HINTS ON GROUSE DRIVING. 157 



cork painted white to denote the centre of a fishing 

 net. The head driver or keeper can thereby at any 

 moment discern the centre of his line, and determine 

 from its position with regard to the other similar 

 coloured flags as to how his orders as to " dressing," 

 " formation," &c., are being attended to. 



Twenty drivers will effectually cover half a mile of 

 ground, and they can walk at from fifteen to twenty 

 yards apart, as long as they preserve their distance, 

 and keep, like soldiers, the formation prescribed for 

 them. This will generally be in that of a deep horse- 

 shoe, shallow at first, but deepening in as the drivers 

 approach the guns ; but on some occasions the drive 

 will be conducted on the principle of a half or three- 

 quarters cart wheel, and with other variations also. 

 In one of the most effective drives that I know, the 

 beaters start actually at right angles to the guns in 

 the butts on their left, the left-hand man of their 

 driving body, standing nearly still, waving a big flag 

 throughout the whole manoeuvre, while his comrades 

 gradually execute a gigantic wheel, right shoulders 

 forward, until the grouse are forced clean around 

 over a flat and up a hillside to where the guns are 

 placed, about thirty yards beyond the sky line. At 

 other times the beaters actually appear to be walking 

 away from the guns ; yet still the grouse come. So 

 much depends upon knowing the ground, the favourite 

 flight of the birds, and the quarter from which the 

 wind is blowing on the fatal day. 



