more about its 

 cause or causes, and to ascertain if any remedial measures 

 can be discovered. We cannot personally advance any new 

 theory regarding grouse disease. We confess we are not 

 strong on theories, but we are at least convinced of one fact, 

 and that is that grouse disease is not due to one simple 

 cause, but to a combination of several. We know the 



