The Confessions of a 'Poacher. 51 



inches of smooth glazed material bordering 

 the lowest and trailing part of it. Some of 

 the small farmers were as fond of poaching as 

 ourselves, and here is a trick which one of 

 them successfully employed whenever he heard 

 the birds in his land. He scattered a train of grain 

 from the field in which the partridge roosted, 

 each morning bringing it nearer and nearer to 

 the stack-yard. After a time the birds became 

 aceustomed to this mode of feeding, and as 

 they grew bolder the grain-train was continued 

 inside the barn. When they saw the golden 

 feast invitingly spread, they were not slow to 

 enter, and the doors were quickly closed 

 upon them. Then the farmer entered with a 

 bright light and felled the birds with a stick. 



In the dusk of a late autumn afternoon a 

 splendid " pot " shot was sometimes had at a 

 bunch of partridges just gathered for the night. 

 I remember a score such. The call of the 

 partridge is less deceptive than any other game 

 bird, and the movements of a covey are easily 

 watched. This tracking is greatly aided if the 

 field in which the birds are is bounded by 



